Michael Worton
Encyclopedia
Michael Worton is Vice-Provost
(International) of University College London
(UCL), appointed 1998. He holds this appointment concurrently with the university's Fielden Professorship of French Language and Literature.
Worton is both an internationally regarded scholar of French literature and of literary criticism, and also a highly respected higher education policy maker, with extensive advisory experience at home and abroad. In 2009, he wrote Review of Modern Foreign Languages Provision in Higher Education in England for the UK Government, and in the same year was appointed Higher Education Adviser to the British Council.
, Zambia
, of Yorkshire father and Scottish mother. Worton's family returned to Scotland
when he was still of primary-school age, and he undertook his schooling at Sanquhar Academy and then Dumfries Academy
, going to Edinburgh University for his M.A.
and PhD
(PhD topic was The Evolution of the Poetry of René Char: 1928-45). He has lectured around the world on issues in French Literature, gender studies, painting and photography, critical theory and pedagogy. Over the past decade, he has also spoken around the world on issues in Higher Education Policy and Practice. He is also a champion for the importance of modern languages in education.
Worton continues to teach and to supervise doctoral students.
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
(International) of University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
(UCL), appointed 1998. He holds this appointment concurrently with the university's Fielden Professorship of French Language and Literature.
Worton is both an internationally regarded scholar of French literature and of literary criticism, and also a highly respected higher education policy maker, with extensive advisory experience at home and abroad. In 2009, he wrote Review of Modern Foreign Languages Provision in Higher Education in England for the UK Government, and in the same year was appointed Higher Education Adviser to the British Council.
Early life
Michael was born in LuanshyaLuanshya
Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 .Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after a prospector/explorer, William Collier, shot and killed a Roan Antelope on the banks of the Luanshya River, discovering a copper...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, of Yorkshire father and Scottish mother. Worton's family returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
when he was still of primary-school age, and he undertook his schooling at Sanquhar Academy and then Dumfries Academy
Dumfries Academy
Dumfries Academy is one of four secondary schools in the town of Dumfries in South West Scotland.-History:Dumfries Academy has existed in its present form, though not in the buildings it currently occupies, since 1804...
, going to Edinburgh University for his M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(PhD topic was The Evolution of the Poetry of René Char: 1928-45). He has lectured around the world on issues in French Literature, gender studies, painting and photography, critical theory and pedagogy. Over the past decade, he has also spoken around the world on issues in Higher Education Policy and Practice. He is also a champion for the importance of modern languages in education.
Academic career
Worton's first post (1976) was as lecturer in French at Liverpool University. He then moved to UCL (1980), initially as lecturer in French Language and literature, and successively: Senior Lecturer in French (1991); Professor of French (Personal Chair) and Dean of Faculty of Arts(1994); appointed to Fielden Chair of French Language and Literature, as well as Vice Provost - with oversight of UCL's Teaching and Learning, and the faculties of the Arts & Humanities, and Social Sciences (1998). In 2004 his Vice Provost role expanded to ‘Academic and International’..Worton continues to teach and to supervise doctoral students.
Honours
- 1998: ChevalierChevalierChevalier is a class of membership in a French Order of Chivalry or order of merit.* a member of the Ordre National du Mérite* a rank in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres* a rank in the Legion d'honneur* a member of the Order of Palmes académiques...
dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques - 2005: Promoted to Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques
- 2009: MedalMedalA medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
of Honoured Worker in Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Current Advisory Appointments
- Member, Philip Lawrence AwardsPhilip Lawrence AwardsThe Philip Lawrence Awards were created in the UK in 1997 to reward outstanding achievements in good citizenship by young people aged 11 to 20...
Judging Panel | Member, European Science Foundation Steering Committee, 'European Reference Index for the Humanities’ | Member, Higher Education Panel of the Church of England Board of Education | Chair, HEFCE/AHRC Expert Group on Research Metrics | Board Member, CreateKX | Member, Prime Minister's Initiative Higher Education Advisory Group | Member, QAA Development Group for Masters Level Benchmarking | Member, British Council,Education and Governance Advisory Group | Member, Research Information Network (RIN) Research and Libraries Working Group | 2007--: Director and Trustee, CARA (Council for Assisting Refugee Academics) | Member, Comité International de Consultation en Sciences Humaines et Sociales de l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Council) | Centre for Education and Industry Diploma in Humanities Steering Group | Appointed Higher Education Adviser to the British Council | Member of the Advisory Board for the Programme of Artistic Research of the Austrian Research Council (FWF).
Recent Scholarship
- Typical Men (Djanogly Art Gallery, Nottingham 2001). Catalogue of the exhibition Typical Men. Recent Photography of the Male Body by Men (see below under ‘Exhibition’).
- Women's Writing in Contemporary France: New Writers, New Literatures in the 1990s , edited and introduced by Gill Rye andMichael Worton (Manchester University Press, 2002).
- National Healths: Gender, Sexuality and Health in a Cross-cultural Context, edited by Michael Worton with Nana Wilson-Tagoe (UCL Press, 2004)
- Liberating Learning: Widening Participation, edited by Michael Worton and Patrick Derham ( University of Buckingham Press, 2010)
External links
- Professor Michael Worton, UCL website, accessed 1 June 2010