Mastership of Pembroke College, Cambridge

We are delighted to announce that Professor Polly Blakesley will be the next Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. She will take up office on 1st October 2025 following the retirement of Lord Smith of Finsbury, who has been Master since 2015.
 
Polly Blakesley has been a Fellow of Pembroke since 2002 and took up a Professorship in Russian and European Art in 2018. A prize-winning historian of the visual culture of imperial Russia and the Baltic region, she has served on the boards of the National Portrait Gallery, the Fitzwilliam Museum, and Kettle’s Yard, and is now a Trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Samuel Courtauld Trust. 
 
Professor Blakesley says, “It is an honour to take on this role at a pivotal moment in Pembroke’s history, as we celebrate the completion of Dolby Court and realise the extraordinary potential of the Mill Lane project for Pembroke as a whole. I look forward to serving the College’s many communities as we sustain our commitment to excellence and diversity and embrace the opportunities ahead.”