WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 Welcome back. We're so glad you could join us 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:05.219 today for another deep dive. We've got a really 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:07.179 fascinating stack of sources to go through today. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:08.939 Yeah, we have some detailed historical notes 00:00:08.939 --> 00:00:11.339 and a very comprehensive Wikipedia article to 00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:13.820 look at. Right, and they all center around this, 00:00:13.900 --> 00:00:17.920 well, it's an incredibly rare, roughly 500 -year 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:20.480 -old academic title. Now, if you're anything 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.179 like me, you probably have a... A mental image 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:27.879 of what it means to reach the absolute pinnacle 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:30.600 of an academic career. Oh, absolutely. You picture 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.200 the tweed jackets, right? The sprawling libraries, 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:37.060 maybe a lifetime tenure at a world -renowned 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:39.840 university. But looking through these sources, 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.560 I discovered a tier of academia so exclusive 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:46.060 and so steeped in centuries of history that it 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:48.659 requires the literal approval of a monarch. It's 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:50.200 quite the concept to wrap your head around, isn't 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:51.320 it? I mean, when you read through the history, 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:52.579 it sounds like something pulled straight out 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:55.399 of a like a historical drama. Right. A king or 00:00:55.399 --> 00:00:57.280 queen pointing a sword and declaring some of 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:59.439 the ultimate master of a subject. But this is 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:01.679 a very real, very tangible part of the modern 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:04.900 academic world. OK, let's unpack this. Today, 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:07.819 our mission is to explore the hidden architecture. 00:01:07.849 --> 00:01:11.170 of academic prestige by looking at the role of 00:01:11.170 --> 00:01:13.930 the Regis professor. For those of you listening 00:01:13.930 --> 00:01:16.250 who might not be familiar with the term, our 00:01:16.250 --> 00:01:19.010 sources define a Regis professor as a university 00:01:19.010 --> 00:01:21.569 professor in the United Kingdom and Ireland who 00:01:21.569 --> 00:01:25.609 has or originally had royal patronage or appointment. 00:01:25.849 --> 00:01:28.090 Yeah, and this isn't just your standard promotion 00:01:28.090 --> 00:01:31.129 to department head. It's a tradition that has 00:01:31.129 --> 00:01:35.150 miraculously survived since the late 15th century. 00:01:35.250 --> 00:01:37.780 Which is just... wild to think about. What's 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:39.659 fascinating here is that this is by no means 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:41.500 just an honorary certificate you hang on your 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.420 office wall to look important. Right. It's a 00:01:43.420 --> 00:01:45.760 real job. Exactly. It's a highly sought after 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.599 functioning everyday role. It's a unique feature 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.140 of academia in the UK and Ireland, where the 00:01:51.140 --> 00:01:53.120 current monarch actually appoints the professor. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.799 Now, to be clear on the logistics, the monarch 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:58.700 isn't just picking names out of a hat. That would 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:01.480 be funny, though. It would be. But no, this only 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:03.680 happens after proper advertisement and rigorous 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.700 interviews conducted through the offices of the 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:07.939 university and the national government. But that 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:11.300 final seal of approval, the actual legal decree, 00:02:11.539 --> 00:02:14.639 that comes directly from the crown. And because 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.199 of that royal stamp of approval, the relative 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.699 rarity of these professorships makes them just 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:22.659 intensely prestigious. In fact, reading through 00:02:22.659 --> 00:02:24.419 the notes, there's this brilliant little quirky 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:26.479 naming convention that comes with the territory. