Kellogg President elected chair of the Universities Association of Lifelong Learning

Congratulations to Kellogg President Professor Jonathan Michie, who was elected Chair of the Universities Association of Lifelong Learning (UALL) at their recent AGM.

UALL brings together the vital work that UK universities do in the areas of adult and continuing professional education, civic engagement, and lifelong learning. It plays a leading role in national and international policy formulation, advocacy, research, scholarship, and practice in lifelong learning and continuing education.

Professor Michie, who is also Director of the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education, and Joint Secretary and Research Director of the Centenary Commission on Adult Education, takes over from outgoing Chair, The Reverend Canon Professor Peter Neil, Vice Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, who stands down after serving for six years.

On being appointed, Professor Michie said, “We are in the midst of the greatest crisis nationally and globally since the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. That was followed in 1919 by the Ministry for Reconstruction’s Report on Adult Education, which argued that lifelong learning for all was vital to debate the great challenges facing society, for the changing world of work, and to ensure the electorate could distinguish political argument from demagoguery. That Report led to universities establishing departments for continuing education which, working with local authorities and others, created a fantastically successful development of community and adult education. In time, this led nationally to the formation of the Open University and, at Oxford, to the establishment of Kellogg College.

The same vision and determination are needed today, and UALL will need to work with all universities and colleges, local authorities and employers, the WEA and other groups, to create the sort of educational opportunities that ensure no communities or individuals are left behind, companies and other organisations are resilient and innovative, and people’s welfare is supported by the ability to engage with educational opportunities at different stages of their lives.”

Kellogg College’s roots lie in the University of Oxford’s outreach activities, and especially its commitment to lifelong learning. As demand for part-time study provision continues to grow, Kellogg leads the way, hosting around half of all registered part-time degree students. The College sustains its commitment to lifelong learning, and supports the University’s own strategies for continuing education, part-time study and distance learning.