Jesus College, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, is run by the principal and fellows of the college. The principal of the college must be "a person distinguished for literary or scientific attainments, or for services in the work of education in the University or elsewhere".Statute III "The Principal", clause 1 "Qualifications" The principal has "pre-eminence and authority over all members of the College and all persons connected therewith" and exercises "a general superintendence in all matters relating to education and discipline".Statute III, clause 4(a) "Duties" The current principal, Sir Nigel Shadbolt, was appointed in 2015 and is the thirty-first holder of the office. This figure does not include Seth Ward, who was elected principal by the fellows in 1657 but never installed; Oliver Cromwell, Chancellor of the University at the time, appointed Francis Howell instead. Fourteen Principals have been former students of the college, the first being Griffith Powell, elected in 1613, and the most recent being Alfred Hazel, elected in 1925. The longest-serving Principal was Henry Foulkes, from 1817 to 1857.
When the college was founded in 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I, the first charter installed David Lewis as principal and named eight others as the first fellows. The statutes of 1622 allowed for 16 fellows. There is now no limit on the number of fellowships that the governing body can create.Statute IV "The Fellows", clause 3 "Number of Fellowships" The college statutes provide for various categories of fellows.Statute IV, clause 1 "Classes of Fellows and qualifications" Professorial fellows are those professors and readers of the university who are allocated to the college by the university.Statute IV, clause 5 "Professorial Fellowships" One of these professorships is the Jesus Professor of Celtic, which is the only chair in Celtic studies at an English university. Holders of the position since its creation in 1877 include John Rhys, Ellis Evans and Thomas Charles-Edwards. The zoologists Charles Godfray and Paul Harvey are both professorial fellows. Official fellows are those who hold tutorial or administrative appointments in the college. Past official fellows include the composer and musicologist John Caldwell, the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards and Niall Ferguson, the philosopher Galen Strawson and the political philosopher John Gray. There are also senior and junior research fellows. Principals and fellows who retire can be elected as emeritus fellows. The college can also elect "distinguished persons" to honorary fellowships.Statute IV, clause 23 "Honorary Fellowships"
A further category is that of Welsh supernumerary fellows, who are, in rotation, the vice-chancellors of Cardiff University, Swansea University, Lampeter University, Aberystwyth University, Bangor University and the University of Wales College of Medicine. There is one Welsh supernumerary fellow at a time, holding the position for not longer than three years.Statute IV, clause 4 "Welsh Supernumerary" The first of these was John Viriamu Jones in 1897.Baker (1971), pp. 62–63
The college formerly had a category of missionary fellows, known as Leoline fellows after their founder, Principal Leoline Jenkins. In his will in 1685, he stated that "It is but too obvious that the persons in Holy Orders employed in his Majesty's fleet at sea and foreign plantations are too few." To address this, he established two fellowships, whose holders should serve as clergy "in any of his Majesty's fleets or in his Majesty's plantations" under the direction of the Lord High Admiral and the Bishop of London respectively. The last of these, Frederic de Winton, was appointed in 1876 and held his fellowship until his death in 1932. This category was abolished in 1877 by the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Commission, without prejudice to the rights of existing holders such as de Winton. Another category of fellowship that was abolished in the 19th century was that of the King Charles I fellows, founded by Charles I in 1636 and tenable by natives of the Channel Islands in an attempt by him to "reclaim the Channel Islands from the extreme Calvinism which characterised them." The first such Fellow was Daniel Brevint.
Whilst the founding charter did not require the fellows or the students to be Welsh, the college has long had strong associations with Wales. Between 1571 and 1915, only one principal (Francis Howell, 1657–1660) was not from Wales or of Welsh descent. Many of the fellows in the past were also Welsh, since when new fellowships were created by benefactions (often by people of Welsh descent) there was frequently a stipulation that the recipients would be related to the donor or come from a place in Wales specified by the donor. These specific limitations were removed as part of reforms of Oxford University during the 19th century.
