Oxford Cultural Leaders appoints new Academic Director on their 10th anniversary
As it marks its 10th anniversary, Oxford Cultural Leaders (OCL) is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Xa Sturgis CBE as its new Academic Director. Currently Director of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Dr Xa Sturgis brings to the role a wealth of experience and expertise within the cultural sector.
Dr Sturgis steps up to the role after Professor Paul Smith, co-founder and Academic Director of Oxford Cultural Leaders, announced his retirement. As a founding member of the OCL programme, Professor Paul Smith had been instrumental in its success, passionate about building leadership capacity within the cultural sector and bringing together expertise from arts and business. Dr Sturgis is a long-standing member of the OCL faculty with a deep understanding of the programme’s vision and will continue to build on the solid foundation laid by Professor Smith.
Designed and delivered by Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries & Museums in partnership with the Saïd Business School, Oxford Cultural Leaders (OCL) is a unique internationally acclaimed programme aimed at senior management professionals within the cultural sector who want to redefine their identity as leaders.
As the cultural sector continues to face relentless challenges, leaders must be responsive in navigating these uncertain times. OCL offers a transformative experience that disrupts how participants think, encouraging cohort members to reimagine their institutional vision, identifying opportunities to demonstrate resilience and develop entrepreneurial and creative strategies that safeguard their establishment for the future.
The programme is delivered through a combination of immersive workshops, lectures, panel discussions, provocations, reflection sessions and keynote speeches delivered by cultural sector leaders, business school experts and industry authorities.
In 2025 Oxford Cultural Leaders will provide three distinct offers:
Online Programme: The online programme includes expertly facilitated, immersive and highly participatory online sessions with the same OCL faculty who support the residential programme. These sessions will be tailored to optimise online learning and will be designed to inspire innovation as well as building a supportive peer-network. Online delivery offers greater flexibility during this time, allowing participation from attendees across the UK and around the world. The sessions will feature regular breaks, interactive activities and opportunities to network with faculty and other OCL delegates.
Applications open: Sunday 1 December 2024
Deadline for applications: Monday 31 March 2025
Course runs: Monday 12 – Friday 16 May 2025
Residential Programme: This established residential programme offers participants the opportunity to re-examine their approach to leadership through workshops, lectures, panel discussions and keynote speeches, delivered by cultural sector leaders, business school experts and industry authorities. A group of 26 participants will be based in Oxford, within Corpus Christi College, where they can enjoy the benefits of the central Oxford location. Participants will have access to the expertise of Oxford University staff and OCL teachers and the acclaimed resources of the University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums for the duration of the programme.
Applications will open spring 2025.
Course runs: Sunday 21 – Friday 26 September 2025
1:1 Leadership Coaching: OCL Coaching offers personalised support for cultural leaders worldwide looking to address complex professional challenges with a skilled and empathetic leadership coach. This comprehensive coaching package includes four one-on-one coaching sessions conducted online over a 4–6-month period. Coaching can be used as a powerful complement to OCL’s group learning initiatives or as a standalone option. Each participant is carefully matched with a qualified and experienced personal leadership coach with whom they can reflect, explore options and develop actionable plans for positive change. Participants can harness the power of 1:1 coaching to facilitate personal growth and professional effectiveness, transforming how they lead and their experience of leadership.
For more information on the Oxford Cultural Leaders, including programme details and how to apply, please visit www.glam.ox.ac.uk/oxford-cultural-leaders
Further Information
Emily Thomas, GLAM Communications & Marketing Officer
Hi-res images are available to download here.
Quotes from OCL Alumni
‘Even though a former colleague who had taken the programme before me described it as life-changing, it exceeded all my expectations. This was not just a course about leadership but a life reboot. The cohort, the faculty, the surroundings & the programme were all unforgettable and inspirational.’
Robert Wenley, Head of Collections & Deputy Director, Barber Institute of Fine Arts (OCL 2024 Residential)
‘This is a well curated program and the best arts leadership course I have done. Each day builds upon the next so by the end of the week everything you have learned aligns and makes perfect sense. Being a residential course, it meant I could relax and forget about everything except learning. It was such a privilege to take part in this program and I know I have made new friends for life.’
Elizabeth Marsden, Manager, Cultural Collections, RMIT University (OCL 2024 Residential)
‘The OCL programme was designed to impart a holistic understanding of cultural leadership. The speakers who guided us were experts in their own fields and took us from unravelling the workings of the decision-making brain to cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. This journey has equipped me with invaluable tools to navigate decision-making, negotiate adeptly, and forge a visionary path for my projects and career aspirations.’
Kamini Ramachandran, Director, Moonshadow Stories (OCL 2024 Online)
‘Having done other online courses, I was very impressed with the balance of keynotes, workshops and breakout groups within OCL – I was utterly engaged at every stage and it catered to the diversity of learning styles and communication preferences in the group.’
Katie Russell, National Director/CEO, Australian Museums and Galleries Association (OCL 2024 Online)
Notes for editors
Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries & Museums (GLAM)
Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums contain some of the most significant and inspirational collections in the world, comprising of over 21 million objects, specimens and printed items. Welcoming over 3.5 million visitors each year, our institutions share astonishing stories of humanity and the natural world that stretch across space and time.
The four museums are home to over 8.5 million objects and specimens representing the natural world, global art and artefacts. The Bodleian is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and, with over 13 million printed items, is second only in size to the British Library in Britain. The Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Britain and forms the most compact yet diverse collection of plants on the planet. GLAM constitutes one of the largest and most important research repositories in the world and provides an outstanding resource for scholars, students and members of the public.
Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford blends the best of new and old. We are a vibrant and innovative business school, but one deeply embedded in an 800-year-old world-class university. We create programmes and ideas that have global impact. We educate people for successful business careers, and as a community seek to tackle world-scale problems. We deliver cutting-edge programmes and groundbreaking research that transform individuals, organisations, business practice, and society. We seek to be a world-class business school community, embedded in a world-class university, tackling world-scale problems.
