Exeter College has announced that its Governing Body has elected to grant J.K. Rowling an Honorary Fellowship.
The announcement comes after Rowling made a visit to the college in February of this year. During her visit she was in conversation at the Sheldonian Theatre with Jeri Johnson, fellow in English and Sub-Rector at Exeter.
The pair discussed the themes of ‘Mortality and Morality’ in Rowling’s work, including both The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo’s Calling, which was published in 2013 under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Exeter’s statutes state that honorary fellowships are awarded to, “any distinguished person,” and Rowling has been added to a list of honorary fellows which includes Queen Sofia of Spain.
In addition, there are a number of literary figures on the list who are alumni of the college, such as Martin Amis, Alan Bennett and Philip Pullman.
Queen Sofia of Spain visited Oxford earlier this term to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the college.
The College issued a statement on its website, saying, “Ms Rowling was elected in recognition of the extraordinary contribution she has made to the field of literature, and in particular to children’s reading and literacy.”
A medic at Exeter said, “I understand the significance which the Harry Potter series has for many people, but it seems to me that making J. K. Rowling an Honorary Fellow is a bit like name-dropping.”
Grace McGowan, a Fresher reading English at the College disagreed, explaining, “I think it’s a great way to recognize her achievement, especially as her books have got so many children to start reading.”
This is not the first time that Rowling has been granted a fellowship to an organization. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a post for which she was elected in 2002. In total, she holds 6 honorary degrees, including ones from Harvard, Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Exeter, where she did an undergraduate degree in French and Classics.
The release date for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a film based on a 2001 Harry Potter spin-off that Rowling wrote in aid of Comic Relief, was recently revealed as 18 November 2016.
The book was billed as a textbook for Hogwarts in Care of Magical Creatures. Rowling has agreed to co-write the scripts, as she did for the Harry Potter film franchise.
Exeter announced that it is “delighted Ms. Rowling has accepted and is pleased to welcome her to the Fellowship”.
According to the college’s statutes, any person elected to hold an Honorary Fellowship is elected for life.
