Dominic Shellard

Dominic Shellard was born in Orpington, Greater London.[2] He went to school at Crofton Junior School and then Dulwich College, before going on to read English and German at St Peter's College, Oxford, where he also obtained a DPhil in English Literature on the theatre criticism of Harold Hobson.[2]

He is a former councillor for Boston Ward on Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, serving from 1999 until 2003.[3]

Shellard began his academic career as a lecturer in English at the University of Salford in 1993. He moved to the University of Sheffield in 1996, and was awarded a Readership in 1999 and a Personal Chair in 2003. In 2004, he became the Head of the Department of English, before being appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor for External Affairs in 2008.[4]

He served as Vice-Chancellor of De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester in 2010 from 2010-2019.

Shellard is an expert in post-war British theatre and an active Shakespeare scholar. He has authored ten books, including British Theatre Since The War, (Yale University Press, 1999), Shakespeare: A Writer’s Life (British Library/Oxford University Press, 2000), and a biography of the critic Kenneth Tynan, Kenneth Tynan: A Life (Yale University Press, 2003) with the most recent monograph being Shakespeare's Culture Capital, which he edited with Siobhan Keenan in 2016. He also founded and led the Theatre Archive Project, a joint venture with the British Library to reinvestigate British theatre history from 1945 to 1968. The Theatre Archive Project contains a very large number of interviews with practitioners, actors, playwrights and audience members about this formative period of British Theatre history.[5] Shellard is also a former chairman of Sheffield Theatres Trust, responsible for the Crucible Theatre and the Lyceum Theatre.

During his time as Vice-Chancellor Shellard conceived and oversaw the launch of Square Mile India, an initiative created to “help improve the lives of thousands of India’s poorest and most vulnerable families”. To do this, many students from the university would travel to Ahmedebad, Gujarat, to work with the community in the city’s largest slum, home to 160,000 people. Whilst they were there, the students focussed on improving the infrastructure of the slum sustainably, by introducing the use of solar power and intelligent electricity systems to ensure energy would be used efficiently. They also worked closely with these communities to “help people needing treatment for eyesight and hearing problems, and to use art, education and psychology training to improve community life”, as well as building homes for families affected by leprosy, work on projects to improve sanitation, design anti-microbial pillows for children to sleep on and help improve literacy and numeracy skills.[6]

In 2013, the Gandhi Global Family, a United Nations NGO, presented Prof Shellard with the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal for services to society. As a result of the university’s commitment to social good, its efforts were recognised by Mahatma Gandhi’s own grandson in a visit to the campus later that year.[7] In 2017, Shellard was appointed special representative to the United Nations Civil Society Unit for the Gandhi Global Family and in August 2019, he delivered an address, together with Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon and Padmashri, SP Varma, the Vice-President of the Gandhi Global Family, on his social good work in India to the 68th United Nations Civil Society Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.[8] In November 2019, Shellard initiated new social good projects in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[9]

The very first visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth’s, Diamond Jubilee tour in 2012 was to De Montfort University.[10] The Queen was accompanied by Prince Philip and the Duchess of Cambridge. Hosted by Lord Waheed Alli, the then Chancellor of De Montfort University and Shellard, the university put on a fashion show for the Queen. It was widely remarked upon in the media how much the Queen appeared to enjoy this event, as well as her meeting with the university’s Bollywood Dance Society.[11]

Shellard also founded the hugely popular DMU Global scheme, an international student mobility project, which enabled thousands of DMU students to travel abroad to destinations such as the United Nations in New York and refugee centres in Berlin.[12][13]

In 2018, De Montfort University became the first ever British University to win the title of University of the Year for Social Inclusion, awarded by the Sunday Times. Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “De Montfort shows that social inclusion and academic success are not either/or options... It was the clear winner of our inaugural University of the Year for Social Inclusion award for its policies to encourage a diverse student population on campus and then demanding that they go on to achieve as well as is expected of students drawn from more privileged backgrounds. It provides a template that many other higher education institutions would do well to follow." [14]

Initiated by Shellard, De Montfort University now has a widely praised, award winning campus, following a £136m investment in facilities for students. The campus transformation included the new Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre, a new complex for the Faculty of Art and Design, the Vijay Patel Building, a conference centre, a new sportsground and a new ‘green lung’, a large series of landscaped open spaces at the heart of the university.[15]

In January 2019, Shellard came under public scrutiny regarding a 22.3 percent increase in his remuneration over that of the previous year, following the award of the prestigious TEF Gold status for the university.[16] His remuneration for the academic year 2017-18 consisted of a £350,000 salary (2016–17; £286,000), £1,000 in health benefits, and £6,000 in pension contributions.

Shellard is a key fan of QPR, an English Football League club.[17] He was also one of the very few openly gay Vice-Chancellors.[18]