SCOTLAND'S oldest university has appointed its second female principal.

Professor Sally Mapstone will take up the role at St Andrews University in September replacing Professor Louise Richardson, who is now vice-chancellor of Oxford University.

St Andrews, which was founded more than 600 years ago but only began appointing principals 100 years ago, remains the only so-called ancient university to have selected a female principal.

Mrs Mapstone, who is currently pro-vice-chancellor for education at Oxford University, is a distinguished academic whose research interests include Scots literature prior to 1707.

She said: “I am thrilled to be coming to the university as its next principal. Its focus on quality in education and student experience, its commitment to outreach, and its emphasis on independent-minded research all speak strongly to my own values.

"I have known the university for many years as a scholar of Scottish culture, and it will be an honour to be part of building its future."

St Andrews senior governor, Sir Ewan Brown, said the university was fortunate to have found an academic leader of such "outstanding character and calibre".

He said: "The university undertook an exhaustive international search and in Professor Mapstone we are appointing a principal whose experience, values and drive will be essential to St Andrews’ strategic ambitions in teaching, research, fundraising and widening access to higher education.

“As a scholar, Sally is no stranger to Scotland and St Andrews and I know that she is assured of a very warm and enthusiastic welcome from our community of staff and students.”

Professor Mapstone is Professor of Older Scots Literature in the Faculty of English at Oxford and a Fellow of St Hilda’s College. Her research deals primarily with literature in Scots and in Latin, with political literature, and with book history.

She is Honorary President of the Scottish Text Society, an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies, and a Fellow of the English Association.

From 2007 to 2010, she served as Chair of the English Faculty Board at Oxford; she became Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Personnel and Equality) in November 2009, and took up her present post in January 2011.

St Andrews is Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began on the east coast of Scotland in 1410 and the university was formally constituted in 1413.