Sir Christopher John Elinger Ball (born 22 April 1935) [2] is a British academic, who served as Warden of Keble College, Oxford, from 1980 to 1988, and as the first Chancellor of the University of Derby, from 1995 to 2003. [3]
Ball was educated at St George's School, Harpenden, and served in the Parachute Regiment as a Second Lieutenant (1955 to 1956). He then read English at Merton College, Oxford, where he was a scholar, obtaining a first-class degree in 1959. [4] After lecturing in Oxford, he moved to be a lecturer in comparative linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (part of the University of London) in 1961. He returned to the University of Oxford in 1964 as a Fellow and Tutor in English at Lincoln College, where he also served as bursar from 1972 to 1979. In 1980, he was appointed Warden of Keble College, Oxford, a post that he held until 1988, the same year that he was knighted. He was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Lincoln College in 1981, Merton College in 1987, [5] and of Keble College in 1989. From 1995 to 2003, he served as the first Chancellor of the University of Derby [6] which had achieved University status in 1992.
He was the joint founding editor (with Angus Cameron) of Toronto Dictionary of Old English (1970). He has written various works on educational and linguistic matters, as well as some poetry (as "John Elinger"). [7]
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall Road.
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to support it. An important feature of de Merton's foundation was that this "college" was to be self-governing and the endowments were directly vested in the Warden and Fellows.
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, according to the will of her late husband Nicholas Wadham, a member of an ancient Devon and Somerset family.
William Henry Sewell, English divine and author, helped to found two public schools along high church Anglican lines. A devout churchman, learned scholar and reforming schoolmaster, he was strongly influenced by the Tractarians.
John Morris Roberts was a British historian with many published works. From 1979 to 1985, he was vice chancellor of the University of Southampton, and from 1985 to 1994, he was warden of Merton College, Oxford. He also wrote and presented the BBC TV series The Triumph of the West, first broadcast in 1985.
Sir John Boardman, was a British classical archaeologist and art historian of ancient Greek art. Educated at Chigwell School in Essex and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Boardman worked as assistant director of the British School at Athens between 1952 and 1955 before taking up a position as an assistant keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, part of the University of Oxford. He succeeded John Beazley as Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the university in 1978, remaining in post until his retirement in 1994.
Sir Rex Edward Richards was a British scientist and academic. He served as vice-chancellor of University of Oxford and as a director of the Leverhulme Trust.
Sir John Harrison Burnett was a British botanist and mycologist, who served as the principal and vice chancellor of Edinburgh University from 1979 to 1987.
Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams, was a Welsh barrister and legal scholar. He was president of Wolfson College, Cambridge from 1980 to 1992. He was also vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge: on a part-time basis from 1989 to 1992, and then as the first full-time vice-chancellor from 1992 to 1996.
William Spencer Barrett FBA, usually credited as W. S. Barrett and known as Spencer Barrett, was an English classical scholar, Fellow and Sub-Warden of Keble College, Oxford, and Reader in Greek Literature in the University of Oxford. He was also a Fellow of the British Academy.
Warden is the title given to or adopted by the heads of some university college and other institutions. University staff members can also be Wardens of accommodation sites. It dates back at least to the 13th century at Merton College, Oxford; the original Latin version is custos.
Robert James Wilson was an English Anglican priest and academic, who was Warden of Keble College, Oxford, from 1889 until his death.
Cecil Vere Davidge of Little Houghton House DL was a British lawyer and academic, who served as a Fellow and bursar of Keble College, Oxford, and as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire.
Ian Wallace Archer FRHistS is a historian of early modern London and the Robert Stonehouse Tutorial Fellow in History at Keble College, University of Oxford.
Thomas Rodborne DD was an English medieval churchman and university chancellor.
Sir Christopher Ball, Chancellor, University of Derby, 1995–2003, 76