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:30.000 The title draw. Yes. If you manage to achieve 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.340 this rank, you are traditionally addressed simply 00:02:32.340 --> 00:02:35.840 as Regis rather than professor. It's like the 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:38.139 ultimate academic trump card. You don't even 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:41.539 need to say professor anymore. Just Regis is 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:43.780 enough to let everyone in the room know exactly 00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:46.139 who signed your paperwork. It immediately sets 00:02:46.139 --> 00:02:49.500 the individual apart in a crowded field. It signals 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:51.939 to everyone in the room, to their peers globally, 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.819 that this person holds a chair instituted by 00:02:54.819 --> 00:02:57.759 an English, Scottish or British monarch. You're 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.240 no longer just representing your university. 00:02:59.419 --> 00:03:01.419 You carry the historical weight of the state. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:03.620 So going to the source text, I really wanted 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:05.460 to find out where this all began. And we have 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:07.419 to turn the clock all the way back to the year 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:10.979 1497. Quite a long time ago. Yeah, exactly. The 00:03:10.979 --> 00:03:13.740 location is the University of Aberdeen. The monarch 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:16.400 making the call is the Scottish King James IV. 00:03:16.929 --> 00:03:19.909 And the subject of this very first royal academic 00:03:19.909 --> 00:03:23.849 chair, it was medicine. I found myself wondering, 00:03:23.990 --> 00:03:26.849 you know, why medicine at that exact moment? 00:03:27.050 --> 00:03:29.509 If we connect this to the bigger picture, it 00:03:29.509 --> 00:03:32.030 tells us something profound about human priorities 00:03:32.030 --> 00:03:34.770 at the dawn of the Renaissance. According to 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:36.710 the text we're examining today, Regis chairs 00:03:36.710 --> 00:03:39.330 are instituted strictly in disciplines judged 00:03:39.330 --> 00:03:42.310 to be fundamental and for which there is a continuing 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:45.330 and significant need. Fundamental. Right. So 00:03:45.330 --> 00:03:46.990 by looking at the oldest chairs, we're essentially 00:03:46.990 --> 00:03:49.250 looking at a mirror reflecting what society valued 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:52.370 most or perhaps feared most in that specific 00:03:52.370 --> 00:03:56.090 era. In 1497, establishing a fundamental, continuous 00:03:56.090 --> 00:03:58.069 need for the study of medicine makes perfect 00:03:58.069 --> 00:04:01.189 sense. Life was fragile. Plagues and diseases 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:04.330 were existential threats to entire nations. Health 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:06.169 and healing were the ultimate baselines for a 00:04:06.169 --> 00:04:08.409 functioning society. It's almost like the monarch 00:04:08.409 --> 00:04:10.050 was looking at the state of the world and saying, 00:04:10.150 --> 00:04:12.789 we barely understand the human body and we need 00:04:12.789 --> 00:04:15.069 the absolute best mind in the kingdom leading 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:17.670 that charge. Precisely. But the timeline shows 00:04:17.670 --> 00:04:20.110 things really kicking into high gear about 40 00:04:20.110 --> 00:04:23.189 years later. I noticed this massive boom in the 00:04:23.189 --> 00:04:26.389 source material right around the 1540s at both 00:04:26.389 --> 00:04:28.470 the University of Cambridge and the University 00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:31.420 of Oxford. It's like the crown suddenly went 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:33.759 on a hiring spree. It's a fascinating spike. 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.279 You have to remember the broader historical context 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:39.300 of what was happening in the 1540s. Henry VIII 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:41.060 was completely restructuring the church and the 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:43.860 state. He was breaking away from Rome, establishing 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:46.240 the Church of England, or consolidating his own 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:49.420 power. To do that successfully, he needed absolute 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:52.519 experts in law and theology to back up his political 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.759 and religious moves. Yeah. He needed an intellectual 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.600 army. Oh, that makes the specific subjects they 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.800 chose make so much more sense. Looking at the 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:01.959 list the crown deemed fundamental at that time 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:05.000 at Cambridge in 1540, you have Regis chairs created 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.019 in civil law, divinity, Greek, Hebrew, and physic, 