Hertford College elects new principal

University 28 Mar 11 Will Hutton has been elected principal of Hertford College and will take up the post in October, the college has announced. Mr Hutton is an economist and leading public intellectual whose career began in the City, but who is best known for his work in journalism. He was editor-in-chief at The Observer from 1996 to 2000 (where he continues to write a column), when he joined The Work Foundation. His review 'Fair Pay in the Public Sector' has just been published, and he has conducted independent reviews into Britain's education and training compared to EU countries, the BBC's charter renewal, and the creative industries. He is currently chairing the Ownership Commission, established by the outgoing Labour government, due to report in the autumn of this year. His many books include the best-selling The State We're In (1995), The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the Twenty-First Century (2008), and, most recently, Them and Us: Changing Britain - Why We Need a Fair Society (2010). He is a governor of the London School of Economics and the Ditchley Foundation, and has received honorary degrees from many universities including Bristol, East Anglia, Kingston, and Glasgow Caledonian.