Professor Christopher Smith is the International Champion of UKRI and the Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Christopher was previously Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews where he was also Dean of Arts (2002 to 2006), Dean of Graduate Studies (and Vice-Principal, before being seconded as Director of the British School at Rome, the UK’s leading humanities and creative arts research institute overseas, from 2009 to 2017.

Professor Smith’s research explores constitutionalism and state formation, with particular emphasis on the representation of Rome as a political and social community in ancient historical writing and subsequent political thought.