Regius Professor of Modern History
In 2008, Evans was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. The post is a royal appointment in the gift of the Prime Minister of the day and dates back to 1724. Previous holders of the title have included Herbert Butterfield (1963), Geoffrey Elton (1983) and Quentin Skinner (1998). Evans is the first historian to have to apply for the post and be interviewed by a Board of Electors, including Cambridge's Vice-Chancellor, Alison Richard, and representatives of the history faculty and the university, as well as external assessors from Yale, Harvard, Oxford and London. The board selected a shortlist of four, each of whom was asked to give a presentation to the entire Cambridge history faculty. The shortlist of four was then reduced to two, who the board interviewed, resulting in the board's recommendation of Evans to the Prime Minister, resulting in the issue of a Royal Warrant for his appointment. As well as being Regius Professor, he has served as chairman of the history faculty since October 2008; his term of office ended on 30 September 2010. Evans is used to combining administration with research. At Birkbeck College, London, where he worked before Cambridge, he acted as Master when Baroness Blackstone left suddenly to become Tony Blair's first higher education minister. On 27 January 2010 he was elected to the position of President of Wolfson College, Cambridge to take up office on 1 October 2010.
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