John Rowett OBE is a British historian, academic, and academic administrator.


Career

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John S. Rowett started his career at University College Wales in Aberystwyth, Wales, UK.[1]

He was fellow and tutor in history at Brasenose College, Oxford,[2][1] and was active in the creation of the Rothermere American Institute in the University of Oxford in the late 1990s.[3][1]

He served as warden of Rhodes House, Oxford, from 1999 to 2004.[2] As warden of Rhodes House at the time of the centenary of the Rhodes Trust in 2003, Rowett was active, alongside Rhodes Trust chair Lord Waldegrave of North Hill[4] and Jakes Gerwel, chancellor of Rhodes University in South Africa,[5] in the creation of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, bringing together Nelson Mandela and the Rhodes Trust in a foundation providing scholarships to promote good leadership in Africa.[4][6]

From 2005 to 2007 he served as secretary-general of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.[2]

Other roles

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Rowett co-founded and edited the journal Twentieth Century British History, and co-edited the English Historical Review.[1]

Apart from being a trustee of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, Howett was also a trustee of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Foundation in Windsor, and of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies as of 2006.[1]

Honours and recognition

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In 2005, he received an OBE for his contribution to relations between Britain and South Africa.[1]

Critical assessments of Rowett's leadership of the Rhodes Trust have been made by writers such as R.W. Johnson.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Facing the challenges of tertiary education in a changing world" (PDF). 9 April 2006. This article is based on Dr Rowett's opening address to the Conference of Executive Heads of Commonwealth Universities, University of Adelaide, 9 April 2006
  2. ^ a b c "The Warden of Rhodes House - the Rhodes Scholarships". Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016. "History". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. ^ Commonwealth Education Partnerships, Commonwealth Secretariat, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Cowell, Alan (6 July 2003). "Rhodes Scholars Are Split on a New Foundation for South African Awards". The New York Times.
  5. ^ "Our Story". The Mandela Rhodes Foundation. 11 February 1990. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  6. ^ "The Rhodes scholarship, its birthday and an academic row". The Age. 2 July 2003. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  7. ^ R.W. Johnson, Look Back in Laughter: Oxford's Postwar Golden Age, Threshold Press, 2015, ch. 13.

Further reading

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Academic offices
Preceded by Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford
1999-2004
Succeeded by