Dame Elizabeth Anne Loosemore Esteve-Coll (née Kingdon; born 14 October 1938) is a British academic and former museum director and librarian.

Career

The daughter of a Darlington bank clerk, she was educated at Darlington High School, Trinity College, Dublin and

Birkbeck College, London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. Esteve-Coll was head of learning resources at Kingston Polytechnic from 1977, and in 1982 became the first female director of the University of Surrey Library. Esteve-Coll was the first woman director of a national arts collection when she was appointed as director of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in 1987, succeeding Sir Roy Strong. She resigned in 1994, midway through her second term as director, to take up the Vice-Chancellorship of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. Dr. Alan Borg succeeded her as its new director, taking the post on 1 October 1995. Esteve-Coll served as Vice-Chancellor of the

from 1995 to 1997, but was forced to step down after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She said at the time: ''"It is with real sadness and disappointment that I must acknowledge that I am not able to lead the university into the 21st century."'' She served as Chancellor of

University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 � ...

for seven years, as well as being a Trustee of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures since its foundation in Jan 1999.

Honours

Esteve-Coll received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in November 2005 in recognition of her ''"outstanding contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture and studies to British people"''. In November 2008, she was presented with an honorary doctorate of arts and the title chancellor emerita during her farewell ceremony at Lincoln Cathedral.

Bibliography

* ''Books by My Bedside'' (1989)

References

External links

IFLA Section of Art Libraries Annual Report — September 1997 – August 1998

Elizabeth Esteve-Coll on Desert Island Discs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esteve-Coll, Elizabeth 1938 births Living people English writers Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Directors of the Victoria and Albert Museum Vice-Chancellors of the University of East Anglia People associated with the University of Lincoln People from Darlington People with multiple sclerosis People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum English librarians British women librarians Women museum directors