Stephen Jolly

Stephen Jolly

Academic background
Alma mater	Christ's College, Cambridge
Academic work
Sub discipline	Communications, linguistic science, information operations, psyops
Institutions	Ministry of Defence Cabinet Office University of Cambridge Cambridge Judge Business School Clare College, Cambridge

The Much Hon. (Stephen) William Jolly (born 1960), commonly known as "Stephen Jolly", has been a Fellow and Bye-Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge since 2005. A former Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, he served two distinguished Vice-Chancellors – Professor Dame Alison Richard DBE and Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz FRS – as the University's Director of External Affairs & Communications between 2005–13. Jolly is the founder Chairman of the Cambridge alumni group, Clare in Whitehall but is perhaps best known for his academic research on the history of propaganda as well as his work reforming British military influence operations.

A linguistic scientist, Jolly was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge where he took First Class Honours in English, was a Bachelor Scholar and College Prizeman; the University of Sussex; and the University of British Columbia, Canada, where he held both a Commonwealth Scholarship and a Killam Fellowship in the late 1980s.

Jolly has a research interest in black propaganda and has published extensively on the topic, with particular reference to the work of British propagandist Sefton Delmer. His research was cited as evidence by the House of Commons Defence Select Committee in its Third Report on Information Operations in 2003–4. Jolly is a member of the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar and associate of former official MI5 historian, Professor Christopher Andrew.