St Mary’s University, Twickenham, has appointed the Rev Fr Dr Øystein Lund as its next vice-chancellor following an international recruitment process. He succeeds Prof Anthony McClaran, who announced earlier this year that he would retire after leading the university since 2020.

Fr Lund is a married Catholic priest, theologian and higher education leader whose career has spanned academia, public service and diplomatic work. A native of Norway, he holds a doctorate in theology and was formerly associate professor of the Old Testament and dean of studies at the Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo. He later served as director of the supervisory division at NOKUT, Norway's agency for quality assurance in higher education, from 2014 until 2022. He and his wife Helene are the parents of two adult children.

Before becoming a Catholic, Fr Lund served as a priest of the Church of Norway, the country’s Lutheran state church. He was received into full communion with the Catholic Church in 2009 and was ordained a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Oslo in 2014 under provisions permitting the ordination of married former Protestant clergy. Fr Lund has served on the finance council of the diocese and acted as a student chaplain in Oslo.

More recently, he has served at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London, where he has been responsible for research and higher education cooperation between Norway and the United Kingdom.

Announcing the appointment, Archbishop Richard Moth, chairman of the university’s board of governors, said he was “delighted” with Fr Lund’s appointment. “His experience in academia, diplomacy, and leadership will be of enormous benefit to the university community. St Mary’s University is at an exciting time in its development following many significant achievements under our outgoing Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony McClaran, whom we wish well for all his future endeavours.”

“We now look ahead to important initiatives like the opening of the School of Medicine and the Dubai Campus, which will deepen our impact and broaden our global reach,” the Archbishop continued. “I am confident that Øystein is the right person to lead the University into this next stage of our academic journey and I will be praying for his and the University’s success.”

Fr Lund said he was “honoured” to have been appointed vice-chancellor of the university. “What draws me most to St Mary’s,” Fr Lund continued, “is its ability to combine academic excellence with a genuine commitment to human flourishing, rooted in the Church’s long tradition of learning, scholarship and inquiry.”

Founded in 1850, St Mary’s University in Twickenham is one of England's Catholic universities. It is preparing to open a new School of Medicine, with its first intake of students expected later this year.

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