Auriol Hazel Dawn Stevens (born 4 November 1940) is a British journalist, and former editor of the '' Times Higher Education Supplement'', the leading national publication for UK universities.

Early life

She was the daughter of Captain Barry Stevens of the Royal Navy, growing up in Bishop's Waltham. She attended Somerville College, Oxford.

Career

From 1962 to 1972 she was a freelance journalist, often writing for ''The Guardian''. From 1972 to 1978 she worked for the Times Education Supplement, becoming deputy editor. From 1978 to 1983 she was an education correspondent for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''. From 1983 to 1986 she was a presenter on the political television series '' A Week in Politics'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. From 1986 to 1992 she was director of the Universities Information Unit of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (now Universities UK).

''Times Higher Education Supplement''

She was editor of the '' Times Higher Education Supplement'' from 1992 to 2002. She replaced Sir Peter Scott, who became professor of education at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She left ''The Times'' at the end of May 2002. She is on the Ethics Committee of the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

.Research & Enterprise Office
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Personal life

She married Professor Hugh Stephenson on 10 August 1962 at Chelsea Old Church; they divorced in 1987 and have two sons and a daughter. Her first husband was editor of the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' from 1982 to 1986 and professor of journalism at

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

, and son of Sir Hugh Stephenson, and brother of Jonathan Stephenson, the chairman from 1995 to 1998 of the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

. She married John Ashworth on 23 July 1988. She lives in

Wivenhoe Wivenhoe ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Colchester, Colchester district, in north-eastern Essex, England, approximately south-east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the Riv ...

in north-east

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Publications

* ''Clever Children in Comprehensive Schools'', 1978, Penguin Books, * ''The State of the Universities'', 1991 * ''Women in the Media'', 1998

References

External links

BFI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Auriol 1940 births Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford British magazine editors British women journalists Channel 4 people People associated with the University of Essex People from Bishop's Waltham People from Wivenhoe The Observer people Living people British women magazine editors