King Charles III has authorised the appointment of Professor Laura Swift as Regius Professor of Greek at Christ Church, University of Oxford.
She succeeds Professor Gregory Hutchinson in the role.
The chair was created by King Henry VIII in 1541 and remains one of the university’s most historic academic appointments, with a royal connection dating back almost five centuries.
Professor Swift is Professor of Greek at Oxford and serves as a Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Magdalen College.
She completed Literae Humaniores at Magdalen in 2002, followed by an MSt and DPhil at Oxford.
Her doctorate was concluded in 2007.
After undertaking academic and research positions in Oxford and at University College London, Professor Swift became a lecturer at the Open University in 2012.
She moved back to Oxford in 2022, taking up the position of Tutorial Fellow in Classics at Magdalen and Associate Professor of Greek within the Faculty of Classics.
She received the title of Professor in 2024.
Her principal field is ancient Greek literature, with particular emphasis on tragedy and lyric poetry.
The Hellenic Foundation Thesis Prize was awarded for her doctoral thesis.
Her later scholarship has also brought an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship and a Philip Leverhulme Prize.
Professor Swift’s work examines links between Greek tragedy and other forms of choral poetry, alongside the study of incomplete ancient texts.
She has collaborated with modern theatre-makers and creative practitioners to investigate how classical material can inform contemporary productions.
Her efforts to broaden access to Classics have included broadcasting expertise through radio and podcasts, contributing to theatre projects, appearing at literary festivals and helping develop the Classical Civilisation A-level curriculum.
She also co-wrote Fragments, a play inspired by surviving sections of lost Greek tragedies.
The production was staged at The Old Fire Station in Oxford in 2023.
The Very Revd Professor Sarah Foot, Dean of Christ Church, said the appointment was excellent news.
She said Professor Swift’s scholarship in ancient Greek literature and efforts to increase engagement with Classics would strengthen the academic life of the college, adding that Christ Church anticipated welcoming her to the Regius Professorship.
Professor Hutchinson held the Greek chair from 2015 until retiring in 2023.
After studying at Balliol College, he joined Exeter College in 1984 as a Fellow and Tutor in Classics and remained there for more than three decades before assuming the chair.
His scholarship covered the languages and literature of ancient Greece and Rome, and he is now an Emeritus Fellow at Exeter.