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.160 which was their term for medicine. And Oxford 00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:14.480 saw a nearly identical mirror image. Right. Civil 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.560 law around 1540, divinity slightly. earlier in 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:22.300 1535, Greek around 1541, and both Hebrew and 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.379 medicine in 1546. The alignment between Oxford 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:27.759 and Cambridge there is striking, isn't it? It 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.459 shows a unified, state -sponsored vision of what 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:32.800 constituted the bedrock of higher learning in 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.379 the 16th century. You have medicine and civil 00:05:35.379 --> 00:05:37.740 law, which govern the physical body and the societal 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:40.360 body. Then you have divinity, which governs the 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.079 soul. And finally, Greek and Hebrew. Which seem 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:45.879 like outliers at first glance. They do, but those 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:47.560 weren't just language classes. They were the 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:50.240 essential keys to unlocking ancient texts, philosophy, 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:52.779 and critically, the original religious scriptures. 00:05:53.370 --> 00:05:55.149 If you're going to rewrite the religious rules 00:05:55.149 --> 00:05:57.389 of your country, you need scholars who can read 00:05:57.389 --> 00:05:59.689 the source material in its original form. That 00:05:59.689 --> 00:06:01.670 was the totality of fundamental knowledge for 00:06:01.670 --> 00:06:04.610 the 1540s. It paints an incredible picture of 00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:07.350 a world where mastering ancient languages and 00:06:07.350 --> 00:06:09.850 understanding theology were viewed with the exact 00:06:09.850 --> 00:06:13.350 same level of societal urgency as understanding 00:06:13.350 --> 00:06:16.470 the law or treating a fever. Now, jumping back 00:06:16.470 --> 00:06:19.670 to the Wikipedia article, it seems a longest 00:06:19.670 --> 00:06:22.250 time there was a strict geographical boundary 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:24.810 on where these Regis chairs could even exist. 00:06:25.189 --> 00:06:28.490 There was a very clear unwritten rule. Yes. Traditionally, 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:31.569 Regis chairs existed exclusively within what 00:06:31.569 --> 00:06:33.629 are known as the seven ancient universities of 00:06:33.629 --> 00:06:36.670 the UK and Ireland. So places like Oxford, Cambridge, 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:39.870 St. Andrews. Exactly. Along with Glasgow, Aberdeen, 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.449 Edinburgh and Dublin. For centuries, you had 00:06:42.449 --> 00:06:44.910 to be a part of that specific club to even have 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:47.189 a chance at holding a Regis title. The prestige 00:06:47.189 --> 00:06:49.709 was completely geographically locked. Which brings 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:52.050 us to a really surprising trivia fact for you 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:54.310 listening right now. If you had to guess which 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:56.529 university currently holds the heavyweight championship 00:06:56.529 --> 00:06:59.050 title for the highest number of currently active 00:06:59.050 --> 00:07:02.089 and surviving Regis chairs, your brain probably 00:07:02.089 --> 00:07:04.829 immediately goes to Oxford or Cambridge. But 00:07:04.829 --> 00:07:07.459 you'd be wrong. The University of Glasgow currently 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:10.819 holds the record. They boast a massive 14 Regis 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:14.259 chairs. 14 is a staggering number when you consider 00:07:14.259 --> 00:07:17.100 how rare these appointments are overall and how 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.860 difficult it is to prove a continuing and significant 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:23.589 need for a new chair. And Glasgow's list is incredibly 00:07:23.589 --> 00:07:26.490 diverse, which really shows how they kept adapting 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:29.310 to the times. They have Regis chairs in medicine, 00:07:29.589 --> 00:07:32.410 law, anatomy, zoology, botany, surgery, chemistry, 00:07:32.589 --> 00:07:35.009 and they even added civil engineering and mechanics 00:07:35.009 --> 00:07:38.430 back in 1840. It seems like they really cornered 00:07:38.430 --> 00:07:40.670 the market on royal academic patronage over the 00:07:40.670 --> 00:07:42.870 centuries. They certainly capitalized on the 00:07:42.870 --> 00:07:45.250 Industrial Revolution with that 1840 engineering 00:07:45.250 --> 00:07:48.230 edition. But while Glasgow's sheer volume is 00:07:48.230 --> 00:07:50.610 impressive, the geography of these chairs also 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:53.209 gives us some truly fascinating historical anomalies. 