Sir Michael James Paul Arthur FMedSci (born 3 August 1954) is a British academic who was the tenth provost and president of

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 ...

between 2013 and January 2021. Arthur had previously been chairman of the

Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to governme ...

of UK universities and the

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 Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

between September 2004 and 2013.

Early life

Arthur was born in Purley,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He attended Burnt Mill School in

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, at a similar time to

Bill Rammell William Ernest Rammell (born 10 October 1959) is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow from 1997 until 2010, and served as a Minister of State in several departments from 2002. From August 2 ...

. His father was a

cabinet maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

and his mother was a student liaison officer at an agricultural college.''The Guardian'', 21 February 2009, Polly Curtis: There may be trouble ahead
/ref> He went to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where he graduated as a

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1977 and became a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1986. From 1987 to 1989 he studied at the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

.The Reporter (University of Leeds newsletter) no 495, 26 January 2004
Leeds welcomes new Vice Chancellor

Career

Arthur's academic career began at Southampton, where he was appointed research fellow and lecturer in medicine in 1982, senior lecturer in 1989 and, at the age of 37, to a chair of medicine in 1992. He became director of research at Southampton in 1995, head of the school of medicine in 1998 and dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences in 2003. From 1 September 2004 he was vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds. At the time of his appointment, he was the first vice-chancellor of a Russell Group university to have attended a comprehensive school. According to the ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', his salary was £253,000.www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
13 January 2011 "Power and Pay: The region's movers and shakers". Arthur was appointed president and provost of

(UCL) on 10 December 2012, starting in September 2013, to succeed Sir

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

. He stepped down on 10 January 2021, replaced by

Michael Spence Andrew Michael Spence (born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American economist and Nobel laureate. Spence is the William R. Berkley Professor in Economics and Business at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and the Philip H. Kn ...

. Arthur 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 ...

in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to higher education.

Controversy

In 2009, during his time as Vice Chancellor of the University of Leeds, Arthur was subject to a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

from the Leeds branch of

University and College Union The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

(UCU) due to his proposed 10% cut in academic staff. Earlier in the next year, UCU voted to strike after 54 staff at the University lost their jobs, in the midst of plans for 700 more to suffer the same fate. This strike was supported by a record turnout (64%) with 78% voting in favour of the strike. In 2015, Arthur accepted the resignation of Professor

Tim Hunt Sir Richard Timothy Hunt (born 19 February 1943) is a British biochemist and molecular physiologist. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Paul Nurse and Leland H. Hartwell for their discoveries of protein molecu ...

, after a controversy surrounding reported comments made by Hunt regarding women in science. As of 2019, Arthur was faced with continuing controversy in his role as Provost of UCL, with 94% of the academics present at an informal meeting in 2018 voting no confidence in the college’s governance. Numerous faculty complaints were directed towards an alleged lack of democracy and transparency regarding plans to expand UCL with a new site, "UCL East", inadequate teaching facilities, and a perceived decline in academic standards.

Research

Arthur first developed his interests in the cell and molecular

pathogenesis In pathology, pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes . Descript ...

liver fibrosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

on a two-year Fogarty International Travelling Fellowship at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

(1988–1990). In 2002, he took up a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

distinguished scholar award to conduct cell biology research at

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His contribution to research has been acknowledged with the award of the American Liver Foundation Research Prize (1987) and the Linacre Medal of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(1994), a year after becoming a Fellow. He became a Fellow of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

in 1998 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in 2006. Arthur has been on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including ''Journal of Hepatology'', ''Comparative Hepatology'', ''Gut'' and ''Clinics in Gastroenterology''.

Other roles

He has chaired the cell and molecular panel at the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

(2003–2004). He was a member of

HEFCE The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

’s Research Assessment Exercise panel for 2001 for hospital-based medicine and HEFCE’s strategic research committee (2003–2005). Other roles have included membership of the Department of Health’s advisory group on

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

(1998–2004) and president of the British Association for the Study of the Liver (2001–2003). He was chair of the board of trustees of the British Liver Trust (2003–2006) and now vice president (2007-). Arthur has also chaired the national steering group for the

National Student Survey The National Student Survey is an annual survey, launched in 2005, of all final year undergraduate degree students at institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The survey is designed to assess undergra ...

(2005–2008). Arthur was chair of the

of universities (2009-2012). Current roles and public appointments include commissioner for the US/UK

Fulbright Commission The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

(2008-), membership of the Council of the

Medical Research Council (UK) The Medical Research Council (MRC) is responsible for co-coordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), which came into operation 1 April 2018, and brings together ...

(2008-) and chair of the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services (NHS) (2010-). He is a council member of the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) (2012-). Arthur is a board member of Opera North (2006-). He is a trustee of

Centre for London Centre for London is London's dedicated think tank. Based in the UK, it undertakes research and organises events aimed at developing new solutions to the capital's critical challenges. The Centre, which is politically independent, advocates for ...

Personal life

He is married to consultant paediatrician, Elizabeth S. McCaughey (married 1979), and they have two daughters (born 1983 and 1985) and one son (born 1987).Fulbright Alumni news
Number 40 Summer 2008 He enjoys sailing.

References

External links

''Guardian'' interview February 2009

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Michael Vice-chancellors of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of Southampton British medical researchers British hepatologists Living people Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) 1954 births People from Harlow People from Purley, London University of California, San Francisco alumni Provosts of University College London Alumni of the University of Southampton Knights Bachelor