Dame Elizabeth Anne Loosemore Esteve-Coll (née Kingdon; born 14 October 1938) is a British academic and former museum director and librarian.

Career

The daughter of a

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

bank clerk, she was educated at Darlington High School,

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and

Birkbeck College, London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £109 ...

. Esteve-Coll was head of learning resources at

Kingston Polytechnic , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

from 1977, and in 1982 became the first female director of the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institu ...

Library. Esteve-Coll was the first woman director of a national arts collection when she was appointed as director of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

in 1987, succeeding

Sir Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. S ...

. She resigned in 1994, midway through her second term as director, to take up the Vice-Chancellorship of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. Dr.

Alan Borg Sir Alan Charles Nelson Borg (born 21 January 1942) is a British historian. He is a former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum and librarian of the Order of St John. Early life Borg was born to Charles John Nelson Borg and Frances Ma ...

succeeded her as its new director, taking the post on 1 October 1995. Esteve-Coll served as Vice-Chancellor of the

from 1995 to 1997, but was forced to step down after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She said at the time: ''"It is with real sadness and disappointment that I must acknowledge that I am not able to lead the university into the 21st century."'' She served as Chancellor of

University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 � ...

for seven years, as well as being a Trustee of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures since its foundation in Jan 1999.

Honours

Esteve-Coll received the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon in November 2005 in recognition of her ''"outstanding contribution to the promotion of Japanese culture and studies to British people"''. In November 2008, she was presented with an honorary doctorate of arts and the title chancellor emerita during her farewell ceremony at

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

Bibliography

* ''Books by My Bedside'' (1989)

References

External links

IFLA Section of Art Libraries Annual Report — September 1997 – August 1998

Elizabeth Esteve-Coll on Desert Island Discs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esteve-Coll, Elizabeth 1938 births Living people English writers Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Directors of the Victoria and Albert Museum Vice-Chancellors of the University of East Anglia People associated with the University of Lincoln People from Darlington People with multiple sclerosis People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum English librarians British women librarians Women museum directors