The
Rhodes Trust is based at Rhodes House. The Rhodes Trust, established in 1902 under the terms and conditions of the will of
Cecil Rhodes, and by subsequent acts of Parliament, is an educational charity whose principal activity is to support scholars selected from the citizens of 14 specified
geographic constituencies to study at the University of Oxford.
Rhodes Scholarships for up to three years have been awarded annually since 1903. The goals of Cecil Rhodes in creating the Scholarships were to promote civic-minded leadership among young people with (in the words of his 1899 Will) "moral force of character and instincts to lead", and (in the words of a 1901 codicil to his Will) to help "render war impossible" through promoting understanding between the great powers. In 2002, in partnership with
Nelson Mandela, the Rhodes Trust established the
Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. The Rhodes Trust provides the Rhodes Scholarships in partnership with the Second Century Founders,
John McCall MacBain O.C., the
Atlantic Philanthropies, and other benefactors. In 2016 the Trust announced a partnership with Atlantic Philanthropies to create an Atlantic Institute, which has offices at Rhodes House. Funding for this project allowed the Trust to expand the total number of Rhodes Scholars and to offer scholarships to students from Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, China, and West Africa. In 2017, the
Schmidt Science Fellows programme was launched as a partnership between
Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust. The programme was established to facilitate cross-discipline research that could lead to scientific breakthroughs. The Rhodes Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees, and the Warden of Rhodes House acts as Secretary to the Trust.
Current trustees The following are trustees: • Mr Andrew Banks (Florida & St Edmund Hall 1976) – Co-Founder, ABRY Partners • Ms Neeti Bhalla (Kenya & Templeton 1998) – Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance Group • Mr Mike Fitzpatrick (Chairman of Pacific Current Group) •
Dame Helen Ghosh – Master of
Balliol College, Oxford • Mr Don Gogel (New Jersey & Balliol 1971) – Chairman and CEO of
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice • Mr Glen James former partner of
Slaughter and May • Dr Tariro Makadzange (Zimbabwe & Balliol 1999) – Director of Biology at Gilead Sciences • Ms Swati Mylavarapu (Florida & Wolfson 2005) – Founder of Incite.org, a values-based investor and co-founder of Arena • Professor Karen O'Brien (Head of Humanities Division and Professor of English Literature) •
Kate O'Regan (Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford) • Mr Chris Oechsli – President and CEO of The
Atlantic Philanthropies •
Dilip Shanghvi – Co-founder of Sun Pharmaceuticals • Judge Karen Stevenson (United States Magistrate and Judge) • Dr Peter Stamos (California & Worcester 1981) – Founder, Chief Executive Officer of Stamos Capital Partners • Mr
Bob Sternfels (California & Worcester 1992) Senior Partner at
McKinsey & Company •
Sir John Hood (New Zealand & Worcester College, 1976), Chairman
(since 2011) •
Professor John Bell (Alberta & Magdalen College, 1975)
(since 2002) •
Professor Ngaire Woods (New Zealand & Balliol College, 1987)
(since 2009) •
Dominic Barton (British Columbia & Brasenose College, 1984)
(since 2010) • Don Gogel (New Jersey & Balliol College, 1971)
(since 2010) •
Professor Margaret MacMillan (since 2010) •
John McCall MacBain (Quebec & Wadham College, 1980)
(since 2010) • Karen Stevenson (Maryland & Magdalen College, 1979)
(since 2010) •
John Wylie (Queensland & Balliol College, 1983)
(since 2010) • Glen James
(since 2014) • Andrew Banks (Florida & St Edmund Hall, 1976)
(since 2014) •
Professor Dame Carol Robinson (since 2015) •
Nicholas Oppenheimer (since 2015) •
Professor Elleke Boehmer (South Africa-at-Large and St John's College, 1985)
(since 2016) •
Dilip Shanghvi (since 2017) •
Mike Fitzpatrick (Western Australia & St John's College, 1975)
(since 2018) • Peter Stamos (California & Worcester College, 1981)
(since 2018) Emeritus trustees •
Julian Thompson (Diocesan College, Rondebosch and Worcester College, 1953)
(trustee since 2002, emeritus since 2015) •
Michael McCaffery (Pennsylvania & Merton College, 1975)
(trustee since 2007, emeritus since 2018) Notable former trustees •
Lord Butler of Brockwell •
Sir Rod Eddington •
Earl Grey •
Viscount Hailsham •
Rudyard Kipling List of chairmen of the Trust •
Earl of Rosebery 1902–1917 •
Viscount Milner 1917–1925 •
Sir Otto Beit 1925–1930 •
Lord Lovat 1930–1933 •
Rt Hon. L. S. Amery 1933–1955 •
Sir Edward Peacock 1955–1962 •
Sir Kenneth Wheare 1962–1969 •
Sir George Abell 1969–1974 •
Viscount Harcourt 1974–1979 •
Sir William Paton 1979–1982 •
Lord Blake 1983–1987 •
Sir John Baring, later Lord Ashburton 1987–1999 •
Sir Richard Southwood 1999–2002 •
Lord Waldegrave of North Hill 2002–2011 •
Sir John Hood 2011–Present
List of wardens Wardens also serve as the chief executive officer of
Rhodes Trust and
Rhodes Scholarships •
Sir Francis Wylie 1903–1931 •
Professor Sir Carleton Allen 1931–1952 •
Brigadier Sir Edgar Williams 1952–1980 •
Dr Robin Fletcher 1980–1989 •
Sir Anthony Kenny 1989–1999 •
Dr John Rowett 1999–2004 •
Sir Colin Lucas 2004–2009 •
Professor Don Markwell 2009–2012 •
Dr Andrew Graham (acting) 2012–2013 •
Charles R. Conn 2013–2018 •
Dr Elizabeth Kiss August 2018–31 December 2024 •
Sir Richard Trainor (interim) 1 January 2025–1 July 2026 •
Chrystia Freeland 1 July 2026–
List of Rhodes Scholars ==References==