Professor Mario Aquilina has been appointed Head of the Department of English at the University of Malta, succeeding Professor James Corby, who will step down at the end of September after 12 years in the role.
Prof. Aquilina will take up the position in October, describing his appointment as an honour and a significant responsibility.
Announcing the news, he reflected on his own connection with the University and the Department, recalling walking through the corridors of the Old Humanities Building as a student more than 25 years ago.
“Considering how much the study of literature and language mattered to me then, and how much it matters to me now, I am deeply conscious of the enormous responsibility this position carries,” he said.
Prof. Aquilina highlighted the Department’s efforts to provide a “safe, inspiring and caring environment” for students and staff, adding that he hopes to draw on the lessons he has learnt throughout his 25 years of teaching and lecturing.
He also paid tribute to the academics who shaped his career, from his time at Junior College and the University of Malta to his later studies at the University of Durham.
“I hope to give back at least some of what I received, and that I have learned enough from the leaders I have admired over my twenty-five years of teaching and lecturing to serve well in this role,” he said.
Prof. Aquilina thanked outgoing Head Prof. Corby for what he described as “twelve years of truly exceptional service”, as well as his colleagues for encouraging and supporting him in taking on the position.
Prof. Corby, meanwhile, said he was delighted that Prof. Aquilina would succeed him, describing the incoming Head as bringing “considerable experience, judgement and commitment to the role”.
Reflecting on his own tenure, Prof. Corby said the Department had renewed and expanded its programmes, developed new areas of teaching and research, strengthened its international connections and cultivated an active intellectual and creative culture within and beyond the University.
“It has been an immense privilege to lead the Department over these twelve years,” he said, thanking academic and administrative colleagues, as well as the Department’s students and alumni, for their contribution during his tenure.
Following his departure from the role, Prof. Corby will begin a two-year period of sabbatical leave, during which he plans to focus on research and writing. He intends to subsequently return to the Department.
Prof. Aquilina said he is looking forward to working with colleagues, students and alumni, as well as the Department’s international network of researchers and academics, the Faculty of Arts and the wider University.
He described the University of Malta as his “second home”, adding that he is immensely proud to be part of the institution.
