The President, Professor Lady Sue Black, Baroness Black of Strome, will be hosting a drinks and canapés reception in San Francisco. All alumni in the area are welcome to attend with a guest.

The location is St Francis Suite, Westin St Francis on Union Square

Please RSVP by Friday 23 January 2026.

“It may seem like a dark topic when you work with death every day of your life, but it is surprising just how much hope and optimism can be found” (Professor Lady Sue Black)

Professor Lady Sue Black is the UK's leading forensic anthropologist. Many of us are familiar with the fictionalised world of forensic investigations from books, television and films. However, her work ranges from investigation of war crimes in Kosovo through body recovery from mass fatality events to single deaths associated with murder and suicide and everything in between. Sue’s talk will convey the reality of forensic anthropology and how her upbringing and an academic career in human anatomy paved the way for a career in this field.

***

Professor Lady Sue Black is the 37th President of St John's. She took up post in September 2022. Professor Lady Black has most recently been the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engagement at Lancaster University, tasked with raising the University’s profile locally, regionally and nationally whilst championing the economic growth and regeneration of North West England.

Since graduating from the University of Aberdeen in human anatomy and forensic anthropology, Professor Lady Black has had a varied and distinguished academic career, she was the lead forensic anthropologist during the international war crimes investigations in Kosovo. From 2003 to 2018 she was Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at Dundee University.

Professor Lady Black has written widely and has made regular media appearances, including on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs and The Life Scientific. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Higher Education and Forensic Science and in 2021 entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher peer as Baroness Black of Strome. In March 2024 Professor Lady Black was appointed to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the highest honour in Scotland.

Please note: the President will be in San Francisco between Sunday 22 March to Tuesday 24 March 2026.

If you would like to meet with the President or with Kristina specifically while we are in North America, please email kristina.mcclendon@sjc.ox.ac.uk. All other general enquiries related to our visit can be directed to alumni@sjc.ox.ac.uk.