List of principals Key: OM – An Old Member of the college who became a fellow, included in the list of alumni HF – An honorary fellow of the college, included in the list of honorary fellows
Name Fellow PrincipalNotesRef—1571–72First Principal; Fellow of All Souls, former principal of New Inn Hall, Oxford, a judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1558—1572–86Second Principal, and one of the first benefactors to leave land to the college in his will—1586–1602Chancellor to Herbert Westfaling (Bishop of Hereford), and spent much of his time as principal in Hereford, leaving Griffith Powell to run the collegeBaker (1971), p. 131590–16021602–13Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity (1594–1613) and Dean of Bangor (1605–1613) (OM)1589–16131613–20First Jesus College student to become principal; as principal, he oversaw the building of the hall, buttery and kitchen, but died a year before the chapel was completed. (OM)—1620–21 1630–48 1660–61Altered and enlarged the college buildings during his second term of office—1621–30Lawyer and MP for Denbighshire (1624–26 and 1628–29), called the "second founder" of Jesus College for his expenditure on the chapel and hall and for obtaining a new charter and statutes from King James I1625–371648–57Principal during the English Commonwealth—1657Elected Principal by the Fellows, but never held the position as Oliver Cromwell installed Francis Howell instead; he later became Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Salisbury—1657–60Principal during the English Commonwealth, and the only non-Welsh Principal between 1571 and 1921Baker (1971), p. 15 (OM)1660–611661–73Lawyer, diplomat and Secretary of State (1680–84)1661–731673–86Resigned as principal when appointed Bishop of St David's in October 1686, but died in early 1687Baker (1971), p. 181662–861686–1712Theologian and Treasurer of Llandaff Cathedral; first principal to serve as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (OM)1687–17121712–20Bishop of St Asaph (1715–27) and Bishop of Bath and Wells (1727–43) (OM)1699–17071720–25Left his Fellowship when appointed Rector of Longworth, OxfordshireHardy, p. 1671702–251725–27Succeeded William Jones as both Rector of Longworth and principal, but died just two years after his promotion (OM)1711–271727–63As Principal, completed the north-west corner of the inner quadrangle and carried out alterations to the hall and front of collegeBaker (1971), p. 26 (OM)1725–631763–68Bodley's Librarian (1747–68) (OM)1734–621768–1802First married principal, who donated £200 whilst principal for restoration of the Old QuadrangleBaker (1954), p. 278Hardy, p. 170 (OM)1774–18021802–17Donated money to increase the value of scholarships from South Wales and England, to reduce disparity with North Wales scholarships (OM)1796–18171817–57Longest-serving Principal in the history of the college (OM)1829–451857–77Former headmaster of Ruthin School and incumbent of Holyhead parish churchBaker (1971), pp. 57–60 (OM)1845–521877–95Former headmaster of Cowbridge Grammar School and Sherborne SchoolBaker (1971), p. 71 (OM/HF)1881–951895–1915First Jesus Professor of Celtic (1877–1915), honorary fellow (1877–81) and Bursar (1881–95)1875–78 1896–19211921–25Classics tutor who wrote a history of the college (1899) and succeeded Rhys as principal after a vacancy of six years – the first non-Welsh Principal since Francis Howell (1657–60) (OM)1898–19251925–44Former Liberal MP, Fellow in Law and All Souls Reader in English Law (1933)Who Was Who—1946–49Director-General of the BBC (1938–42) before becoming principal (HF)—1949–67Former headmaster of Repton and Westminster Schools (HF)—1967–84Served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1973–77) whilst principal (HF)—1984–2005Served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University (1993–97) whilst principal (HF)—2005–15Zoologist, chairman of the Food Standards Agency (2000–05), appointed to the House of Lords as a cross-bencher in 2007 (HF)—2015–26Professor of computer science at University of Oxford; chairman and co-founder of the Open Data Institute—2026–presentFirst woman principal; British ambassador to Austria and UK permanent representative to the UN in Vienna (2021–26); appointed CMG in 2019
Other notable fellows Key: OM – An Old Member of the college who became a Fellow, included in the list of alumni HF – An Honorary Fellow of the college, included in the list of Honorary Fellows