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April Mary Scott McMahon (born 30 April 1964) is a British academic administrator and linguist, who is Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students at the University of Manchester.

Having taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of Sheffield, she moved into academic administration while teaching at the University of Edinburgh. She was vice-chancellor of the Aberystwyth University (2011–2016), then a member of the senior leadership team at the University of Kent before joining the University of Manchester.

Early life and education

McMahon was born on 30 April 1964 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She grew up in the Scottish Borders. She studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) degree in 1986. She remained to study for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in phonology, which was awarded in 1989 with a doctoral thesis titled "Constraining lexical phonology: evidence from English vowels".

Career

McMahon began her career at the University of Cambridge, where she was a lecturer in linguistics and a fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, from 1988 to 2000. From 2000 to 2004, she was Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Sheffield. She then joined the University of Edinburgh, where she was Forbes Professor of English Language from 2005 to 2011. She was additionally Head of the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, then Head of the College of Humanities and Social Science, and finally its vice-principal (planning and research planning) from 2009 to 2011.

In 2011, McMahon joined Aberystwyth University as vice-chancellor, the chief executive and academic head of the university. Her salary at Aberystwyth was £237,000, and when she left the university, she received an extra payment of £102,000. In 2016, she joined the University of Kent as deputy vice-chancellor (education) and Professor of English Language and Linguistics. She moved once again, joining the University of Manchester as vice-president for teaching, learning and students in 2019.

Awards and honours

In 2003, McMahon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). In 2005, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. In 2012, she was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW).

Personal life

McMahon married Robert McMahon in 1984 and has two sons and one daughter.

Selected works

Her publications as first author or co-author / editor include:

• McMahon, April M. S. (1994). Understanding Language Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521441193.
• McMahon, April (2000). Change, Chance, and Optimality. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198241249.
• McMahon, April (2000). Lexical Phonology and the History of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521472807.
• McMahon, April (2002). An Introduction to English Phonology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0748612512.
• McMahon, April; McMahon, Robert (2005). Language Classification by Numbers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199279012.
• Aarts, Bas; McMahon, April, eds. (2006). The Handbook of English Linguistics. Malden, MA: Blackwell. ISBN 978-1405113823.
• Maguire, Warren; McMahon, April, eds. (2011). Analysing Variation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521898669.
• McMahon, April; McMahon, Robert (2013). Evolutionary Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511989391. ISBN 978-0521814508.

References

1. Anon (2019). "Senior Leadership Team Appointments: Professor April McMahon to be Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students". staffnet.manchester.ac.uk. The University of Manchester.
2. ^ Anon (2017). "McMahon, Prof. April Mary Scott". Who's Who (online Oxford University Press ed.). Oxford: A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U45825. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. ^ "Senior officer profiles: Professor April McMahon, Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students". The University of Manchester. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
4. ^ "McMahon, Prof. April Mary Scott, (born 30 April 1964), Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students, University of Manchester, since 2019". Who's Who 2021. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
5. McMahon, April Mary Scott (1989). Constraining lexical phonology : evidence from English vowels. jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. OCLC 612625254. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.236336.
6. Havergal, Chris (7 December 2015). "April McMahon to step down as Aberystwyth Vice Chancellor". timeshighereducation.com. Times Higher Education.
7. "Aberystwyth Vice Chancellor faces chorus of digital disapproval". timeshighereducation.com. Times Higher Education. 22 May 2014.
8. Leach, Abi (19 February 2015). "April McMahon takes a £9,000 pay cut to stay in her job". thetab.com. The Tab.
9. Anon (4 December 2015). "Aberystwyth University's Prof April McMahon to step down". bbc.co.uk. London: BBC News.
10. Servini, Nick (2017). "Hikes in university vice-chancellor payments revealed". bbc.co.uk. London: BBC News.
11. Anon (2003). "Professor April Mary Scott McMahon FBA, FRSE, FLSW". rse.org.uk. Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
12. "Fellows Elected 2005". britac.ac.uk. British Academy. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
13. "Professor April McMahon". britac.ac.uk. British Academy. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
14. "Professor April McMahon". learnedsociety.wales. Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 28 January 2017.

• United Kingdom
• Biography

• 1964 births
• Living people
• British women linguists
• 20th-century British linguists
• 21st-century linguists
• Historical linguists
• Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• Fellows of the British Academy
• Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales
• Vice-chancellors of Aberystwyth University
• Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge
• Academics of the University of Sheffield
• British academic administrators
• Academics of the University of Edinburgh
• Academics of the University of Kent
• Academics of the University of Manchester
• Alumni of the University of Edinburgh