Professor Julie Smith (Baroness Smith of Newnham)

Professor Julie Smith (Baroness Smith of Newnham) serves as Non-Executive Director on Oxford International’s Board of Governors for the Academic Partnerships and Higher Education Division. She brings a deep senior academic and policy experience to the role, advising on academic integrity and excellence.

Julie is a Professor of European Politics at the University of Cambridge, where she has held numerous leadership roles, including Director of the European Centre (2013-19) and co-directing the Master of Studies in International Relations (2016-2022). She is also and Fellow and Director of Studies at Robinson College. Her academic work and governance experience extend across Europe, including roles with the Centre of European Legal Studies and the Centre for Geopolitics in Cambridge, and advisory boards in Berlin and Brussels.

An expert in European politics, Julie was Head of the European Programme at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) from 1999 to 2003. A Liberal Democrat life peer since 2014, Julie was a member of the Lords’ International Relations Committee from its creation in 2016 until 2021 and currently serves her party’s defence spokesperson in the Lords.

She has contributed extensively to national and international policy discussions on education, defence, and global relations.

Julie’s research interests centre on the history and politics of the European Union, democracy in Europe and the UK’s relations with the EU. Her publications include The UK’s Journeys into and out of the EU – Destinations Unknown (Routledge, 2017) and the Palgrave Handbook on the 2024 European Parliament Elections, as co-editor and contributor with Juliet Lodge and Stergios Fotopoulos (SpringerVerlag, 2025).

Her combined experience in higher education leadership, international collaboration, and strategic governance strengthens Oxford International’s global perspective and supports its commitment to academic excellence and institutional growth.