Christopher John Smith, FRSE, FSA, FRHistS (born 1965 at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire), is a British academic and classicist specialising in early Ancient Rome.
Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews, and formerly Director of the British School at Rome, Smith was appointed on 1 September 2020 as Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Contents
Early life and education
Born in 1965 at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, Smith attended Aylesbury Grammar School before going up to Keble College, Oxford, to read Literae Humaniores, graduating as Bachelor of Arts in 1988. He then pursued further studies, taking a DPhil from Oxford in 1992.
Academic career
After joining the University of St Andrews in 1992 as a Lecturer in Ancient History, Smith was appointed to a professorial chair in 2002.
Elected FSA (Scot), he served as Proctor & Provost of St Leonard's College at St Andrews, before becoming President of the Unione Internazionale degli Istituti di Archeologia Storia e Storia dell'Arte in Rome from 2012 to 2017.