Registrar of the University of Oxford
The Registrar of the University of Oxford is one of the senior officials of
The university regards the role as having a 550-year history, as there are references in the records to officials carrying out the duties of a registrar in the 15th century, though the list of Registrars published by the university in the 19th century begins with John London, who died in 1508. As the administrative requirements of the university have increased, so have the number of staff employed in the university administration under the Registrar. The university decided to give the role increased importance after this was recommended by a commission in 1922.
As of 2015[update], there are 16 administrative sections for the university, and the heads of 12 of these report to the Registrar. About 4,000 of the university's staff of approximately 8,000 are under the Registrar's control. The current Registrar, Gill Aitken, took up her duties in September 2018. The previous Registrar, Ewan McKendrick, held the post from 1 January 2011; he is also Professor of English Private Law and was previously one of the university's Pro-Vice-Chancellors. His predecessor, Julie Maxton, was the first woman to hold the position; she was previously Dean of the Law School at the University of Auckland.
History and duties
The list of former
In 1588, the Registrar had to be paid four pence by a student wishing to be admitted to the degree of
The workload of the Registrar has increased over time as the university has increased in size and complexity. In 1914, the Registry had a staff of five; there were eight staff members in 1930 and forty in 1958.
The university's statutes state that the Registrar is the "head of the central administrative services", with responsibility for "the management and professional development of their staff and for the development of other administrative support".
Registrars
In the table below, "college" indicates the
Name | Position held | Education[n 1] | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
John London | ?–08 | Not known | New College | Little is known about London: he was a Fellow of New College and died in 1508; he is not the man of the same name who was Warden of New College from 1526 to 1542.[18]
|
Ralph Barnack | 1508–17 | New College | New College | Barnack, a Vice-Chancellor of the University in 1519; he was later vicar of Adderbury in Oxfordshire and rector of Upper Clatford in Hampshire.[19]
|
Thomas Fykes | 1517–21 | New College | New College | Fykes, a |
James Turberville | 1521–24 | New College | New College | Turberville, a Elizabeth I in 1559 before being held captive in the Tower of London, where he spent most of the remainder of his life.[22]
|
William Tresham | 1524–29 | Merton College | Merton College | Tresham, a Elizabeth I for refusing to swear the required oath of supremacy.[24]
|
Robert Tayler | 1529–32 | Merton College | St Alban Hall
|
Tayler, a canon of Chichester Cathedral.[25]
|
Richard Smyth
|
1532–35 | Merton College | Merton College | Smyth, a Vice-Chancellor at the trial of Thomas Cranmer and preaching at the execution of the other two Oxford Martyrs, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley.[26]
|
Thomas Caius | 1535–52 | All Souls College | All Souls College | Caius (whose original surname was "Kay" or "Key") was made a Fellow of All Souls in 1525 and was the university's supervisor of ale in the late 1520s, among other positions.[8] He was elected Registrar in 1532, but removed from office in 1552 for negligence: it was said that he had failed to record the required matters for a year "to the great disworship of the university", and had "procured means and ways to vex and trouble the university", such that he ought to be expelled rather than take "any further profit or commodity". He refused to answer the charges against him.[6] The result of the vote led to him quitting the room in a temper and punching the man sent by the Vice-Chancellor to restrain him. Caius was imprisoned but was released the following day after agreeing to apologise to the university and to pay a fine of fourpence. He was appointed Master of University College in 1561. His writings included claims refuting Cambridge's assertion that it was an older university than Oxford, alleging in reply that Oxford had been founded by Alfred the Great.[6][8]
|
William Standish | 1552–79 | Magdalen College | —[n 2] | Standish, a Fellow of Magdalen from 1538 to 1552, was also auditor of the University from 1550 to 1563.[27]
|
Richard Cullen | 1579–89 | Magdalen College | Magdalen College | Cullen was a Fellow of Magdalen from 1571 to 1589.[28]
|
James Hussey | 1589–1600 | New College | Magdalen Hall
|
Hussey, a Master in Chancery and chancellor to the Bishop of Salisbury. Knighted in 1619, he died of the plague in Oxford in 1625.[29]
|
Maurice Meyricke | 1600–08 | New College | New College | Meyricke (sometimes recorded as "Merick" or "Mericke") was appointed a |
