Wrexham Glyndwr University Vice Chancellor Honoured by Learned Society of Wales

Professor Maria Hinfelaar, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Wrexham Glyndwr University, is among the new entrants to the Learned Society of Wales’ Fellowship. She is being recognised for her outstanding and sustained contribution as an educational leader. 

She joins 44 other new Fellows, all of whom share a link with Wales, its universities or intellectual life and are drawn from all specialisms.

Professor Hinfelaar said: “I’m thrilled and honoured to be elected as a Fellow with the Learned Society of Wales. The Society promotes engagement with the world of learning and research, which is very much a part of what we deliver at Wrexham Glyndwr and I look forward to collaborating with the other Fellows to help achieve the Society’s aims.”

The new Fellows include academics from Welsh, UK and overseas higher education institutions as well as individuals who a play a significant role in Welsh public life. Specialisms range from nanotechnology to jazz, parliamentary history to tumour biology and much in between. The Society also elects individuals who facilitate and enable the education of others, and help to develop the next generation of scholars.

The Society’s President, Professor Hywel Thomas, said of the new intake:

“I am delighted to welcome our new Fellows to the Learned Society of Wales. This past, extraordinary, year has shown the value of world-class research. 

There is a thirst for knowledge and expertise, in all fields, as we try to recover from the challenges of the pandemic. Our Fellows are at the forefront of that knowledge and expertise.

“We have also elected a higher percentage of women Fellows than ever before, with 38%. There is more we need to do but I am also pleased we are making progress on our efforts to make the Society better reflect the diversity of Welsh life.”

Election to the Fellowship is public recognition of excellence and takes place following a rigorous examination of each nominee’s achievements in their relevant field.

The Society’s Fellowship now numbers 595. Their combined expertise allows the Society to strengthen its contribution to Welsh public life, through its contributions to government policy development, public lectures and seminars and its expanding Wales Studies programme.

A full list of the new Fellows can be downloaded here. They demonstrate the ongoing excellence of Welsh research, universities and intellectual life, all of which have shone during the extraordinary events of this pandemic-marked year. The new Fellows will be formally admitted at the Society’s AGM which will be held on May 19.