Karen Cox

It is my huge pleasure this week to interview Professor Karen Cox, Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent.

Karen was born in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, and grew up in the Yorkshire Dales before going to university in London to study Nursing. She talks about her parents’ background, both of whom left school at 16 and were married at 18. Her father experienced redundancy and was involved in Trades Union activity.

We discuss some of the generational differences in terms of career opportunities and how it wasn’t until Karen did her ‘A’ levels that university became an option. She talks about how she didn’t really know anyone who had even been to university and how she is fortunate that she has been able to do the things she did, but that sometimes they are shaped by serendipity.

Karen has very strong early memories of Christmases including playing with boxes, and we learn that as a child she enjoyed ballet, wanting to be Margot Fonteyn, and tap dancing. She also played the trombone and loved horse riding. Musically, Karen used to love listening to and recording the charts on a Sunday, and we learn what the first record was that she ever bought.

We then discover how she ended up pursuing a career in Nursing and who especially inspired her at university (specifically, her ‘nursing hero’) and we learn about the wider student society interests around nursing and medicine that she pursued. Karen talks about how at university the combination of theoretical, practical and pastoral-based elements made for an excellent experiential learning opportunity.

The conversation then turns to how today’s politics is much more eclectic than it was when Karen was growing up in the 1970s, and we learn what her reaction was when she heard that Jim Callaghan had been defeated by Margaret Thatcher in the 1979 General Election.

Karen also shares her radio passions as we learn which station she prefers to listen to and who her favourite presenter is, and why she considers radio to be ‘a security blanket’.

In the final part of the interview Karen explains why she is more of an optimistic person and why her memories are predominantly positive ones. We also learn what she dreamed of doing career-wise when she was young, and how she still has dreams and takes comfort from thinking about what might be around the corner. Finally, we learn why Karen has been more in touch with old friends in the last 18 months than ever before and whether she is a looking back or a looking forward type of person.

Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Karen Cox and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.