Sir George Vance Allen CBE (16 April 1894 – 2 October 1970) was an Anglo-Irish British[a] medical doctor, bacteriologist and academic administrator who served as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya.

[11] Following his time in Nairobi, Allen undertook further postgraduate work in pathology in England, at Oxford and in the hospitals of London.

[15][16] In June 1929, Allen was appointed acting principal of King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore,[17][18] then a part of the Straits Settlements crown colony.

[19] Macalister in fact never returned to Singapore, retiring on account of his declining health[20] shortly before his death on 2 November 1930 at the age of 51.

[11] In the few years since the college began admitting students in 1928, the colonial government's Director of Education had served concurrently as its president.

[30] As Singapore came under bombardment from the Japanese military in January 1942, Allen lead the College to serve as the island centre for blood transfusion.

From 17 February, Allen and his colleagues were initially imprisoned in a temporary civilian internment camp comprising a police station, a school and nearby houses.

[42][43] The commission's conclusions were influenced by the political situation in the region: among other grievances, the proposed availability of Malayan citizenship to all residents was deeply unpopular with ethnic Malays, who felt their interests had been betrayed.

[44] Carr-Saunders believed that establishing a Malayan university "could serve a valuable political purpose, firstly by becoming an object of pride and loyalty which would knit together the diverse races of the country and secondly, by enhancing the prestige of Malaya in Southeast Asia as a whole.

[52] The first dean of the science faculty was Alexander's husband, Norman,[53] professor of physics at Raffles College,[54] and another fellow internee with Allen in Changi Prison and Sime Road Camp.

[59] He had planned to retire as vice-chancellor in June that year, but in fact left Singapore for England in April to be with his seriously-ill wife in London.

[45][61] Allen became secretary to the British Association for the Advancement of Science on 1 April 1954,[62] in succession to botanist David Nicoll Lowe.

[66][67] From 1958 Allen also served as chairman of the council of Queen Elizabeth College in the University of London,[68] following on from the 36-year tenure of John Atkins.

[71] In 1969, a lecture hall in the College's extended Atkins Building was named the Allen Theatre in recognition of his work in planning the expansion.

[77] On 11 July 1969, the University of Kent awarded Allen his final honorary degree, a Doctorate of Science (DSc).