Thomas French | 1608–29 | St Edmund Hall and Magdalen College | Merton College | French Fellow of Merton in 1584. He died in 1629 and was succeeded by his son, John.[32]
|
John French | 1629–51 | St Edmund Hall and Magdalen College | Merton College | French was a Fellow of Merton from 1615 and became Registrar in 1629 after the death of his father, the previous holder of the post. He died in 1651 and was buried in Merton College Chapel.[33]
|
William Whittingham | 1651–59 | Magdalen Hall and Oriel College
|
—[n 3] | The son of a Timothy Whittingham from Holmside, County Durham, he obtained a licence, in 1640, to marry a widow called Anne Thynn in Harefield, Middlesex. His will was proved at Oxford in January 1660.[34] |
Benjamin Cooper | 1659–1701 | Merton College | —[n 4] | The son of a William Cooper from Halam, Nottinghamshire, he was Registrar for over 40 years before his death in 1701; his will was proved in Oxford in February of that year. He was succeeded by his son George.[35] |
George Cooper | 1701–37 | Merton College | —[n 5] | Succeeding his father Benjamin, who held the position for over 40 years, George held the position until his death in 1737, his will being proved in Oxford in July of that year.[36] |
Henry Fisher | 1737–61 | Jesus College | —[n 6] | Fisher, the son of a Henry Fisher from Wrexham, north Wales, held the post from 1737 until his death on 18 March 1761.[37] |
Samuel Forster | 1761–97 | Wadham College | Wadham College | Forster became a Fellow of Wadham in 1761 and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Civil Law in 1765. He was one of four brothers to study at Oxford (one was a Fellow of Balliol College); one of his sons went to Wadham, and another to Worcester College.[38]
|
John Gutch | 1797–1824 | All Souls College | All Souls College | Gutch was chaplain of All Souls from 1770 until his death in 1831; he also served as college librarian, registrar of the chancellor's court and clerk of the Oxford market. On his retirement as Registrar in 1824, he was awarded an annuity of £200 by the university. His main act of scholarship was his edition of Anthony Wood's own English-language version of his history of the university (originally written in Latin, but revised later by Wood in translation). Other publications included two volumes of miscellaneous historical material about the university.[39] |
Philip Bliss | 1824–53 | St John's College | St John's College and St Mary Hall | Bliss, an antiquarian and book collector, was appointed a Fellow of St John's in 1809 and was also junior sub-librarian at the Bodleian Library from 1822 to 1828. He was Keeper of the Archives from 1826 onwards: one writer has stated that "his penchant for accumulation seems to have impeded administrative efficiency", although adding that "his prominence and diligence in university business and his polished manners made him the embodiment of the traditions of ancien régime Oxford."[40] He was principal of St Mary Hall from 1848 until his death in the principal's lodgings in 1857. He retired as Registrar in April 1853 with a pension of £200, in advance of the Oxford University Act 1854.[40]
|
Edward Rowden | 1853–70 | New College | —[n 7] | Rowden, a Fellow of New College from 1833 to 1851, was also sub-Warden of the college in 1849. He held the position of Registrar until his death in 1870.[41]
|
Edward Turner | 1870–97 | Brasenose College and Trinity College | Brasenose College | Turner became a |
Thomas Grose | 1897–1906 | Balliol College | Queen's College | Grose, a clergyman who was a Fellow of Queen's from 1870, was elected in preference to Andrew Clark of Lincoln College on 17 June 1897. He died in February 1906.[44][45][46][47]
|
Charles Leudesdorf | 1906–24 | Worcester College | Pembroke College | Leudesdorf, a Fellow of Pembroke College from 1873, was a mathematician, teaching the subject at Pembroke until his appointment as Registrar. From 1889 to 1906, he was Secretary to the university's Boards of Faculties. He was Registrar until his death in 1924, and was regarded as an "efficient and exact" administrator, "absolutely unswerving in devotion to duty".[9][48]
|
Edwin Craig | 1924–30 | University College | Magdalen College | Craig was Demonstrator in the Electrical Laboratory at Oxford from 1905 to 1913, also serving as Assistant Registrar and Secretary to the Boards of Faculties from 1907 until 1924, when he succeeded Leudesdorf. A Fellow of Magdalen from 1918 until his death in 1930, he was the college's vice-president between 1926 and 1928; he also chaired the council of Somerville College from 1924 to 1926.[49] Lewis Richard Farnell (Vice-Chancellor 1920–1923) described him as "the best university official that I ever worked with, wise, tactful and devoted."[50]
|
Sir Douglas Veale | 1930–58 | Corpus Christi College | Corpus Christi College | After serving as an infantry officer in the First World War, Veale worked in the Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1930), and also between the university and the city of Oxford.[11]
|
