History of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 1856–2011

The university’s first seal, 1852–57

The deanship—a historical note
Teaching began in the Faculty of Arts in 1852 but it was another four years before the position of dean for the faculty was created. The appointment of deans was, in essence, the prerogative of Senate from 1856, when John Woolley was appointed the first dean, until 1912, when elections within the faculty for this position were introduced and Mungo MacCallum became the first elected dean. For the next eighty years, until 1992, deans were elected from among their peers, the members of faculty. For the whole period from 1856 to 1992 the duties of the deans were carried out on a part-time basis, in addition to whatever other teaching and administrative responsibilities the holder may have had in the faculty. From 1993, however, the deanship became a full-time, professionalised position, with Paul Crittenden being the first dean appointed under this new arrangement. Appointments to the position of dean are now made by Senate, in consultation with the faculty, following an application and interview procedure, which continues to be the case in the faculty’s new incarnation as the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, from 2011. Read more

1856–1898
	1856–66 John Woolley (Professor of Classics)		1884–85 John Smith (Professor of Experimental Physics)
	1866–77 Morris B. Pell (Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy)		1885–87; 1891–94; 1897–98 Walter Scott (Professor of Classics, then Professor of Greek)
	1877–84 Charles Badham (Professor of Classics and Logic)		1888–90; 1895–96 Theodore T. Gurney (Professor of Mathematics)

1899–1950
	1899–1914; 1916–19 Mungo W. MacCallum (Professor of Modern Literature)		1930–37 Frederick A. Todd (Professor of Latin)
	1914–16; 1920–21 Francis Anderson (Professor of Logic and Mental Philosophy)		1937–41 Henry T. Lovell (Professor of Psychology)
	1922–25 Ernest R. Holme (Professor of English Language)		1942–47 Stephen H. Roberts (Professor of History)
	1926–29 William J. Woodhouse (Professor of Greek)		1947–50 A. Dale Trendall (Professor of Greek; & Professor of Archaeology)

1950–1977
	1950–54; 1963–67 Ralph B. Farrell (Professor of German)		1963 John L. Mackie (Professor of Philosophy)
	1954–55 William M. O'Neil (Professor of Psychology)		1968–71 H. Leslie Rogers (Professor of Early English Language and Literature)
	1956–61 A. John Dunston (Professor of Latin)		1972–73 Alex I. Jones (Snr Lecturer, English)
	1962 John M. Ward (Professor of History)		1974–77 R. Ian Jack (Associate Professor, History)
1978–2011
	1978–79 John S. Gunn (Associate Professor, English)		1996–2001 Bettina Cass (Professor of Sociology and Social Policy)
	1980–85 Patricia M. Lahy (Snr Lecturer, Psychology)		2001–09 Stephen R. Garton (Professor of History)
	1986–89 Sybil M. Jack (Associate Professor, History)		2009–10 Anne Dunn (Associate Professor, Media and Communications)
	1990–96 Paul J. Crittenden (Associate Professor, Philosophy, then Professor of Philosophy)		2010– Duncan Ivison (Professor of Political Philosophy)