The College is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Sir Alan Budd, Provost of the College from 1999 to 2008 and an Honorary Fellow from 2008, until his death on 13 January 2023 at the age of 85.
Alan took up the role of Provost after a particularly distinguished and influential career as an economist in academia, business, and public service. He gently and genially oversaw a period of considerable change in the College, strongly supporting the College’s efforts to develop its academic profile and, in particular, masterminding the opening up of the College to a new level of engagement with its Old Membership. Within the wider University of Oxford he made decisive contributions to fierce debates on resource allocation, which ultimately culminated in a system that is still used to determine certain internal flows of income shared between the University and its colleges.
Alan was highly committed to the College, its Fellowship, its students, and its wider community of staff and Old Members. His contributions to the governance of the College and the stewardship of its finances—always wise and often drily humorous—were particularly respected. He continued his engagement with Queen’s long into his retirement; his support of the Chapel Choir, in particular, was unstinting and enthusiastic. In Oxford he was highly regarded amongst fellow ‘heads of house’ (the heads of the colleges) and his and Susan’s generous hospitality was widely appreciated.
Generations of students, Fellows, and staff remember him with great fondness, and send their condolences to Susan and their sons. The College will hold a memorial service to celebrate Alan’s life in due course and will make further announcements about this at the appropriate time.
Photo: Veronika Vernier
