Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol attracts Oxford academic

Dr Manon MathiasAn academic from Oxford University is the latest to be appointed to a post funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (the new national institution for the development of Welsh medium education and scholarship) to a new post at Bangor University’s School of Modern Languages.

Dr Manon Mathias was born and bred in Cardiff, and is a former pupil of Ysgol Gyfun Glantaf. Having graduated in French from Oxford University, she won an MA degree and a PhD in the subject, specialising in nineteenth century female writers. She has been a tutor and lecturer at the Department of Modern Languages at Worcester College, Oxford University, as well as being a Welsh Language tutor at the Department of Celtic Studies there.

The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol recognises the importance of Modern Languages as an area of study at university level and, as well as the post at Bangor; two other lecturing posts in Modern Languages have been awarded to Swansea University. Those posts are to be advertised this week (20-24 June 2001).

Manon will take up her post this September and will strengthen the Welsh medium provision at degree and postgraduate level within the School, as well as sharing her expertise in literature with second and third year students. A central part of her role will be to cooperate with lecturers at Swansea University on material that will be available across several universities.

“This is a very exciting development for us as a department,” said Professor Carol Tully, Head of School, “and a great opportunity for us to extend our research and academic interests at Bangor. Welcoming Manon to our midst is certain to inspire us all.”

The School of Modern Languages currently offers courses in Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese and French. The hope is  to extend this to include Catalan and other minority languages.

Dr Ioan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol noted that: “The Coleg has funded 27 posts, and though three posts at Bangor are the first to be announced, further appointments are to be made in the next few weeks at Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea Universities, the University of Wales: Trinity St David’s, Glamorgan University and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. In the meantime, it’s good to note that an academic who has been working in England is able to return to Wales to work as a result of the Coleg’s staffing plan.”

Publication date: 23 June 2011