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:55.389 When you look at the history of Trinity College 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:58.449 Dublin, for example, the concept of royal patronage 00:07:58.449 --> 00:08:00.730 gets incredibly complicated. Oh, this is one 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:02.870 of my absolute favorite details in the entire 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:05.889 source text. It really highlights how messy history 00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:08.379 is. can be. It perfectly illustrates the friction 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:11.879 between academia and geopolitics. Trinity College 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:14.740 Dublin has several historically significant Regis 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:17.300 chairs. They have a Regis professor of physics 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:20.639 from around 1637, a Regis professor of laws from 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:23.899 1668, as well as chairs in divinity, Greek, and 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:26.680 surgery, among others. All of these were instituted 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:28.779 by the reigning monarch of the time. But then 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:31.079 the 20th century happens and there's a massive 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:33.899 historical plot twist. Precisely. Ireland fought 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:35.840 for its independence and left the United Kingdom 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.960 in 1922. The geopolitical landscape entirely 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:42.039 fractured and reformed. So because of this hard 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:44.159 political separation, the British monarch obviously 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:46.600 no longer appoints these professors at Trinity 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.279 College Dublin. Right, because the Republic is 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:50.399 independent. Exactly. The royal connection was 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:52.919 fundamentally severed in a practical legal sense. 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:55.139 And yet, if you look at their faculty today, 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:58.419 that prestigious Regis title. remains completely 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:02.000 intact. It's such a wild quirk of history. You 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.500 have a prestigious university sitting in an independent 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:08.279 republic, still casually carrying a royal title 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.059 bestowed centuries ago by a monarchy that no 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.659 longer has any jurisdiction there. It just goes 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:16.220 to show how incredibly sticky these academic 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.259 traditions are. The political maps can get redrawn, 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:22.000 empires can shrink, but apparently once a Regis, 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.659 always a Regis. Institutional memory is a powerful 00:09:24.659 --> 00:09:27.830 force. Academic prestige, once established and 00:09:27.830 --> 00:09:30.610 recognized globally, is very rarely abandoned 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:33.649 voluntarily. The title carries too much historical 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:36.269 weight and recognition to just drop it because 00:09:36.269 --> 00:09:38.750 of border change. Speaking of people refusing 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:41.669 to let go of prestige, we absolutely have to 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:43.570 share the story of the University of Edinburgh 00:09:43.570 --> 00:09:46.710 in 1708. Reading this part of the text, it felt 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:48.990 like an academic trying to fake it till he makes 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:51.580 it. it's a rather amusing anecdote from the historical 00:09:51.580 --> 00:09:54.159 record and it shows just how coveted the title 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.620 had become by the 18th century okay so picture 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:59.879 this the very first professor of greek at the 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:02.000 university of edinburgh was a man named william 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:06.200 scott who is known as william scott primus now 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.919 in 1708 this guy was actively being referred 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:12.259 to with the incredibly prestigious honorific 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:15.500 Regis professor. You can imagine him walking 00:10:15.500 --> 00:10:17.320 around the campus, enjoying the clout, soaking 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.080 in the respect of his peers. But the text reveals 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.259 the twist. He never actually managed to secure 00:10:23.259 --> 00:10:26.279 a grant from the crown. He essentially just assumed 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.919 the title without the corresponding royal paperwork. 