Queens’ College celebrates the announcement of the Rokos School of Government to the University

Chris Rokos is an investor and entrepreneur whose £190 million donation to the University of Cambridge, announced on Tuesday, is believed to be the largest individual donation to a British university in modern times. The generous donation will help build the Rokos School of Government, which aims to prepare future leaders to navigate the ever-more-challenging demands of domestic and international politics in a new, complex world of great structural change.

Chris Rokos has been a longstanding and generous supporter of Queens’ College. He has fully-funded our first endowed Alexander Crummell Scholarship, the Rokos Postdoctoral Research Associateships, and the Rokos-Menon Senior Research Fellowship. We are delighted that these latter two projects have been established in his name.

Chris Rokos said: “I was fortunate to be given the opportunity of an education which transformed my life, and I would like to give something back to Britain. My hope is that, in time, the influence of the Rokos School of Government across the world becomes an important element of that soft power which has been a great asset to the UK.”

Dame Menna Rawlings, President of Queens’ College, also welcomed the announcement. Drawing on her background in diplomacy, she commented:

“This is fantastic news, reinforcing existing capability at the University of Cambridge on public policy, while equipping a new generation of leaders to make a difference in this turbulent world. Excited to see the project develop in the coming months: it has our full support at Queens’​ College, Cambridge”

Chris Rokos – Credit Nick Saffell (University of Cambridge)

Queens’ College is currently open to applications for both the Rokos Postdoctoral Research Associateships 2026 and our Alexander Crummell PhD Scholarships.

Rokos Postdoctoral Research Associateships 2026

Under the terms of a generous benefaction from Mr Chris Rokos, each year a number of postdoctoral researchers can be made members of the Senior Combination Room and thus enabled to share in the social and intellectual life of the Fellowship.

Rokos Postdoctoral Research Associateships are open to scholars in any academic discipline who hold a recognised postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge or at one of its Partner Institutions.

More information about the Rokos Postdoctoral Research Associateships can be found here.

The Alexander Crummell Master’s & PhD Scholarships

The scholarships are an exciting opportunity for UK-based students, who would not otherwise have the means, to consider continuing to postgraduate study. These are “full ride” scholarships, meaning that all fees and maintenance costs are covered.

Since 2020, the College has created 22 new postgraduate scholarships in science and arts-based subjects for UK-domiciled candidates from non-traditional/underrepresented backgrounds.

More information about the Alexander Crummell Master’s & PhD Scholarships can be found here.

Queens’ College is grateful to Chris Rokos for his continued generosity and vision. The College looks forward to seeing how the Rokos School of Government will help shape the future of global leadership and public policy.

Further information about Chris’ donation and the new Rokos School of Government can be found via the Cambridge University announcement article: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/rokos-school-of-government