Jonathan Nicholls has been the Registrary

Registrary

The Registrary is the senior administrative officer of the University of Cambridge. The term is unique to Cambridge, and uses an archaic spelling...

 of the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 since October 2007.

Nicholls was educated at Culford School

Culford School

Culford School is a coeducational HMC and IAPS public school for pupils age 3–18. Founded in 1881, it is situated in Culford, four miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.-History:...

, the University of Bristol

University of Bristol

The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...

 (first class English degree, 1978), and Emmanuel College

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...

 (PhD, English, 1984). He was a Herchel Smith Scholar

Herchel Smith

Herchel Smith was an Anglo-American organic chemist. His discoveries include the key inventions underlying oral and injectable contraceptives. In later life, he was a major benefactor to university science....

 at Harvard. His career began at the University of Warwick

University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...

, where he was appointed Registrar (academic)

Registrar (academic)

In education outside the United Kingdom, a registrar or registrary is an official in an academic institution who handles student records. Typically, a registrar processes registration requests, schedules classes and maintains class lists, enforces the rules for entering or leaving classes, and...

, moving to Birmingham University in 2004. He is a non-executive director of Graduate Prospects and a member of both the national Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff and the Advisory Board of the Institute for Higher Education Policy.