Sir Folliott Sandford | 1958–72 | New College | New College | Sandford joined the Fellow of New College on his appointment as Registrar, and held both positions until retiring in 1972.[51] Harrison describes him as "unobtrusively providing expertise and continuity" and a hard worker, but one who "lacked Veale's vision and sense of proportion" and who suffered from having to try to match the standards set for the role by Veale.[52]
|
Geoffrey Caston | 1972–79 | Peterhouse, Cambridge and Harvard University | Merton College | Caston (the first Registrar not to be educated at the university) was another former civil servant, having worked in the University Grants Committee. After Oxford, he served as Secretary-General to the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals from 1979 to 1983, then as Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific from 1983 to 1992.[53]
|
Alan Dorey | 1979–98 | Pembroke College | Linacre College | Dorey was previously Assistant Registrar, Deputy Registrar (General) and Secretary of the University Chest before succeeding Caston in 1979.[54][55][56] On his retirement, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford in July 1998, in recognition of the "wise advice" that he had provided through the "rough weather" of the 18 years for which he had been Registrar.[57] The Senior Proctor at the time of Dorey's retirement said that "his studied self-effacement has made him too little-known" outside the university offices.[58][59] He is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke, his old college.[57][60] |
David Holmes | 1998–2006 | Merton College | St John's College | Holmes worked as an administrative assistant at the University of Warwick before becoming Assistant Registrar then Senior Assistant Registrar. After serving as Academic Secretary (and for a time also a Deputy Registrar) at the University of Liverpool, he was Registrar and Secretary of the University of Birmingham from 1988 to 1998.[61] He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford for his "outstanding service", overseeing the construction of various university buildings such as the Saïd Business School and tackling various financial matters that concerned Oxford.[62] |
Julie Maxton | 2006–10 | University College, London
|
University College | Maxton, the first female Registrar in Oxford's history, was previously Dean of Law at the Lord Cooke of Thorndon as "one of the brightest stars in the New Zealand legal firmament."[14][63] She left to become Executive Director of the Royal Society.[17]
|
Ewan McKendrick | 2011–18 | University of Edinburgh and Pembroke College | Lady Margaret Hall[n 8] | McKendrick taught law at Lancashire Polytechnic, the University of Essex and the London School of Economics before his first teaching position at Oxford. After five years as Professor of English Law at University College London, he was appointed Herbert Smith Professor of English Private Law at Oxford in 2000. He was appointed a Pro-Vice-Chancellor in 2006.[17][64]
|
Gill Aitken | From September 2018 | St Hugh's College | Aitken graduated in 1982 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, qualifying later as a lawyer. She joined the Civil Service in 1993 and worked for DWP, DEFRA, and the Department of Health in a variety of legal and corporate roles.[66] From 2014 until her appointment at Oxford, she was the Director General and General Counsel at HM Revenue and Customs.[67] |
See also
- Registrary, the equivalent position at the University of Cambridge
Notes
- ^ At the University of Oxford, unless otherwise indicated
- ^ Standish is not recorded as holding a college appointment or fellowship after 1552.[27]
- ^ Whittingham is not recorded as holding a college appointment fellowship.[34]
- ^ Benjamin Cooper is not recorded as holding a college appointment or fellowship.[35]
- ^ George Cooper is not recorded as holding a college appointment or fellowship.[36]
- ^ Fisher is not recorded as holding a college appointment or fellowship.[37]
- ^ Rowden is not recorded as holding a college appointment or fellowship after 1851.[41]
References
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-85506-843-8. Cited in references as Foster, 1500–1714.
- ISBN 0-19-822974-7.
Citations
- ^ a b c "Statutes and Regulations of the University of Oxford: Registrar and other Officials". University of Oxford. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ a b c "About UAS". University of Oxford. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ a b c The historical register of the University of Oxford : being a supplement to the Oxford University calendar, with an alphabetical record of University honours and distinctions completed to the end of Trinity term 1888. Oxford University Press. 1888. p. 44.
- ^ "Registrar to step down at end of 2010". University of Oxford. 19 February 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
Dr Maxton became the first female Registrar in the 550-year history of the role at Oxford when she took up her current post in February 2006.
