My role
The University was founded on the principle of education for all, and I want to do whatever I can to ensure that we live up to that high ideal as we advance towards our third century of operation.
As Head of College I am responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership for this vibrant community. Liberal Arts and Sciences at Westminster is at the forefront of learning by any measure. It is a great pleasure for me to work with colleagues here, building on our strengths to enhance the College’s reputation and performance.
As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research it is my privilege to oversee a community of researchers who are amongst the most innovative and creative in the world. Supported by senior academics across the University and some fantastic colleagues in our professional services, it is my job to ensure that our best researchers flourish, our research partnerships grow and that more and more people reap the benefit of our insights and discoveries.
The various disciplines that make up the Liberal Arts and Sciences at Westminster allow us to investigate human behaviour and interaction holistically, and understanding that is something from which we all benefit. It doesn’t matter at what age someone’s academic journey begins, where they started from or how far along that journey they want to go. My desire, shared by my College colleagues, is to allow as many as possible to have an opportunity to make the world a better place through such knowledge and understanding.
Background
My own academic background is a diverse one in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities. Undergraduate studies in English and Modern Languages at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where I was an organ scholar, led to postgraduate work at Cambridge in Linguistics and a PhD on the standardization of Norwegian.
Before joining the University of Westminster in February 2016 I worked at the University of Sheffield, where I was Professor of the History of Linguistics from 2003 and successively Head of English Language and Linguistics and Director of Research and Innovation for the Arts and Humanities.
Research
My research interests include language policy-making and planning, and the history of Linguistics.
My most recent research includes a project on the changing status of English across Europe funded by the Leverhulme Trust, a project exploring mass migration from Norway to America in the 19th century using virtual world technology funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and biographies of leading 19th-century linguists funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy.
External roles
I am a fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and a strategic reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. I am President of the UK society for the History of Linguistics (the Henry Sweet Society) and co-editor of the journal Language and History.