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:31.460 He had the local recognition. His peers were 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:34.019 calling him Regis, but he entirely lacked the 00:10:34.019 --> 00:10:37.220 official royal seal of approval, the actual legal 00:10:37.220 --> 00:10:40.350 decree from the monarch. It's an absolute imposter 00:10:40.350 --> 00:10:42.870 drama in the 18th century Scottish academic scene. 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:44.509 I love it. You can just imagine the university 00:10:44.509 --> 00:10:46.789 politics and the whispers in the faculty lounge. 00:10:46.970 --> 00:10:49.690 Did they know? Did they care? Now, the text does 00:10:49.690 --> 00:10:51.750 note that his audacity sort of paved the way 00:10:51.750 --> 00:10:54.009 because later professors of Greek as well as 00:10:54.009 --> 00:10:55.789 humanity at Edinburgh were eventually appointed 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:58.289 by legitimate royal warrant. But William Scott 00:10:58.289 --> 00:11:00.610 Primus was just out there living the dream without 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:03.669 the paperwork to back it up. It's humorous, but 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:06.309 it also proves a point. People recognized the 00:11:06.309 --> 00:11:08.590 immense cultural capital that came with the word 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:12.289 Regis. Even the illusion of royal patronage elevated 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:15.419 his standing. Absolutely. So we've talked about 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:19.500 the 1500s, the 1700s, the 1800s. And going through 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:21.360 this timeline, you might start thinking that 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:24.179 this whole Regis professor thing is just a dusty 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:27.100 relic of the past, something that slowly faded 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:30.059 away as universities modernized and democratized. 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:32.419 But here's where it gets really interesting. 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:34.820 The timeline shifts dramatically as we enter 00:11:34.820 --> 00:11:36.850 the modern era. You're right to think it was 00:11:36.850 --> 00:11:39.789 fading. For a very long time, centuries in fact, 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:42.350 there was a significant drought. Very few new 00:11:42.350 --> 00:11:44.750 Regis chairs were created. The tradition seemed 00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:46.690 to have essentially capped out, frozen in time. 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.980 Right up until October 2012, out of nowhere, 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:52.139 it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II would 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:55.240 create up to six new Regis professorships. This 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:57.220 was done to mark her diamond jubilee, celebrating 00:11:57.220 --> 00:11:59.940 60 years on the throne. They planned to announce 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:02.240 the winners in early 2013, and universities had 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:04.299 to submit proposals proving why their specific 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:06.980 discipline was fundamentally needed. And this 00:12:06.980 --> 00:12:09.460 announcement sent absolute shockwaves through 00:12:09.460 --> 00:12:12.750 the academic community. Suddenly, Universities 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:15.070 that had never had a Regis chair, because remember 00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:17.049 that traditional rule of the seven ancient universities 00:12:17.049 --> 00:12:19.649 we talked about, were suddenly given the unprecedented 00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:22.370 opportunity to bid for this ultimate mark of 00:12:22.370 --> 00:12:25.870 royal prestige. It opened the floodgates. And 00:12:25.870 --> 00:12:28.289 the response must have been overwhelming. Because 00:12:28.289 --> 00:12:30.110 when the final list was announced in January 00:12:30.110 --> 00:12:33.409 2013, the Crown didn't just award six new chairs 00:12:33.409 --> 00:12:35.669 as originally planned. They actually awarded 00:12:35.669 --> 00:12:39.139 12 new Regis professorships. That number is vital 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:41.480 to understand the scale of this modern resurgence. 00:12:42.100 --> 00:12:44.399 Twelve new chairs and a single announcement is 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.659 likely the largest number ever created in one 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:50.039 year. In fact, the source explicitly notes it's 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:51.940 more than were created in most entire centuries. 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:54.480 It wasn't just a polite nod to the past. It was 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.980 a complete and total revitalization of the institution. 