Stuart Edward Corbridge,

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 ...

(born 1957) is a British

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and academic specialising in

geopolitics Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of State (polity), states: ''de fac ...

development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. From September 2015 to July 2021, he was Vice-Chancellor and Warden of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. From 2013 to 2015, he was Provost and Deputy Director of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He was also Professor of Development Studies at LSE.

Early life

Corbridge was born in 1957. He was brought up in the West Midlands of England. Having gained entry to 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 ...

, he studied

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 ...

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

. His lecturers included

Derek Gregory Derek Gregory (born 1 March 1951) is a British academic and world-renowned geographer who is currently Peter Wall Distinguished Professor and Professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He formerly held positions ...

, Polly Hill, and Ajit Singh. He graduated in 1978 with a first class

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA Cantab). He remained at Cambridge to undertake

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

study at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) degree in 1986. His supervisor was Dr Ben H. Farmer and his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled ''"State, Tribe and Region: Policy and Politics in Jharkhand, India, 1880 - 1980"''.

Academic career

From 1981 to 1985, Corbridge was a part-time

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in geography at Huddersfield Polytechnic. He was first published in 1982 while he was a

student. He moved from Huddersfield Polytechnic to

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

, where he was a lecturer in geography for two years. From 1987 to 1988, he held a position in the United States of America: he was an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

of the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. He then returned to his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, the

. From 1988 to 1999, he was a lecturer in South Asian geography and 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 ...

. In 1999, he once more moved to the United States and took up his first appointment as a

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

. From 1999 to 2003, he was Professor of

International Studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. However, because of internal events at the university he left to return to the United Kingdom. He joined the

(LSE) as Professor of Geography, soon transferring to International Development. He was Head of the Department of International Development from August 2007 to July 2010. Between 2010 and 2013, he served as Pro-Director for Research. In September 2013, he was appointed Provost and Deputy Director of LSE. In March 2015, it was announced that Corbridge had been selected as the next Vice-Chancellor and Warden of

. He took up the appointment in September 2015 and was Durham's 24th

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 ...

. In April 2020, Corbridge was at the centre of a controversy surrounding proposed changes to the provision of teaching at Durham University. The proposed changes, which would have involved reducing the number of modules delivered in person by 25% in favour of courses taught either primarily or entirely online, were criticized by university staff and students. After significant resistance the plans were retracted from the university senate, with Corbridge commenting that he was "happy to say that I think we misjudged our academics. It is very clear that most academics do not want to let go of their courses". In May 2020, the Chair of Council announced that Corbridge would retire on 31 July 2021.

Personal life

Corbridge's partner is Pilar Saborio de Rocafort, a former Costa Rican

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

. From 2007 to 2015, she was Costa Rica's ambassador to the United Kingdom, and held several other positions. In February 2015, she became Costa Rica's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. and now works in corporate diplomacy.

Scholarly work

Corbridge has made several major contributions to international development theory, beginning in 1986 with his critiques of radical development. His empirical work is on peasant economy and rural development in India, and the nature of the Indian state as that country undergoes rapid transformation into a capitalist economy.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbridge, Stuart 1957 births People from the West Midlands (region) Living people British geographers Geopoliticians Development specialists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Huddersfield Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Syracuse University faculty Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University of Miami faculty Academics of the London School of Economics Vice-chancellors and wardens of Durham University Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society