Huge congratulations to Professor Laura Swift, Tutorial Fellow in Classics, on her appointment by The King as Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford. The appointment, announced by 10 Downing Street on 29 October 2026, follows Professor Gregory Hutchinson. The Regius Professorship was established by Henry VIII in 1541.
Laura first came to Magdalen as an undergraduate in Classics and stayed for her MSt and DPhil. After posts at Trinity College, New College and University College London, and ten years teaching at the Open University, she returned to Magdalen in 2022. She was awarded the title of Professor in 2024. She also serves as the College’s Chair of the Library and Archives Committee.
Laura is a leading literary critic of ancient Greece, specialising in tragedy and lyric poetry. Her book The Hidden Chorus transformed thinking about the tragic chorus, and she wrote the first complete commentary on the poet Archilochus. Her commentary on Euripides’ Bacchae, co-written with William Allan, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2024. She has also collaborated with contemporary theatre-makers on work inspired by fragmentary ancient texts, and is a committed advocate for making Classics accessible to wider audiences.
The Regius Professorship is held in association with a professorial fellowship at Christ Church. Everyone at Magdalen sends Laura their warmest congratulations.