Gordon Marshall

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Gordon Marshall is a sociologist and the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading. He was formerly the Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council and an Official Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford. Before joining Nuffield College, he was Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath, and previously taught at the University of Essex and the London School of Economics. He has held a British Academy Senior Research Fellowship and has also been a visiting Professor at several European universities.

Marshall has written extensively in the areas of social class, distributive justice and the culture of economic enterprise. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2000 and awarded a CBE in 2003 for his services to economic and social science.

Gordon Marshall was ultimately responsible for the closure of the University of Reading Music Department in 2004 and Wells Hall in 2006. In both cases reasons of 'economic viabillity' were cited. Prof. Marshall has been criticised amongst his fellow academics and administrators within the University of Reading for treating students as "Sources of Income" and not individuals. Under his direction the University has been dubbed "University of Reading PLC". In October 2006 he was primarily responsible for the closure of the department of Physics again citing "economic viability".