Steven Mithen

Steven Mithen has a BA (hons) in Prehistory & Archaeology from Sheffield University, an MSc in Biological Computation from York University, and a PhD in Archaeology from Cambridge University.

Between 1987 and 1992, he was a Research Fellow at Trinity Hall and then Lecturer in Archaeology at Cambridge. After moving to the University of Reading, he was promoted to Senior Lecturer (1996), Reader (1998) and then Professor of Early Prehistory (2000). In August 2002, he was appointed as the first Head of the School of Human & Environmental Sciences, formed by the Departments of Archaeology, Geography, Soil Science and the Postgraduate Institute of Sedimentology, a post he held until August 2008 when he became Dean of the Faculty of Science.

In 2010, he was appointed a Pro Vice Chancellor for Internationalisation, a position he held for four years during which he developed a series of research and teaching partnerships for Reading, notably the Reading-NUIST Academy in China. In 2014 he was appointed Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, during which he undertook a major reshaping or research leadership, management and organisation at the University. Between 2014 and 2018, Steven also held the post of Deputy Vice Chancellor. In 2018 Steven completed his management roles at the University and returned to the Department of Archaeology as Professor Early Prehistory. He was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.