The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was no consensus with leave to speedy renominate Ron Ritzman (talk) 22:39, 19 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Russell Deacon

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Article seems to be written by the subject. Subject has previously been a professor in a Cardiff college and claims currently to be a professor at a small campus of the University of Wales (though I can't find evidence of this). He is possibly still a local elected councillor (I can't find proof). He claims to have appeared on local TV during election campaigns but, though this is believable, I can't find any proof of it or in what capacity he appeared. Overall this article seems to read like an unsourced online CV for an academic and political activist. Does not seem to meet WP:ACADEMIC or WP:GNG. Sionk (talk) 07:30, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

N.B. I've notified Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Wales of this nomination. Sionk (talk) 08:05, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The lack of referencing has been mainly dealt with as required by WP:GNG. References to a local councillor have now been included. References to lectureship at Trinity St David are not yet in because they have not updated their web site with this information but when this is done it will be referenced. Subject was not a professor at a college but a University in Cardiff. Reference to TV election appearance included. Other references are now included. Article is a biography more accurately sourced than before. Biographies are similar to cvs but not the same, as commentator needs to examine the clear differences between them with respect to their comment. With respect to the WP:ACADEMIC category: Professor Deacon held a Chair at University of Wales Institute Cardiff. That was the highest level appointed academic post at the university. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy. Subject was Chair of the Parliament for Wales Campaign, which campaigned for and led to the introduction of both the Welsh Assembly and primary law making powers. This was a significant national role outside of academia. This was a notable Welsh political and historic campaign group. The comments on some aspects of referencing on TV and radio appearances are not possible because these programmes do not list all contributors to the programmes on a daily basis. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rdeacon (talk • contribs) 09:14, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]
- The new references help towards verification. WP:GNG requires evidence of multiple examples of reliable in-depth coverage that is independent of the subject. However, if you can provide proof that you(?) held a recognised Chair post at UWIC or elsewhere, that may be sufficient to pass Wikipedia's notability criteria of WP:ACADEMIC. Sionk (talk) 10:30, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

There is now a reference (3) which provides online evidence from Cardiff Metropolitan University that the subject held a chair there. Once the web site is operational for Trinity St David that will also be added. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rdeacon (talk • contribs) 19:09, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. • Gene93k (talk) 00:40, 29 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'll wait to read the opinions of other editors. I'm not sure reference (3) confirms that a chair position is held. Of the remaining sources, none of them are in-depth, reliable and independent. The article seems overly self-promotional. Sionk (talk) 14:50, 29 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Ron Ritzman (talk) 01:49, 5 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Comment I am reluctant to !vote here, but like Sionk I remain unconvinced that the notability test has been passed. I do accept that Dr (Prof) Deacon is known within members of the academic community interested in the history of Liberal politics in Britain, and Wales in particular, but chiefly it seems through his post as convenor of the British Liberal Political Studies Group of the Political Studies Association, rather than as having, say, authored a seminal study on the topic. He is known within Welsh Liberal Democrat circles, but not as taking a prominent part in leadership or policy formulation. He held a post as professor at Cardiff School of Education which is a constituent part of Cardiff Metropolitan University, and I accept that ref (3) in the current article is sufficient evidence of that, but it would seem to have been for at most a period of one academic year and I am having difficulty in relating that to the rest of his academic career. In many cases the creation of a personal professorial post is a very singular honour, evidence of an outstanding contribution in their field, and more than sufficient to satisfy WP's notability requirements. The shortness of tenure would then be irrelevant. But I have to say frankly to the author of this article that the paucity of any evidence that this was a substantive post, the circumstances or grounds on which it was awarded, or any of the normal incidental material that would normally accompany a Google search on an academic satisfying Wikipedia's notability criteria is a major impediment to my supporting the keeping of the article. That is not to question the accuracy of the article, or denying what he has actually achieved, but Wikipedia is not simply a directory of Welsh academics or political activists. --AJHingston (talk) 12:59, 5 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
weak Keep I don't see him notable as an academic. A one year post to a personal chair is I think essentially a Visiting appointment, and nobody could possible call University of Wales a major research university, even before the government closed it down. Checking his books on worldcat, one of them has 138 copies in UK libraries, which is pretty good, because worldcat does not cover most uk public libraries. If 3rd party reviews can be found, he'll be probably notable as WP:AUTHOR. His notability otherwise is as a political figure, but he does not help that he has apparently held no formal office. DGG ( talk ) 01:51, 6 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Ron Ritzman (talk) 23:52, 12 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.