Alice Prochaska (born 12 July 1947) is a former

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

and librarian, who served as Pro-vice-chancellor of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

and

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

, from 2010 to 2017.

Career

Alice Prochaska studied at Somerville College in the

and received BA and DPhil degrees in Modern History. Prochaska was initially a

museum curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, and then an

at the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was ...

, now

The National Archives National archives are central archive, archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by government ...

. From 1984 to 1992 she was administrator and deputy director at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. From 1992 to 2001 she was Director of Special Collections at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

. She then became head librarian at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, United States, from 2001 to 2010. She became Principal of Somerville College from 1 September 2010. She was affectionately known as 'Ali P' by the student body. She stepped down at the end of her seven-year term in August 2017. Prochaska was involved with the design of the first

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

for

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in the United Kingdom during 1989–90. She was a governor of

London Guildhall University London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Lond ...

, now part of

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City ...

. She chaired the

National Council on Archives National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

and was a member of the

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (widely known as the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and abbreviated as the HMC to distinguish it from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England), was a United Kingdom Royal Com ...

. Prochaska is a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

and served as vice-president from 1995 to 1999. In the US she chaired the

Center for Research Libraries The Center for Research Libraries (also known by its acronym, CRL) is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research library, research libraries, based on a buy-in concept for membership of the consortia. The cons ...

and several committees of the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research ...

, served on the board of

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Univer ...

, and lectured on subjects relating to archives and special collections. During her tenure at Somerville she served as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. She chairs the Sir Winston Churchill Archive Trust. She also lectures and publishes on topics related to national heritage and national identity. Prochaska is an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College.

Personal life

Alice Prochaska is married to the historian Frank Prochaska.

Bibliography

* (1973) ''London in the Thirties'' (exhibition catalogue for the London Museum) * (1973) ''London since 1912'' (co-author with John T. Hayes) * (1976) ''Young Writers of the Thirties'' (exhibition catalogue for the National Portrait Gallery) * (1982) ''History of the General Federation of Trade Unions, 1899-1980'' * (1986) ''Irish History from 1700: a guide to sources in the Public Record Office'', Archives and the User 6:

British Records Association The British Records Association (widely known as the BRA, pronounced as three letters) is a British learned society founded in 1932 to promote the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of historic records and archives. It is a regi ...

. * (1987) ''Margaretta Acworth's Georgian Cookery Book'' (co-editor with Frank K. Prochaska) * Numerous articles and presentations in conference proceedings etc.

References

External links

Dr Alice Prochaska home pagePrincipal's blog
by Alice Prochaska {{DEFAULTSORT:Prochaska, Alice 1947 births Living people Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford English curators English archivists English librarians American librarians American women librarians British women historians People associated with the University of London Employees of the British Library Yale University faculty Principals of Somerville College, Oxford People associated with London Metropolitan University Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Women academic administrators British academic administrators American women academics 21st-century American women British women librarians