Derek Birley
Encyclopedia
Sir Derek Birley was an English educator and writer who had a strong interest in sport, especially cricket
.
He was educated at grammar school
in Hemsworth
, West Yorkshire
, and at Queens' College, Cambridge
University.
He wrote two cricket books: The Willow Wand (1979) and the classic A Social History of English Cricket (1999), (which won the Cricket Society
's Book of the Year Award and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
in 1999).
He was the founding Rector
of Ulster College (later Ulster Polytechnic), and later the founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster
. When he retired from education in 1991, he had overseen two decades of massive increases in provision of higher education
in Northern Ireland
.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
He was educated at grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Hemsworth
Hemsworth
Hemsworth is a small town and civil parish on the edge of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the City of Wakefield, and has a population of 13,311....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, and at Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
University.
He wrote two cricket books: The Willow Wand (1979) and the classic A Social History of English Cricket (1999), (which won the Cricket Society
The Cricket Society
The Cricket Society is a charitable organisation founded in 1945 as the Society of Cricket Statisticians at Great Scotland Yard, London. It has grown steadily to be the largest body of its kind in the cricket world...
's Book of the Year Award and the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
William Hill Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...
in 1999).
He was the founding Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Ulster College (later Ulster Polytechnic), and later the founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
. When he retired from education in 1991, he had overseen two decades of massive increases in provision of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
External links
- Derek Birley's Obituary, The Guardian
- Death Of Sir Derek Birley, University of Ulster News Release
- University of Ulster Opens £6.5m Sir Derek Birley Learning Resource Centre, 11 October 2002 , News Release