Sir Ronald Urwick Cooke,

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

DL (born 1 September 1941Debrett's People of Today
Sir Ron Cooke) is a professor of

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

geomorphology Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand wh ...

who was

vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

from 1993 to 2002.Professor Ron Cooke to retire as Vice-Chancellor in 2002
University of York Press Release, 1 May 2001

Career

Cooke's academic career began as a lecturer in the Department of Geography at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1961. He rose to the position of Professor in 1981 and Vice-Provost (1991–3) at the same institution. From 1993 to 2002 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of York. Cooke was appointed chair of the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) in 2004.Sir Ron Cooke, JISC Chair
JISC, accessed 26 January 2010 He was a Trustee of the National Museum of Science and Industry from 2005 to 2008. He lives in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

where he is active in city life, for instance in fund-raising for the restoration of

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

, and in planning and restoration through the York Civic Trust. The York Civic Trust also published his monograph ''Why York is Special''. and his 2016 book ''York, Changing the Face of the City''.

Honours and awards

He was awarded the

Founder's Medal The Founder's Medal is a medal awarded annually by the Royal Geographical Society, upon approval of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, to individuals for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery". Foundation From ...

of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(RGS) in 1994, and was President of the RGS from 2000 to 2003.Professor Sir Ronald Cooke – Honorary Freeman
York City Council, 7 March 2006 In 2002, he received the Scottish Geographical Medal of the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for services to higher education in the Queen's 2002 New Year's Honours list.New Year honours in higher education
Donald MacLeod, guardian.co.uk, Monday 31 December 2001 In 2006, he was made Honorary Freeman of the City of York. The Ron Cooke Hub at the Heslington East campus of the

was named in his honour.

Publications

Published books include: * 1969 Trends in Geography (with J.H.Johnson) * 1973 Geomorphology in Deserts (with A.Warren) * 1974 Geomorphology in Environmental Management (with J.C.Doornkamp;a New Introduction,1990) * 1976 Arroyos and Environmental Change in the American Southwest (with R.W.Reeves) * 1980 Geology, Geomorphology and Pedology in Bahrain (contributor) * 1982 Urban Geomorphology in Drylands (Editor and contributor) * 1984 Geomorphological Hazards in Los Angeles * 1993 Desert Geomorphology ( with A.Warren and A.S.Goudie) * 1993 Crumbling Heritage? (with G.B.Gibbs) * 2016 York- Changing The Face of the City * 2018 The Streets of York – Four Centuries of Change ( with others) He has published over 100 refereed articles. These relate mainly to his major research themes: desert geomorphology (chiefly in Chile, the US, North Africa, and several Middle Eastern countries), historical geomorphology in the southwest USA, geomorphology in environmental management (especially in the Middle East), and studies of stone weathering in the UK. In addition there are published reports of committees he chaired: e.g. HEFCE 02/15 Information on Quality and Standards in Higher Education;HEFCE 99/26 Learning and Teaching- Strategy and Funding; e.g. reports from the Joint Information Systems Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Ronald Urwick British geographers Academics of University College London Deputy lieutenants of North Yorkshire Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Living people Academics of the University of York Place of birth missing (living people) 1941 births Vice-chancellors of the University of York British geomorphologists