AHRC Executive Chair
Professor Christopher Smith
Professor Christopher Smith is the Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the UKRI International Champion, and the UKRI IS-8 Responsible Owner for the Creative Industries.
Christopher has been involved across his career in culture, heritage and the arts in England, Scotland, Italy and globally.
He has been Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews since 2002, and was also Vice-Principal (2007 to 2009), before being seconded as Director of the British School at Rome, the UK’s leading humanities and creative arts research institute overseas, from 2009 to 2017.
In 2025 he was appointed as the Chair of the Board of the National Library of Scotland.
He is the author or editor of over 20 books and in 2017 was awarded the prestigious Premio ‘Cultori di Roma’. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries Scotland, the Royal Historical Society, the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Academia Europaea.
Last updated: 7 August 2026