Professor Richard Evans will become the fifth President of Wolfson College on 30th September 2010, when Dr Gordon Johnson retires.

The Governing Body of Wolfson College elected Evans, who currently acts as a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Regius Professor of Modern History and Chairman of the Faculty of History.

Evans graduated from Oxford University, and went on to teach at the University of Stirling, the University of East Anglia and Birbeck College, London. Whereas most previous Regius Professors were specifically chosen, Evans applied for the position himself and was selected by a panel.

Johnson told Varsity, “I’ve so much enjoyed being President of Wolfson: it’s been great seeing the College grow over the past sixteen-odd years to be such a vibrant, international community of graduate and mature students.

“I’m thrilled by the election of Professor Evans to succeed me in October: he brings great academic distinction to the College and valuable experience from outside Cambridge – particularly with graduate and mature students.”

When asked what his plans for the future were, Johnson explained that he is “planning to complete some research and writing in retirement”. 

Johnson is himself a historian, and is particularly interested in researching the history of India since the late eighteenth century, and the recent history of the University of Cambridge. Recently, he has been elected as President of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Evans explained, “I am very grateful to the Fellows for selecting me as President of Wolfson. It is a unique institution, which prides itself on its distinctively cosmopolitan, egalitarian and informal character and I look forward with enthusiasm to leading it over the next few years as it approaches its fiftieth anniversary.”

When asked by Varsity whether he had any further comments to make, Evans simply replied, “Not really. I’m just happy to have been elected!”

Evans’s work concerns the social and cultural history of Germany, and he has been editor of the ‘Journal of Contemporary History’ since 1998.

He has won various awards for his work as a historian, including: the ‘Wolfson Literary Award for History’, the ‘Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History’ and the ‘Hamburg Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft’.

Evans’ recent work includes the trilogy: The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power and The Third Reich at War, which The New York Times described as “gripping”.