Academic to lead prestigious research institute

17 Jul 2017

Professor Stephen J Milner appointed new Director of The British School at Rome

The Council of the British School at Rome has appointed Professor Stephen J. Milner as its new Director.

Professor Milner will be on secondment from the University, where he has served as Serena Professor of Italian since 2006 and is Chair of Italian Studies and Head of Department.

Professor Milner, who holds a first class BA and an MA from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the Warburg Institute, University of London, has served as a Lecturer in Italian at the University of Cambridge and a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Italian at the University of Bristol.

He has also held research fellowships at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, Florence, at the Houghton Library, Harvard University and at the British School at Rome, where he also served as a member of the Faculty of Archaeology, History and Letters from 2007 – 2013.

He is a member of the Executive Committees of the Society for Italian Studies and of the Società Dante Alighieri, Manchester and is a member of the AHRC Peer Review College. He has also been the Honorary Secretary of the Society for Renaissance Studies. Professor Milner has served on the editorial boards of Annali della storia di Firenze; Italian Studies; and Renaissance Studies and has served as a reader for a number of publishers and academic journals.  He has published widely in the field of Italian late medieval and Renaissance studies, including books on Boccaccio and Machiavelli amongst others; many articles and reviews in academic journals and numerous chapters in edited volumes, conference papers and lectures.

As a cultural historian concerned with the history of the classical tradition, Professor Milner is looking forward to building on the BSR’s existing strengths whilst addressing the key issues facing the UK research community.

He said: “As the UK’s largest overseas research institute, the BSR is ideally placed to develop the best of UK research and artistic and architectural practice in an international context. In the post-Brexit era, the strategic importance of maintaining a dynamic research presence at the heart of Europe has never been more crucial. I am delighted to be tasked with taking this work forward.”