Peter Mayo has been appointed Honorary Professor within the School of Education at University of Nottingham.

The announcement was made by University of Malta’s Faculty of Education on Tuesday.

Prof. Mayo’s appointment is valid for a three-year period starting from 1st August 2024, with his Honorary Professorship being in global adult education.

The title of Honorary Professor is given to “distinguished practitioners” in the respective field, the announcement stated.

According to University of Nottingham’s guidelines for such appointments, issued by its office of the registrar, “the title of Honorary Professor is appropriate for someone worthy of a Chair position of the university or equivalent, that is, someone very eminent in their field.”

In a social media post, Prof. Mayo said that he is honoured to have been appointed in the new role, especially at the same university that renowned novelist D.H. Lawrence had attended.

“This allows me free access to the university library and resources and to collaborate with staff there in teaching and research,” he added.

Throughout his academic career, Prof. Mayo has published over 100 papers in journals or as book chapters and has also worked on 20 books. He was also University of Malta’s first UNESCO Chair in Global Adult Education.

He is a former Head of Department of Arts, Open Communities and Adult Education at University of Malta, and also served as the Head of Department of Education Studies from 2008 to 2012.

His lecturing portfolio includes areas of sociology of education and adult continuing education

Last year, he announced that his role as Full Professor was scaled down by the university. He still has a teaching and research position at University of Malta, yet it is equivalent to half the load of a Full Professor. A number of academics rallied in support of Prof. Mayo.