Oxford Brookes University theological activities on the site, although theology was withdrawn in 2015. In October 2003, Oxford Brookes University became the first university in the world to be awarded Fairtrade status. Baroness Kennedy served as the university's Chancellor from 1993 to 2001. In 2007, Graham Upton retired as Vice-Chancellor and his successor, Janet Beer, was inaugurated in September. In July 2008, Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, replaced Jon Snow as chancellor of the university. In March 2015 Alistair Fitt was inaugurated as Vice-Chancellor, replacing Janet Beer. Dame Katherine Grainger British Olympic rower also replaced Shami Chakrabarti as Chancellor. Katherine is Britain's most
Yitzhaq Shami until her suicide. During his studies, he met other young writers, among them Yehuda Burla. While living in Jerusalem, he began dressing in Western clothing and was exposed to Zionism, meeting future icons of the Zionist movement such as future Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and Hebrew poet Shmuel Yosef Agnon. He is also thought to have attracted the attention of future Israeli founding Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion as an expert on Arab society. After completing his studies, Shami began teaching. He initially taught in the Zionist agricultural settlements of Gedera and Mazkeret Batya before moving to Damascus to work as