Celebrating International Women's Day with the Edith Morley Lecture: 'The female role model in 2014'
Release Date 03 March 2014
Thursday 6 March | 7.30pm | Great Hall, London Road campus
To mark International Women's Day, the University is delighted to present this inaugural lecture in memory of Edith Morley, believed to be the first female to be awarded the title of professor in a British university.
Appointed as Professor of English Language at Reading in 1908, Professor Morley was a formidable academic presence at our institution, dedicated to her subject, her students and her cause. Her belief that women should have equal place in academia and society drove her to be an inspiring and motivating force for the young people around her.
In this lecture, Reading Alumna Joan Smith, columnist, novelist and human rights activist and author of the recent title, ‘The Public Woman', will explore the idea of the female role model in 2014.
We are delighted to celebrate this extraordinary part of the University's heritage with this special event to inspire young women today to achieve great things.
Admission is free, but places are limited.
Joan Smith
Joan Smith graduated from the University of Reading in 1974. She is author of the Loretta Lawson series of crime novels and the feminist classic Misogynies. Her journalism has been published in the Guardian, The Times and the Independent. Joan is Co-chair of the Mayor of London's Violence Against Women and Girls Panel. She is a former chair of the PEN Writers in Prison Committee, and has advised the FCO on free expression. She is on the board of Hacked Off, the organisation which campaigns for a free and accountable press. She is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association.
Professor Edith Morley (1875-1964)
In 1908, W.M. Childs (Principal of University College, Reading and first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading), appointed Edith Morley as Professor of English Language. In her unpublished memoir, she wrote ‘I was the first woman to obtain the title of professor at a British university', and went on to explain that she regarded the struggle about her position and title as her ‘... contribution to the battle for fair dealing for women in public and professional life.' Over 100 years on, the University is delighted to celebrate this extraordinary part of its heritage with this special event to inspire young women today to achieve great things.