Nigel Carrington as vice-chancellor and president in March 2021. James Purnell announced his intention to move on from his role as President & Vice-Chancellor of UAL in June 2024 and left in September 2024 to take up a role as CEO of Flint Global. Professor Karen Stanton was appointed as Interim President and Vice-Chancellor at UAL before being made permanent in March 2025. Karen has previously held roles as Vice Chancellor at Bishop Grosseteste University, York St John and Solent Universities. She also served on UAL’s Court of Governors but stood down on taking on the role of Vice-Chancellor.
== Colleges ==
The University of the Arts London has six constituent colleges:
=== Camberwell College of Arts ===
Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts was established by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council on 10 January 1898, in a building beside the South London Gallery, with the financial support of John Passmore Edwards and following advocacy by Edward Burne-Jones, Lord Leighton, Walter Crane and G. F. Watts. The subjects taught were mainly technical until a Fine Arts department was established between the Wars. The school became part of the London Institute in January 1986, and was renamed Camberwell College of Arts in 1989.
=== Central Saint Martins ===
Central Saint Martins College was formed in 1989 by the merger of Saint Martin's School of Art, founded 1854, and the Central School of Art and Design, founded as the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1896. Drama Centre London, founded in 1963, became part of Central Saint Martins in 1999, and the Byam Shaw School of Art, founded in 1910, was merged into CSM in 2003. The school was renamed Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in 2011.
=== Chelsea College of Arts ===
The Chelsea School of Art originated as part of the South-Western Polytechnic, which opened in 1895 and in 1922 became the Chelsea Polytechnic. In 1957 the science department of the polytechnic was renamed Chelsea College of Science and Technology; the School …