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:01.039 A historic windfall of academic royalty. And 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.850 the crown didn't stop there. This Diamond Jubilee 00:13:03.850 --> 00:13:06.070 batch was such a massive success that a few years 00:13:06.070 --> 00:13:09.690 later, in July 2015, another huge wave was announced. 00:13:10.029 --> 00:13:12.710 This time, it was to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. 00:13:12.950 --> 00:13:15.129 The actual chairs for this batch were awarded 00:13:15.129 --> 00:13:18.230 in 2016. And this is where we really see universities 00:13:18.230 --> 00:13:20.509 completely outside the ancient seven, getting 00:13:20.509 --> 00:13:23.330 the nod places like Aston University, Cardiff 00:13:23.330 --> 00:13:25.169 University, and the University of Liverpool. 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.049 The geography of prestige totally opened up. 00:13:28.169 --> 00:13:30.590 This raises an important question, though. When 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:32.629 we look at the specific subjects chosen for these 00:13:32.629 --> 00:13:36.490 new 2013 and 2016 shares, what exactly did the 00:13:36.490 --> 00:13:38.789 Crown and the government determine to be a fundamental 00:13:38.789 --> 00:13:42.019 need? for the 21st century. Yes, this is the 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:44.100 most revealing part of the entire deep dive. 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:46.100 Let's look at how the definition of fundamental 00:13:46.100 --> 00:13:49.620 evolved from the 1540s to the 2010s. Remember, 00:13:49.820 --> 00:13:52.000 back in the day of Oxford and Cambridge, it was 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.259 divinity, Greek, Hebrew, civil law. Now looking 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:57.500 at the modern list, the sheer leap is staggering. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:13:59.820 I mean, we go from ancient Greek in 1540 to a 00:13:59.820 --> 00:14:02.179 regis professor of computer science at the University 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.960 of Southampton in 2013. It highlights a massive 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:08.009 shift. Technology and engineering clearly emerged 00:14:08.009 --> 00:14:10.909 as a primary focus. You have the crown putting 00:14:10.909 --> 00:14:13.769 its 500 -year -old seal on algorithms and coding. 00:14:14.490 --> 00:14:17.029 Alongside Southampton, the University of Surrey 00:14:17.029 --> 00:14:20.230 got one for electronic engineering in 2013. And 00:14:20.230 --> 00:14:23.169 in the 2016 batch, Queen's University Belfast 00:14:23.169 --> 00:14:25.470 secured the Regis Professor of Electronics and 00:14:25.470 --> 00:14:27.769 Computer Engineering. And it's not just tech. 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:29.720 Looking through the source text, there's a whole 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.240 cluster dedicated to modern medicine, but it's 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:34.379 highly specialized. It's not just general physics 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:37.019 anymore. The University of London, based at the 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:39.700 Institute of Cancer Research, was awarded a Regis 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.519 Professor of Cancer Research in 2016. Which is 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:46.080 incredibly vital work. Exactly. In 2013, King's 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.139 College London received a chair for psychiatry. 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:50.740 Newcastle University got a Regis Professor of 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:54.100 Aging in 2016. And Glasgow, adding to their massive 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:57.019 pile of 14 chairs, got the Regis Professor of 00:14:57.019 --> 00:15:00.019 Precision. medicine in 2016. That specificity 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:02.340 is key. We're no longer just trying to understand 00:15:02.340 --> 00:15:04.759 basic anatomy. We're trying to decode the human 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:07.139 genome and understand the complexities of mental 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:10.299 health and longevity. We also see a stark recognition 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:13.259 of global environmental challenges in these modern 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:15.860 lists. The University of Reading was awarded 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:18.080 a chair in meteorology and climate science in 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.759 2013, and Southampton received a Regis professorship 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:25.019 in ocean sciences in 2016. I think the one that 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.399 surprised me the most was the shift towards society 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:30.330 and industry. The Open University was awarded 00:15:30.330 --> 00:15:32.809 a Regis Professor of Open Education in 2013. 