Michael John Worton (born 1951) is a British scholar of French. He was Vice-Provost (International) of

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(UCL), appointed 1998. He held this appointment concurrently with the university's Fielden Professorship of French Language and Literature.Michael Worton, UCL website <>. Retrieved 1 June 2010 He retired at the end of September 2013. In 2009, he wrote ''Review of Modern Foreign Languages Provision in Higher Education in England'' for the UK Government, and in the same year was appointed Higher Education Advisor to the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

Early life and education

Worton was born in

Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census). Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after two prospector/explorer, William Collier shot and killed a Roan A ...

, Northern Rhodesia (now

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

), of a Yorkshire father and Scottish mother. Worton's family returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

when he was still of primary-school age, and he was educated at Sanquhar Academy and then

Dumfries Academy Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

for his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degrees. He has lectured around the world on issues in French Literature, gender studies, painting and photography, critical theory and pedagogy. Over the past decade, he has also spoken around the world on issues in Higher Education Policy and Practice. He is also a champion for the importance of modern languages in education.

Career

Worton's first post (1976) was as lecturer in French 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 ...

. He then moved to UCL (1980), initially as lecturer in French Language and literature, and successively: Senior Lecturer in French (1991); Professor of French (Personal Chair) and

Dean of Faculty Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...

of Arts(1994); appointed to Fielden Chair of French Language and Literature, as well as Vice Provost – with oversight of UCL's Teaching and Learning, and the faculties of the Arts & Humanities, and Social Sciences (1998). In 2004 his Vice Provost role expanded to 'Academic and International'.

Honours and awards

Worton 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

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for services to higher education. * 1998:

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

dans l'

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

* 2005: Promoted to Officier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques * 2009: Medal of Honoured Worker in Education of the

Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekis ...

* 25 November 2010: President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

; "for his leadership in addressing 'the languages deficit' among British university students"

Advisory appointments

* Member, Philip Lawrence Awards Judging Panel , Member, European Science Foundation Steering Committee, 'European Reference Index for the Humanities' , Member, Higher Education Panel of the Church of England Board of Education , Chair, HEFCE/AHRC Expert Group on Research Metrics , board member, CreateKX , Member, Prime Minister's Initiative Higher Education Advisory Group , Member, QAA Development Group for Masters Level Benchmarking , Member, British Council, Education and Governance Advisory Group , Member, Research Information Network (RIN) Research and Libraries Working Group , 2007--: Director and Trustee, CARA (Council for Assisting Refugee Academics) , Member, Comité International de Consultation en Sciences Humaines et Sociales de l'Agence Nationale de la Recherche (French National Research Council) , Centre for Education and Industry Diploma in Humanities Steering Group , Appointed Higher Education Advisor to the British Council , Member of the Advisory Board for the Programme of Artistic Research of the Austrian Research Council (FWF).

Publications

* ''Typical Men'' * ''Women's Writing in Contemporary France: New Writers, New Literatures in the 1990s'' * ''National Healths: Gender, Sexuality and Health in a Cross-cultural Context' * ''Liberating Learning: Widening Participation''edited by Michael Worton and Patrick Derham ( University of Buckingham Press, 2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worton, Michael 1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of University College London Historians of French literature Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Linguists People from Luanshya Academics of the University of Liverpool Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy)