Leeds Trinity University has announced that Gabby Logan will become its first Chancellor.

About Leeds Trinity

Leeds Trinity University is one of 10 institutions granted university status in December 2012 following the government’s decision to lower the qualifying threshold from 4,000 to 1,000 students. Leeds Trinity, founded in 1966, offers foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in a range of subjects including business, education, humanities, journalism, media, psychology and sport.

It was one of the first universities to offer professional work placements with every degree, and these placements continue to form an integral, assessed element of every undergraduate degree.

Leeds Trinity has a wide range of specialist journalism and sports courses among many others and has exceeded national employability benchmarks for a decade. Latest figures show that 93 per cent of its 2011 graduates found work or went into further study within six months of graduating. In particular, its sports and journalism graduates have made their mark in industry, taking up presenting and journalist roles across the BBC, ITV, Sky Sports as well as with local and national press.

Gabby Logan - why Leeds will always hold a special place in my heart

Television sports presenter and journalist Gabby Logan is to be the first chancellor of Leeds Trinity University. The Leeds-born broadcaster is a keen advocate for higher education and has a law degree from Durham University as well as an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University.

‘I’m honored to be appointed as Leeds Trinity University’s first chancellor,’ she said. ‘I support its ethos which is very close to my own. I’m a firm believer in the importance of higher education, having seen the enormous benefits that my own university experience has given me. I hope I can help talented young people realise their ambitions.

‘Last but not least it is so good to be able to hold this position in Leeds, which I still think of as my home city.’

More recently, Gabby has turned her attention to business, building on her experience in sport to become a non-executive director for Perform Group, a leading digital media enterprise. Gabby also has a strong commitment to several charitable causes, and is currently Patron of the Disabilities Trust, the Prince’s Trust and Great Ormond Street Hospital, as well as vice president of Sparks.

Ed Anderson, chair of the university’s board of governors, said they were absolutely delighted with the appointment. He added: ‘It’s a perfect fit on so many levels. We are proud to have Gabby as a champion for our university and I’m sure that her appointment will be warmly welcomed by students, staff and people in Leeds.’

Prof Margaret House, who recently took up the position of vice chancellor, said: ‘To have gained university status and to have someone as impressive as Gabby as our first chancellor, says much for what Leeds Trinity can achieve in the future.’

Gabby will be chancellor of one of only two universities with Catholic foundations in England. She herself is a Cahtolic. She attended Cardinal Heenan Roman Catholic High School in Leeds and Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College, with which Leeds Trinity maintains strong relationships as part of its commitment to widening access to higher education.