Crossword Genius

Lecturer welcoming the old senior member (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

doyen

'senior member' is the definition.
(a senior or respected figure)

'lecturer welcoming the old' is the wordplay.
'lecturer' becomes 'don' (don is a term for an academic).
'welcoming' means one lot of letters goes inside another (in sense of 'inviting in').
'the old' becomes 'ye' (resembles a historical spelling of 'the').
'don' enclosing 'ye' is 'DOYEN'.

(Other definitions for doyen that I've seen before include "Most prominent expert" , "Senior member of a professional group" , "Man who is the senior in his profession" , "Most valued prof, eg" , "Prominent person in a particular field" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Independent.
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