Tsinghua University confers rare honorary professorship on Exeter Dean
Professor Gareth Stansfield OBE with Professor Guo Yong
One of the world’s foremost experts on Middle Eastern politics has been awarded a rare visiting professorship by Tsinghua University.
Professor Gareth Stansfield OBE, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, is now an Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University – one of Asia’s foremost academic institutions.
The title recognises Professor Stansfield’s scholarly contribution to the politics and political economy of Iraq, the Kurdish regions of the Middle East, and the dynamics of Gulf/Arabian peninsula security.
The professorship was conferred at a special ceremony on Tsinghua’s Beijing campus, with senior leaders and members of the Institute of International and Area Studies (IIAS) in attendance.
“I am deeply honoured to have been recognised with this professorship,” said Professor Stansfield. “It reflects not only the work I have done in my field, but the longstanding and valued relationship developed with colleagues at Tsinghua who are engaged in Middle Eastern Studies. I hope this award will lead to many more opportunities to work together in the future.”
Professor Stansfield is one of a handful of academics to have lived and worked in pre-regime change Iraq for an extensive period, and he has considerable fieldwork experience in a range of countries in the Middle East and Islamic World. Among numerous honours, he was the inaugural Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Research Group of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, and Honorary President of the Iraq Energy Institute – the first incumbent from outside the country to hold the prestigious role.
Professor Stansfield is already a member of Tsinghua’s academic advisory board, and the conferment also deepens the relationship between Exeter and Tsinghua, who last year launched the joint Institute for Global Humanities.
Professor Guo Yong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee, conferred the professorship, and a host of senior leaders were present, including the Director and Associate Director of the IIAS, Professor Jiang Jingkui and Ms Zhang Jing.
“The ceremony reflected the valued relationship that exists between Exeter and Tsinghua,” said Professor Li Li, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global) in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. “Such awards are not commonplace, so this represents both a great honour and a symbol of our ongoing collaboration.”
