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R. Merfyn Jones
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born January 1948) is a Welsh
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
and
broadcaster, was
vice-chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
of
Bangor University (2004 to 2010) and a
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
(2003 to 2006).
He grew up and still lives in
Gwynedd, Wales.
Academic career
Jones has specialized as an historian in modern and contemporary
Welsh history, and has made several TV
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
in this area. He has a particular interest is the history of the process of
devolution (the establishing and development of the
National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
) in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
His books and articles include ''The North Wales Quarrymen 1874-1922'' (University of Wales Press, 1981), which was awarded the
Welsh Arts Council
The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.
Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...
prize for literature. This book provides an analysis of the economic importance of slate extraction to North
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and also of the rise of trades unionism in the area (and covers the industrial dispute at
Penrhyn Quarry
The Penrhyn quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda, North Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has ...
of 1900–03).
He graduated at the
University of Sussex
, mottoeng = Be Still and Know
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £14.4 million (2020)
, budget = £319.6 million (2019–20)
, chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar
, vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil
, ...
and the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
. He lectured at the
University of Wales, Swansea
Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...
and was a
lecturer, head of department and
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
.
Vice Chancellor of Bangor University
Jones joined the University of Wales, Bangor in 1990 as a
senior lecturer
Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this conce ...
in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
. He became head of the School of Welsh History there in 1993 and was appointed to the Chair in Welsh History in 1994. He then served as Dean of Arts and Social Sciences for two years before being appointed
Pro-Vice Chancellor in 1998. He was acting vice-chancellor in 2003.
Jones was appointed as the sixth vice-chancellor of the University of Wales, Bangor in 2004. In September 2007 he oversaw the change in Bangor's status, from a College of the University of Wales to a University in its own right, renamed as
Bangor University. In his capacity as Vice-Chancellor, Jones was the Welsh Supernumerary Fellow of
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...
in the academic year 2004–05. Jones retired as Vice Chancellor in 2010.
First Chairman of
Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
Before deleting any text please note that some of the text contained within this article has been authorised for use on a CC-BY-SA licence. An email has been received by Robin Owain (Wikimedia UK) from Ioan Matthews to that effect.
The (meaning: ...
Jones was appointed as the first Chair of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (the National Welsh Language College). The Coleg, which launched on 1 April 2011, works with the Welsh universities to increase opportunities for students to study through the Welsh language; and is a major component of the Welsh Assembly Government's strategy for higher education, 'For our Future'.
Broadcasting
Jones regularly broadcasts on the BBC and
S4C. His broadcasts include broadcasts in the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
.
In 2000, Jones presented a 13-part television series for
S4C, entitled ''Cymru 2000.'' This was a history of 20th century Wales, which featured over 200 interviews with notable figures from Wales' recent history. He was also responsible for writing the book of the same name that accompanied the series. ''Cymru 2000'' received a
BAFTA Cymru award in 2000 for "outstanding contribution to history on television".
This was followed by several other television series, including 'Y Streic Fawr', 'Llafur Gwlad' and 'I'r Gad!'.
BBC Governor
On 1 January 2003, Jones was appointed to the
Board of Governors of the BBC
The Board of Governors of the BBC was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It consisted of twelve people who together regulated the BBC and represented the interests of the public. It existed from 1927 until it was replace ...
as BBC National Governor for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. He held that position until the end of 2006 when the BBC's Board of Governors was dissolved and replaced by the
BBC Trust
The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
.
Jones was a member of the nominations committee established to appoint the new Director General of the BBC. According to Greg Dyke (BBC director-general), Jones was one of the governors responsible for his departure after the Hutton report 'exonerated' Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell from 'sexing up', exaggerating, the threat of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction
ef: Greg Dyke, Inside Story, p. 318
Chair of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Jones was chair of the
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, a
local Health Board
NHS Wales has been organised into administrative units known as Local Health Boards (LHB, ) since 2003. Following a reorganisation in 2009, there are currently seven local health boards in Wales. Local health boards may use an operational name ...
responsible for health services for around 694,000 people across
north Wales
North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...
. He took up his appointment on 1 April 2013. A report in 2013 by the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and the Wales Audit Office found that leadership at the board was "fundamentally compromised" because the relationship between the chairman and chief executive had broken down. Following this report, Jones stood down as Chair of the Health Board; the Chief Executive, Mary Burrows, also resigned.
Honours
Jones was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2011 Birthday Honours for services to higher education in Wales.
Jones is an Honorary Fellow of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in recognition of his contribution to Welsh medium higher education. In addition to his contribution as one of the most prominent historians of modern Wales, the Coleg also cites his achievements as Chairman of the Coleg: he "played an integral part in establishing the Coleg as a national body. He emphasized particularly the principle that every academic discipline can be taught and debated through the medium of Welsh, a principle that is now central to the Coleg’s academic strategy."
In July 2016, Jones was made an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University for services to the University.
Bangor University Honorary Fellowships, 2016
Bangor University 11 July 2016 retrieved 22 October 2017
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Merfyn
BBC Governors
Alumni of the University of Warwick
Alumni of the University of Sussex
Academics of Swansea University
Academics of the University of Liverpool
Academics of Bangor University
Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford
Living people
Welsh scholars and academics
1948 births
Date of birth missing (living people)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire