Elisabeth Kendall is the President of Girton College at the University of Cambridge. Previously, she held positions at Oxford University, Edinburgh University, and Harvard University, and served as Director of a UK government-sponsored center aimed at building Arabic-based research expertise.

Her current research focuses on the cultural production of militant jihad groups and on the conflict in Yemen and the broader Middle East, where she has spent significant time on the ground. She has lectured at government, military, and scholarly institutions all around the world, and is a frequent contributor to international television and print media. She sits on a broad variety of international boards.

Dr. Kendall has authored and edited several works on Arabic and Islamic literature, language, culture, and politics, and is currently working on a new book, Rock Stars of Jihad.

She was elected as an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College at Oxford University in 2022 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow in 2024.