St Mary’s University has appointed Shriti Vadera, a senior adviser to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and now Chairman of Santander Bank, as its new pro-chancellor.
The role will see Baroness Vadera, who is of Hindu origin and was educated by nuns in India, take on an ambassadorial role for the Catholic university while working closely with St Mary’s chancellor Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
She has strong ties with the Catholic world which were forged during her time as a minister in the International Development department: she holds the record for making the most number of ministerial visits to the Holy See. During this period she developed a strong working relationship with then Mgr Pietro Parolin, now Cardinal Secretary of State and the Pope’s number two.
It was thanks to her Vatican contacts that Baroness Vadera was able to ensure that Benedict XVI was the first to buy a specially designed UK government bond scheme designed to help fund immunisations for the world’s poorest children.
At her installation today (20 July) in Westminster Cathedral - which took place during one of the university’s summer graduation ceremonies - she referred to her past work with the “Holy See in pursuit of key international development goals.” The Catholic ethos, Baroness Vadera said, was something which “has been my lodestar all my life.”
The appointment also reflects St Mary’s ambitions as a Catholic university which wants to integrate faith into the public sphere, something referenced by Cardinal Nichols in his remarks at the cathedral today.
“St Mary’s University is at home here. I am at home here, not only as the Cardinal Archbishop of the Church, but also as the Chancellor of your University,” he said.
Citing Benedict XVI’s remarks at St Mary’s when he visited in 2010, the cardinal stressed that education must never be considered “purely utilitarian” but instead, Nichols explained, become “a pathway towards a greater maturity, and a greater sense of vision, of the goodness and beauty of our world and of every person.”
In her remarks, Baroness Vadera urged the students not to “retreat into nationalism and parochialism” but instead recognise those disenfranchised by globalisation and try and make the world fairer .
While some in Westminster complained about her abrasive working style Baroness Vadera was also credited with getting things done.
Working in the cabinet office and business department, she took a leading role in devising Prime Minister Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crash, particularly during the G20 summit in April 2009 where she was the architect of a rescue package for the banks. Later that year she left government to advise the G20 full time.
Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Baroness Vadera worked in banking for many years and took up the role as non-executive chairman of Santander UK - the British arm of the Spanish bank - in 2015.
Her new role will also see her working with St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor, Francis Campbell, a former Ambassador to the Holy See and Foreign Office diplomat, who said today that she brings a “wealth of experience” to the job.
Baroness Vadera will serve alongside another pro-Chancellor, Margaret Mizen, who is a prominent campaigner for forgiveness and reconciliation following the violent murder of her son Jimmy.
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