Sir Martin Best Harris, (born 28 June 1944) is a British academic and former University Vice-Chancellor.

Life and career

He was born at Ruabon, Wales, the son of William Best Harris, afterwards City Librarian of Plymouth, and educated at

Devonport High School for Boys Devonport High School for Boys is a grammar school and academy, for boys aged 11 to 18, in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has around 1,135 pupils. Its catchment area includes southwest Devon and southeast Cornwall as well as Plymouth. Pupils are ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, at

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 ...

and at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

. He began his academic career at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

in 1967, where he lectured in French Linguistics. He spent fifteen years at the University of Salford as a Senior Lecturer, Professor of Linguistics, Dean and, later, Pro-Vice-Chancellor. From 1984 to 1987 he was a member of the University Grants Committee. His first appointment as Vice-Chancellor was at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

in 1987, where he succeeded the founding Vice-Chancellor, Albert Sloman. His most prominent academic appointment was Vice-Chancellor of the

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

from 1992 until its dissolution in the formation of the new

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in 2004. During his time in Manchester he also at various times Chairman of both the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (now UUK), and of its Health Committee, a member of the

Commission for Health Improvement The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom from 2001 until 2004, when its functions were subsumed by the Healthcare Commission. CHI was established by ...

and a member of the Department of Health – Department for Education and Skills Strategic Learning and Research Advisory Group: StLAR, and Chair of the Clinical Academic Staff Advisory Group of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. Harris' appointments since retirement from the University of Manchester include Deputy Chairmanship of the

North West Development Agency The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) was the regional development agency for the North West England region and was a non-departmental public body.NWDA Who We Are/ref> It was abolished on 31 March 2012. The Agency was responsible for ...

2002–2008, Director of Fair Access at the

Office for Fair Access The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) was an independent public body in England that supported the Director of Fair Access to Higher Education in his or her work that was intended to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education. It approve ...

(OFFA) 2004–2012, and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

between 2005 and 2009. He became President of

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

in 2008 and stepped down in 2013.

Books

*Martin Harris (1978) ''The Evolution of French Syntax. A Comparative Approach.'' London: Longman. *

Nigel Vincent Nigel Vincent is a British linguist. He is Professor Emeritus of General and Romance Linguistics at the University of Manchester. He is best known for his work on morphology, syntax, and historical linguistics, with particular focus on the Romanc ...

& Martin Harris (eds) (1982) ''Studies in the Romance Verb: Essays Offered to Joe Cremona on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday.'' London: Croom Helm. *Martin Harris &

(eds) (1988) ''The Romance Languages.'' London: Croom Helm. (2nd ed. London: Taylor & Francis, 1997).

Past positions

*Vice-Chancellor of the

from 1987 to 1992. *Vice-Chancellor of the

from 1992 until 2004. *Chairman of review of graduate education in England and Wales (the Harris Report) 1995-96. *Chairman of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group 1996. *Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP), now

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

, from 1997 until 1999. *Founding Chair of the

North West Universities Association The North West Universities Association (NWUA) is a representative body in the North West of England, intended to advance the development of the thirteen higher education establishments. Role The primary aim of the NWUA is to act as an organisa ...

1999–2001. *Chairman of a review of university careers services for the Department for Education and Skills 2000. *Commissioner for Health Improvement 1999–2002. *Honorary President of the

National Postgraduate Committee The National Postgraduate Committee of the United Kingdom (NPC) was a charitable organisation which represented postgraduates at UK universities. In 2009 it voted to dissolve itself and merge with the National Union of Students. NPC was forme ...

2001–2004 *Deputy Chair of the

2002–2008 *Director of Fair Access at the

(OFFA) 2004–2012 *Chairman of

Universities Superannuation Scheme The Universities Superannuation Scheme is a pension scheme in the United Kingdom with £89.6 billion under management as of August 2021 (up from £67 billion in 2019). It has over 400,000 members, made up of active and retired academic and aca ...

Limited 2006-2015 *President of

2008–2013

Present positions

*Honorary Fellow of

Honours

HM The Queen appointed Professor Harris

Commander of the Most Excellent 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 o ...

in 1992 and

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in her New Year Honours List 2000 for services to higher education.Honours List, ''BBC News'', 31 December 1999
Accessed 29 August 2007 The ''Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama'' at the

is named in his honour.

References

External links

Sir Martin Harris installed as Chancellor of University of Salford
at Salford.ac.uk
Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama
the University of Manchester {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Martin 1944 births Living people People from Ruabon Academics of the University of Salford Vice-Chancellors of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of Leicester People associated with the University of Essex People associated with the University of Salford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Linguists from the United Kingdom Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge People educated at Devonport High School for Boys Chancellors of the University of Salford Presidents of Clare Hall, Cambridge Alumni of SOAS University of London