00:15:33.210 --> 00:15:35.629 Think about the friction there. You have a 500 00:15:35.629 --> 00:15:38.070 -year -old royal monarchical tradition being 00:15:38.070 --> 00:15:40.590 applied to the concept of open education, the 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:42.730 democratization and free sharing of learning 00:15:42.730 --> 00:15:44.889 over the internet. It's a beautiful collision 00:15:44.889 --> 00:15:47.470 of the old world and the new. It truly is. Plus, 00:15:47.470 --> 00:15:49.409 the University of Warwick got manufacturing in 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:52.070 2016, and the London School of Economics secured 00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:54.990 the Regis Professor of Economics in 2013. If 00:15:54.990 --> 00:15:57.049 you step back and look at that modern list as 00:15:57.049 --> 00:16:00.230 a whole, You see a map of our current societal 00:16:00.230 --> 00:16:04.129 anxieties and our greatest ambitions. We're prioritizing 00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:06.129 our understanding of the changing climate, the 00:16:06.129 --> 00:16:08.870 aging process of our populations, mental health, 00:16:09.029 --> 00:16:11.769 cancer, the digital architecture that runs our 00:16:11.769 --> 00:16:14.389 lives, and the economic engines that drive it 00:16:14.389 --> 00:16:17.230 all. The crown is essentially saying these are 00:16:17.230 --> 00:16:20.029 the battlegrounds of the 21st century. So what 00:16:20.029 --> 00:16:22.129 does this all mean for you as you navigate your 00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:24.169 own understanding of the world? It means that 00:16:24.169 --> 00:16:26.289 a list of Regis professorships isn't just some 00:16:26.289 --> 00:16:29.129 dry directory of university jobs or a piece of 00:16:29.129 --> 00:16:31.830 esoteric academic trivia. It's essentially a 00:16:31.830 --> 00:16:34.370 living, breathing timeline of human academic 00:16:34.370 --> 00:16:36.850 progress. I'd completely agree with that framing. 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:39.470 It tracks our evolution. From mastering basic 00:16:39.470 --> 00:16:42.009 anatomy and attempting to decipher ancient languages 00:16:42.009 --> 00:16:45.090 in the 1400s and 1500s, we've moved to battling 00:16:45.090 --> 00:16:47.529 climate change, studying the complexities of 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:49.870 aging, and pushing the very boundaries of computer 00:16:49.870 --> 00:16:52.870 science in the 21st century. The mechanism of 00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:54.870 royal appointment remained exactly the same, 00:16:54.929 --> 00:16:57.149 a signature from the monarch, but the lens of 00:16:57.149 --> 00:16:59.490 what is considered fundamental shifted completely 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:02.230 to match the desperate needs of the time. It's 00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:04.589 an incredible journey. We started this deep dive 00:17:04.589 --> 00:17:08.130 in 1497 with a single Scottish royal appointment 00:17:08.130 --> 00:17:10.890 in Aberdeen, hoping to just understand basic 00:17:10.890 --> 00:17:13.970 medicine and survive the era. And we've traveled 00:17:13.970 --> 00:17:16.869 all the way to a diverse, modern network of elite 00:17:16.869 --> 00:17:19.190 academic leaders researching precision medicine, 00:17:19.549 --> 00:17:22.710 open education, and climate science. It really 00:17:22.710 --> 00:17:25.170 shows how our oldest institutions can adapt and 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:27.549 evolve while still holding on to the weight and 00:17:27.549 --> 00:17:30.430 the theater of their history. The Regis Professorship 00:17:30.430 --> 00:17:33.720 really acts as a bridge. It connects the absolute 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:35.940 authority of the monarchy of the past with the 00:17:35.940 --> 00:17:38.740 cutting -edge innovation of the future. It ensures 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:42.079 that the very highest level of prestige is directed 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.000 toward the problems and disciplines that will 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:46.240 define our current century. I want to thank you 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:47.920 so much for joining us on this deep dive today. 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:50.019 Exploring the hidden architecture of academic 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:52.220 prestige through these sources really gives you 00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:54.640 a new appreciation for how knowledge is valued, 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:57.569 funded, and elevated in our society. It's been 00:17:57.569 --> 00:17:59.470 a pleasure to break down the history and the 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:01.769 real world implications of this unique academic 00:18:01.769 --> 00:18:04.009 tradition. Before we go, we want to leave you 00:18:04.009 --> 00:18:06.369 with a final lingering question to ponder on 00:18:06.369 --> 00:18:08.890 your own. We've seen the crown declare disciplines 00:18:08.890 --> 00:18:11.369 from ancient Greek to modern computer science 00:18:11.369 --> 00:18:14.849 as fundamental to society. If you had the royal 00:18:14.849 --> 00:18:17.170 authority today, what completely unprecedented 00:18:17.170 --> 00:18:20.349 emerging field of study would you decree as a 00:18:20.349 --> 00:18:22.410 new Regis professorship for the next century? 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:24.930 Think about it. Until next time, keep learning.