- ^ a b Mallet, Charles (1968) [1924]. The History of the University of Oxford Volume I: The Mediaeval University and the Colleges founded in the Middle Ages. Barnes and Noble. p. 327.
- ^ ISBN 9781406743395.
- ^ Mallet, Charles (1968) [1924]. The History of the University of Oxford Volume II: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Barnes and Noble. p. 129.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 July 2010. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ^ a b c Harrison, p. 689.
- ^ a b Harrison, p. 695.
- ^ a b c d Williams, E. T.; Judge, H. G. (October 2009). "Veale, Sir Douglas (1891–1973)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 August 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Harrison, p. 707.
- ^ Harrison, p. 708.
- ^ a b MacLeod, Donald (12 September 2006). "Julie Maxton: Marathon woman". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Role and responsibilities of the Registrar". University of Oxford. 12 June 1997. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ^ "In register". Oxford Today. 18 (3 (Trinity)). University of Oxford. 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ a b c "New Registrar appointed". University of Oxford. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 84: "London, John"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 73: "Barnack, Ralph"
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 541: "Fykes, Thomas"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1518: "Turberville, James"
- ^ Orme, Nicholas (October 2006). "Turberville, James (1494–1570?)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 July 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1508: "Tresham, William"
- ^ Gibbs, Gary G. (September 2004). "Tresham, William (1495–1569)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 July 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1462: "Tayler, Robert "
- ^ Löwe, J. Andreas (September 2004). "Smyth , Richard (1499/1500–1563)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 July 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1407: "Standish, William"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 361: "Cullen, Richard"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 776: "Hussey, (Sir) James (Husee)"
- ^ Allen, Brigid (1998). "The Early History of Jesus College, Oxford 1571–1603" (PDF). Oxoniensia. LXIII. Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society: 117. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1006: "Meyrick, Maurice (Mericke)"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 535: "French, Thomas"
- ^ Foster, 1500–1714, p. 534: "French, John"
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 1624: "Whittingham, William"
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 324: "Cooper, Benjamin"
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 324: "Cooper, George"
- ^ a b Foster, 1500–1714, p. 500: "Fisher, Henry"
- Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ Crossley, Alan (September 2004). "Gutch, John (1746–1831)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 August 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ a b Bell, Alan (September 2004). "Bliss, Philip (1787–1857)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 4 August 2010. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ "University Intelligence. Oxford, March 29". The Times. No. 26, 712. London. 31 March 1870. col B, p. 10.
- ^ a b "University Intelligence: Oxford, May 24". The Times. No. 35, 212. London. 25 May 1897. col D, p. 12.
- ^ "University Intelligence: Oxford, June 17". The Times. No. 35, 233. London. 18 June 1897. col B, p. 9.
- Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- ^ "University Intelligence. Oxford, Feb. 13". The Times. No. 37, 943. London. 14 February 1906. col A, p. 8.
- ^ "Leudesdorf, Charles". Who Was Who 1920–2008. Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Craig, Edwin Stewart". Who Was Who 1920–2008. Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Harrison, p. 690
- ^ "Sandford, Sir Folliott Herbert". Who Was Who 1920–2008. Oxford University Press. December 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Harrison, p. 709
- ^ "Caston, Geoffrey Kemp". Who's Who 2010. Oxford University Press. November 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Archive collection: Papers of Sir George Lindor Brown". Royal Society. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ Oxford University Calendar 1974–1975. Oxford University Press. p. 4.
- ^ "University News". The Times. No. 38, 580. London. 20 June 1979. col B, p. 16.
- ^ a b "Encaenia 1998: Speeches by the Public Orator – Dr A.J. Dorey". Oxford University Gazette. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Oration by the Senior Proctor". Oxford University Gazette. University of Oxford. 19 March 1998. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "University News". The Times. No. 38, 692. London. 29 October 1978. col D, p. 14.
- ISBN 978-0-19-951181-5.
- ^ "Holmes, David Robert". Who's Who 2010. Oxford University Press. November 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Encaenia 2006: Speeches by the Public Orator – Mr David Holmes". Oxford University Gazette. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Dr Julie Maxton". Saïd Business School. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ a b "McKendrick, Prof. Ewan Gordon". Who's Who 2010. Oxford University Press. November 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ "Prof Ewan McKendrick". Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ "HMRC's top lawyer to leave department for new role at Oxford University". GOV.UK. HM Revenue and Customs. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Congratulations to Gill Aitken on her appointment as Registrar of the University of Oxford". St Hugh's College, Oxford. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.