Melveena Christine McKendrick, FBA (born 23 March 1941) is a retired Welsh academic. She was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...

Literature, Culture and Society at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1999 to 2008, and served as its Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education from January 2004 to October 2008. She has also been a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

since 1967; she is currently a life fellow having retired from full-time academia in 2008.

Early life

She attended Neath Grammar School for Girls and Dyffryn Grammar School,

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, before reading for a BA in Spanish at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and a PhD at

, which she received in 1967.

Personal life

In 1967, the then Melveena Jones married

Neil McKendrick Neil McKendrick MA FRHistS (born 28 July 1935) was the 40th Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He is now a life fellow of the college. McKendrick was educated at Alderman Newton's School, Leicester, and Christ's College, Cambr ...

, later Master of

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. Together they have two daughters.

Honours

In 1999, McKendrick was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

for the humanities and social sciences. In 2013, she was awarded an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) degree by the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales (USW) () is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales, Newport. The ...

"in recognition of her outstanding contribution to literature and the arts".

Selected works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKendrick, Melveena 1941 births Living people British Hispanists British women academics Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Historians of Spanish literature Literary critics of Spanish People from Neath Welsh scholars and academics British women anthropologists