Early Modern Spain

Barry Ife - Curriculum vitae

Career Details

Employment

2004- Principal, Guildhall School of Music & Drama

2003-2004 Acting Principal, King's College London

1997-2003 Vice-Principal, King's College London

1989-1996 Head of the School of Humanities, King's College London

1988- Cervantes Professor of Spanish, King's College London

1972-1988 Lecturer in Spanish, Birkbeck College, University of London

1972-1988 Lecturer in Spanish, Birkbeck College, University of London

1969-1971 Assistant Lecturer in Spanish, University of Nottingham

Education

1958-1965 The Sweyne School, Rayleigh, Essex

1965-1969 King's College, University of London

Qualifications

1965 ALCM Diploma (Associate of the London College of Music)

1968 BA (Hons) in Spanish (First Class) with French Subsidiary, King's College London

1984 PhD, Birkbeck College, University of London

Honours and appointments

1983-1985 Leverhulme Research Fellow

2000 CBE, Queen's Birthday Honours

2001 Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music

Academic Profile

An international authority on the history and culture of Spain and Spanish America from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and a leading musicologist specializing in Spanish keyboard music; a prominent commentator on Spanish cultural affairs and frequent contributor to the Times Literary Supplement on Spanish literature, drama and film; a holder of major awards from the Leverhulme Trust and the Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB); appointed to the Cervantes Chair at King's College London in 1987; appointed CBE in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to hispanic studies; elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2001 for services to the Academy.

Research

Literature and culture of Spain and Spanish America, XV to XVIII century
Spanish Golden-Age prose fiction and historical narrative, including New World historiography
Literary and cultural consequences of printing in early-modern Spain
Music and society, with special reference to performance practice and patronage

Research Grants Awarded

1981-1982 British Academy, to prepare editions of Spanish keyboard music.

1982-1983 Nuffield Foundation, to prepare language-teaching materials for degree-level teaching of Spanish Language

1983-1985 Leverhulme Research Fellowship, to study the impact of printing on the development of solo instrumental music before 1650

1986 University of London Central Research Fund, to prepare an edition of the works of Antonio Soler

1990-1992 KCL Research Strategy Fund, to develop a machine-readable Corpus of Contemporary Spanish (two consecutive annual grants totalling £50,000)

1999-2002 Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB): ‘Towards a History of the Novel in Early-Modern Spain’ (£121,600)

Publications in preparation

The Origins of the Novel in Spain, a monograph on the growth of prose fiction in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain
Re-writing the Conquest, a study of the influence of classical and medieval literature on fifteenth- and sixteenth-century writing about the discovery and conquest of the New World
A book-length study of Cervantes

Teaching

Literary and cultural history of Spain and Spanish America 1469-1681
Special subjects in Cervantes, Góngora, Quevedo, the picaresque novel and the literature of discovery and conquest
Aspects of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spanish novel and poetry
Renaissance music and its literary context
Research supervision in early modern Spanish prose and poetry, nineteenth-century novel, and New World history and historiography

Vice-Principal and Acting Principal, King's College London (1997-2004)

The Vice Principal deputises for the Principal, leads the development of strategic planning for the College, plays a key role in corporate academic governance, and has executive responsibility for the management of the four Schools based at the Strand (Humanities, Social Science and Public Policy, Law, Physical Sciences and Engineering): some 6,800 students and 570 staff, with an annual budget in excess of £70m. The Vice-Principal is a practised trouble-shooter and peacemaker.

Strategic Leadership

Responsible for the development of the Strategic Objectives 1998-2008 (the blue-print for the newly merged College) and the Strategic Plan 2001-2010, including the 2003 revision
Major contributor to financial strategy, including leading a successful bond issue (value £60m) and the achievement of a Standard and Poor's AA- credit-rating, the first for a UK university
Major contributor to strategic development of the College estate, including initiating the acquisition and development of former Public Record Office as the Maughan Library
Leads academic master-planning of the campuses at the Strand, Waterloo and St Thomas' Hospital ('Block 9') and chairs the Strand redevelopment Project Board (value £40m)
Leads and manages relationships with key external stakeholders including the Royal Academy of Music, RADA, the Globe Theatre, the BfI, the NFT, the Royal National Theatre, the ICA, the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the Somerset House Trust
Provides championship for the External Relations Department, including development of the corporate visual identity, recruitment and marketing
Leads selected fundraising projects, including the successful bid to the D'Oyly Carte Trust for an endowed chair in Medicine and the Arts, and regular fundraising for library Special Collections
Initiates strategic academic initiatives, including film studies, the School of Social Science and Public Policy, Gifted and Talented Education (DfES), the eUniversity, the culture and media strand of KCL Enterprises.

Corporate Academic Governance

Led the restructuring of corporate academic governance following mergers with the Institute of Psychiatry (1997) and the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals (UMDS, 1998)
As Chairman of Standing Committee, led the harmonization of College-wide quality assurance procedures, and as Chairman of the College Board of Examiners has brokered the achievement of highly-commended College-wide assessment policies, criteria and standards
Led preparations for successful whole-institution audit in 2000, including production of the Analytical Account.
As Chairman of the Information Systems and Services Committee, coordinates College-wide library, C&IT, computing, web and e-learning strategies.

Head of the School of Humanities (1989-1996)

Led the creation of a School of Humanities from three separate schools, successfully managing the project and harnessing the energy and activities of all three organisations. Helped to position King's School of Humanities at the forefront of academic and organizational development in Higher Education.

