Professor Ian Forrest is leaving Oriel to take on the senior role of Head of Humanities at the University of Glasgow. He has been Catto Fellow and a tutor in history at Oriel since 2006 and is College’s Fellow Archivist.
Professor Forrest’s research covers the religious, economic and social history of Europe between 1200 and 1500. He is interested in studying the relationships between ordinary people and institutions, with a view to understanding both present and future political and sociological landscapes.
“His own enthusiasm for the medieval period was so stimulating that he inspired numerous Oriel undergraduates to pursue medieval history,” said Oriel historian Professor Julia Mannherz, adding that, as a tutor involved in College admissions, he was “committed to admitting the most able students from diverse backgrounds, and to supporting and fostering their intellectual and personal growth.”
Professor Forrest’s commitment extended beyond his academic discipline and teaching to the legacy of Oriel itself.
Regius Professor of History at Oriel College Lyndal Roper said that Professor Forrest “brings a powerful sense of democracy and of moral values and human warmth to everything he does.” She also added: “If I wanted advice on a difficult moral question, I would ask Ian, and I’m sure many others did the same.”
Professor Forrest is also a Quondam Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, where he was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow from 2003 to 2006.