The UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences, the British Academy is a Fellowship of over 1600 of the leading minds in these subjects from the UK and overseas. This year Professor Rumbold joins a cohort of 85 Fellows – 52 UK Fellows, 29 Corresponding Fellows and 4 Honorary Fellows – who have been elected to the Fellowship.
Professor Rumbold said: “It’s an honour and delight to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. My research focuses on trying to understand the poetry and prose of the early eighteenth century and share it with others, particularly through the practice of scholarly editing, so it’s deeply encouraging to see the value set on such work. I’d like to thank my colleagues at the University of Birmingham for their support and inspiration.”
It’s an honour and delight to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. My research focuses on trying to understand the poetry and prose of the early eighteenth century and share it with others, particularly through the practice of scholarly editing, so it’s deeply encouraging to see the value set on such work.
Professor Valerie Rumbold
Professor Tom Lockwood, Head of the School of English, Drama and Creative Studies, said: “Generations of students and colleagues have learned with and from Valerie’s exemplary scholarship, her skill as a teacher, and her kindness and engagement as a member of our School community. Her election as a Fellow of the British Academy is wonderful news, and extremely well-deserved."
Founded in 1902, the British Academy’s current Fellows include the classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian Professor Sir Simon Schama and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill, while previous Fellows include Dame Frances Yates, Sir Winston Churchill, Seamus Heaney and Beatrice Webb. The Academy is also a funding body for research, nationally and internationally, and a forum for debate and engagement.
Welcoming the Fellows, the new President of the British Academy, Professor Julia Black, said: "I am delighted to welcome these distinguished and pioneering scholars to our Fellowship. I am equally delighted that we have so many new female Fellows. While I hope this means that the tide is finally turning for women in academia, there is still much to do to make the research world diverse and open to all. With our new Fellows’ expertise and insights, the Academy is better placed than ever to open new seams of knowledge and understanding and to enhance the wellbeing and prosperity of societies around the world. I congratulate each of our new Fellows on their achievement and look forward to working with them.”
