Robert Burgess

Sir Robert George Burgess DL, FAcSS (23 April 1947 – 21 February 2022) was a British sociologist and academic. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester in 1999, succeeding Ken Edwards. He was President of the British Sociological Association 1989–1991 and chair of the board of GSM London. Early life Burgess was born in Sturminster in Dorset on 23 April 1947. He grew up Somerset, and attended the King Arthur's School in Wincanton, from 1958. He taught for a year at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, a church school, in Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Burgess received his BA degree from the University of Durham in 1971 and his PhD degree from the University of Warwick in 1981. Career Burgess remained at Warwick as a lecturer and became Professor of Sociology in 1987. He then rose through the ranks, serving as Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor 1995–99. Burgess then moved to the University of Leicester as Vice-Chancellor, introducing sweeping changes that enhanced the university's reputation and saw it enter the top-20 institutions in many league tables.