Leadership

Established the strategic imperative and direction for the School
Established the School from scratch, more than doubled its size in 8 years, and made it one of the best arts faculties in the UK
Led planning, resourcing and development decisions for the School
Gave a creative lead in developing the School's academic range

Executive Responsibilities

Responsible to the Principal for the overall academic and financial management of 13 academic departments, the English Language Centre and the Modern Language Centre (2001 RAE ratings in parentheses; Geography and War Studies have since joined the School of Social Science and Public Policy):

Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 5* Music 5

Classics 5* Philosophy 5*

English 4 Portuguese and Brazilian Studies 5*

French 5 Spanish and Spanish-American Studies 5*

German 5* Theology and Religious Studies 5

Geography 4 War Studies 5*

History 5*

Total students rose from 1200 to 2500; total staff from 120 to 180; total budget £13m, of which research grants and contracts in excess of £2m per annum.
Restructured teaching on a modular basis and broadened the range of courses and programmes
Produced outstandingly good performances in research grants and contracts
Successfully implemented devolved administration (finance, registry and personnel)
Pursued pro-active recruitment of research leaders in several key areas
Developed and sustained teaching and research links with the Royal Academy of Music, RADA and the Courtauld Institute of Art

Other Responsibilities in Higher Education

General Secretary of the National Council for Modern Languages (1985-1987)

Responsible for:

formulating and implementing the Council's modern-language policies and for representing the interests of the constituent organisations
contact with funding bodies, grant-awarding agencies and the lobbying of parliament

The Council succeeded in establishing the first national enquiry into modern-language education, and played an influential role in consolidating government policies on modern languages in the school curriculum.

The Hayhoe Committee, Birkbeck College (1986-1987)

In 1985, I was elected to the Governing Body of Birkbeck College as a representative of the junior members of staff. I served on several committees of Governors, including the Academic Policy Committee. In 1986 the College faced a major financial crisis when its income was cut by 37.5%. I served on the special committee on College re-structuring (1986-1987) under the chairmanship of Sir Barney Hayhoe and on its drafting sub-committee to which I was secretary. I then became heavily involved in the implementation of the Hayhoe Report and the formulation of the College's Academic Plan, which I drafted in the summer of 1987.

Reviews and Consultancies

University of Manchester (1994): full management review of the Department of Spanish, all of the recommendations of which have been successfully implemented. Similar reviews conducted at Trinity College Dublin, and the universities of Birmingham and Strathclyde
Royal Academy of Music (1995): full management review at the request of the Governing Body and under the direction of Sir David Lumsden. The report of the review was widely welcomed and accepted as a blueprint for the academic and administrative future of the Academy. I have since joined the Governing Body in propria persona, assisted with the appointment of a new Principal, and have been closely involved in the acquisition and refurbishment of a new building
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA): facilitation of the transfer of these institutions from the FE to the HE sector in partnership with King's in 2001
Thames Valley University. In 1999 I successfully negotiated, and have since overseen the implementation of, the transfer of the School of English Language Education to King's under TUPE. This involved extensive liaison with HEFCE
SOAS. Negotiated transfer of Department of Geography; extensive liaison with HEFCE
Membership of the Board of the Courtauld Institute of Art

Work with Bodies Outside Higher Education

Credit rating with Standard and Poor's. I played a leading role in securing the first credit rating for a UK university and in having the rating confirmed this year. The rating awarded, AA-, is higher than many leading UK businesses, including the bank which originally required the rating
Cultural institutions in London, including the Globe Theatre, the South Bank Centre, the BBC, the Royal National Theatre and the British Film Institute, with each of whom King's is building teaching and research partnerships
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in my role as a non-executive Director of King's subsidiary company, King's College London Enterprises Limited (KCLE)
Work with numerous architectural firms in connection with the development of a Master Plan for the Strand Campus, and the acquisition and refurbishment of the former Public Record Office as a library and information centre for the four schools located at the Strand. I have also been involved in associated fund-raising
Negotiated partnership with the New York Film Academy.

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2004-	Principal, Guildhall School of Music & Drama
2003-2004	Acting Principal, King's College London
1997-2003	Vice-Principal, King's College London
1989-1996	Head of the School of Humanities, King's College London
1988-	Cervantes Professor of Spanish, King's College London
1972-1988	Lecturer in Spanish, Birkbeck College, University of London
1972-1988	Lecturer in Spanish, Birkbeck College, University of London
1969-1971	Assistant Lecturer in Spanish, University of Nottingham

1958-1965	The Sweyne School, Rayleigh, Essex
1965-1969	King's College, University of London

1965	ALCM Diploma (Associate of the London College of Music)
1968	BA (Hons) in Spanish (First Class) with French Subsidiary, King's College London
1984	PhD, Birkbeck College, University of London

1983-1985	Leverhulme Research Fellow
2000	CBE, Queen's Birthday Honours
2001	Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music

1981-1982	British Academy, to prepare editions of Spanish keyboard music.
1982-1983	Nuffield Foundation, to prepare language-teaching materials for degree-level teaching of Spanish Language
1983-1985	Leverhulme Research Fellowship, to study the impact of printing on the development of solo instrumental music before 1650
1986	University of London Central Research Fund, to prepare an edition of the works of Antonio Soler
1990-1992	KCL Research Strategy Fund, to develop a machine-readable Corpus of Contemporary Spanish (two consecutive annual grants totalling £50,000)
1999-2002	Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB): ‘Towards a History of the Novel in Early-Modern Spain’ (£121,600)

Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies	5*	Music	5
Classics	5*	Philosophy	5*
English	4	Portuguese and Brazilian Studies	5*
French	5	Spanish and Spanish-American Studies	5*
German	5*	Theology and Religious Studies	5
Geography	4	War Studies	5*
History	5*