McClelland, Ivy Lilian, 1908-2006

Ivy Lilian McClelland was born in Liverpool in 1908. Ivy first studied Hispanic Studies at Liverpool University between 1927-1930, before she joined the staff at the University of Glasgow in 1930 as an Assistant Lecturer in Spanish. She was also the first female academic within the institution to teach and research on Hispanic Studies topics. Among her specialties and areas of interest were 17th century Spanish drama, the Spanish Golden Age and important and influential Spanish figures such as Ignacio de Luzán.

Ivy McClelland also acted as a tutor and sub-warden at the Queen Margaret Hall of Residence for female students from the late 1940s up until the early 1960s, and she recorded her experiences during this time in a unpublished memoir. As well as her academic interests and position within the Queen Margaret, Ivy was also interested in poetry, and only in 2009 a collection of her poetry was published.

During her time at Glasgow she was given many awards and honours which reflect her international success as a scholar. In 1966 Ivy took the position of Reader within the Department at Glasgow, before retiring in 1973 and becoming a Senior Research Fellow, at the age of 65. In 1981, the Department of Hispanic Studies at Glasgow established the annual Ivy McClelland Lecture, which included 2 homage-volumes of essays (one published in the UK and the other in the USA). In 1989, she was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Glasgow. In 1995, the University of Glasgow also established the Ivy McClelland Research Chair of Spanish, and finally in 1997 Ivy was also awarded an honorary professorship in Hispanic Studies. Ivy passed away in April 2006.