Andrew Philip McDowell Orchard (born 27 February 1964) is a scholar and teacher of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

, Norse and

Celtic literature Celtic literature is the body of literature written in one of the Celtic languages, or else it may popularly refer to literature written in other languages which is based on the traditional narratives found in early Celtic literature. Backgrou ...

. He is

Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon The Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, until 1916 known as the Rawlinsonian Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, was established by Richard Rawlinson of St John's College, Oxford, in 1795. The Chair is associated with Pembroke Colleg ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

and a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named aft ...

. He was previously Provost of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, from 2007 to 2013. In 2021, claims of sexual harassment and assault by Orchard were publicized, which were alleged at universities where he has worked, including the University of Cambridge and the University of Toronto.

Biography

Orchard was born on 27 February 1964 in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, England. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, then an all-boys

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

in London. His undergraduate degree was undertaken at both

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, where he read Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic from 1983, and Exeter College, Oxford, where he read English from 1985. He graduated in 1987 Bachelor of Arts (BA), which was later promoted to

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. Tho ...

(MA). He then undertook postgraduate study at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, completing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1990. His

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was titled ''The poetic art of Aldhelm''. In 1991, Orchard married Clare Brind in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Academic career

In 1990, Orchard was a

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pr ...

. He then returned to the

upon completion of his postgraduate degree. In 1991, he became a fellow of

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

and a lecturer in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. He served as Emmanuel College's Admissions Tutor for Arts. In 1999, he was appointed

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

and Head of the

Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic The Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNC or, informally, ASNaC) is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge, and focuses on the history, material culture, languages and literatures of the various peoples who i ...

. In 2000, he moved to the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

where he took up the post of Professor of English and Medieval Studies. In 2001, he became the associate director of the Centre for Medieval Studies and an Associate of

Trinity College, Toronto Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Ang ...

. He became a fellow of Trinity college in 2003, and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies in 2004. He was appointed the 14th Provost of Trinity College, University of Toronto in 2007. In 2013, he moved to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

to take up the post of

and became a fellow of Pembroke College.

Sexual harassment allegations

In 2021, Al Jazeera Investigates published their findings following a two-year investigation of Orchard's 'personal reputation as a sexual predator' and alleged alcohol abuse in the context of his work supervising graduate students at Cambridge University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Oxford. The I-Unit investigation found that Orchard had a history of allegedly sexually harassing and initiating inappropriate sexual relationships with female PhD students, and intimidating and bullying students and colleagues from his time teaching at the University of Cambridge in the 1990s. According to the article, Orchard and his lawyers dispute I-Unit's findings. Following up on Orchard's time at the University of Toronto from 2007 to 2013, the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'' published their findings that the university had received at least two formal complaints against him regarding sexual advances and inappropriate touching during his time as Provost and Vice-Chancellor at

. Their report alleged that the victims faced repercussions whereas Orchard himself did not. In October 2021, the University of Toronto committed to removing Orchard's portrait from Trinity College in response to his alleged pattern of sexual harassment. At Oxford, while reporting that none of the allegations reported by Al Jazeera pertained to Pembroke College students and that the college had received no complaints concerning Orchard's conduct, Pembroke College announced that Orchard had voluntarily withdrawn from the college's governing body and that "for the foreseeable future he will not attend College for social or academic functions". Orchard's teaching duties, however, were managed by the English Faculty; its board announced that, by mutual agreement, Orchard was not at that time teaching undergraduate or master's level students, and that individual discussions regarding the supervision of research students were taking place.Madeleine Ross,
Orchard Withdraws from Pembroke Governing Body
, ''The Oxford Student'' (29 October 2021). In January 2022, the ''Toronto Star'' reported that "in the next few weeks, xford Universitywill meet students and faculties where concerns have been raised and 'explore areas where improvements can be made'." Following a petition to the Oxford-based journal ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner ...

'' to remove Orchard from its editorial board, his name was removed from the masthead on 30 November 2021.Olivia Bowden, "U of T students and faculty accused him of sexual misconduct for years. So how did Andy Orchard keep getting promoted?", ''The Star'' (9 January 2022). He was also removed from the editorial board of the journal ''

Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...

'' by Cambridge University Press.

Honours

Orchard was awarded the Pilkington Prize for excellence in teaching from the University of Cambridge in 1998. In 2012, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC). On 16 July 2015, he was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # ...

(FBA). In 2019 he delivered the British Academy's Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture.

Reception

In 2004, Hugh Magennis described ''A Critical Companion to Beowulf'' as 'something of a masterclass in the reading of Beowulf'. Josephine Bloomfield thought that the book would 'be important to ''Beowulf'' study for years to come, and a stimulus to healthy interchange and argument for even longer'. In 2004

Elaine Treharne Elaine Treharne was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, in 1964. She is a Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Roberta Bowman Denning Professor of the Humanities, Professor of English, Courtesy Professor of German Studies and ...

described the same work as 'brilliant, comprehensive and inspiring'. Reviewing the same work, Daniel Anlezark characterised Orchard as 'one of the outstanding ''Beowulf'' scholars of the moment'.Daniel Anlezark, review of ''A Critical Companion to "Beowulf"'', ''Medium Ævum'', 72 (2003), 320-21 (p. 321), .

Works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard, Andy Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Living people Rawlinson and Bosworth Professors of Anglo-Saxon University of Toronto faculty Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Anglo-Saxon studies scholars 1964 births Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People educated at University College School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Translators of the Poetic Edda