Oxford Hires First Female Vice Chancellor

After nearly 800 years of male leadership, the University of Oxford has its first woman leader.

Oxford announced on Thursday that Louise Richardson, the principal and vice chancellor of Scotland's St. Andrews University and a scholar of terrorism and security studies, would take the helm of the prestigious British university, serving as vice chancellor (the equivalent to an American university president).

Around 45 percent of Oxford’s undergraduates are female, according to a Guardian article.

Though Richardson is the first woman to lead Oxford, other prestigious universities in the United Kingdom have already hired female leaders.