Robert Douglas Laurie

(Robert) Douglas Laurie (27 October 1874 – 17 April 1953) was the founder and first president of the Association of University Teachers.

He was born in Birkenhead and educated at Birkenhead School. He took a job in a bank until 1899 before resuming his studies at Liverpool University before gaining a third class degree in zoology from Merton College, Oxford. After working as a demonstrator and assistant lecturer in the department of comparative anatomy at Oxford, he moved back to the University of Liverpool in 1906 also as a demonstrator and assistant lecturer. From 1911 he also lectured in embryology and genetics. During the First World War he served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and was twice mentioned in despatches. In 1918 he moved to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he became head of the Department of Zoology. When funds became available for a chair in zoology in 1922, he became professor. He was a keen field naturalist and his research interests included the study of the fauna of the sea-floor of Cardigan Bay.

He married Elinor Beatrice Ord in 1912. They had one daughter.

Laurie called a meeting in 1909 "To consider a proposal to form an Association for bringing together the members of the Junior Staff more into touch with one another and with the life of the University". Originally it was aimed at making contacts with other lecturers in other departments and other universities. At this time an increasing number of non-professorial staff were being employed. These Junior Staff or Assistant Lecturers were poorly paid, did essentially the same duties as professors and had few promotion prospects. In addition they had no representation on the bodies governing the Universities. Although the society formed at Liverpool was formally a "dining and discussion society" from an early stage it was clearly a new pressure group.

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