Social scientists honoured by academy

Three of our social scientists have just been honoured with the title of Academician by The Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Charles Pattie, Department of Geography; Professor Andrew Geddes, Department of Politics; and Emeritus Professor Jenny Hockey, Department of Sociology are among 51 UK academics to have the prestigious title bestowed upon them.

The Academy of Social Sciences is the national academy of academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences. It has over 900 individual Academicians, who are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. Charles, Andrew and Jenny were given this status after a peer group reviewed the standing and impact of their work, and as Academicians are entitled to put letters AcSS after their names.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Keith Burnett said: “We’re delighted that three of our academic colleagues in the Faculty of Social Sciences have been honoured in this way. The title of Academician is a mark of excellence and indicates outstanding impact, as well as the respect in which those selected are held in their respective fields.

"The Faculty of Social Sciences includes a number of departments which are nationally recognised as top in the UK, and from Education to Architecture, Geography to Politics, the emphasis in Sheffield is to take the very best quality of research and teaching with a strong focus on policy and practice in wider society."

The honours are the latest accolade for us in a successful year where we have received several high profile awards, including three ESRC Celebrating Impact prizes for members of the Faculty of Social Science, two members of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities being elected to the British Academy and the University being chosen as a Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Design by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We also topped the region for student experience in this year's National Student Survey (NSS) and have been nominated for two Times Higher Education Awards for Entrepreneurial University of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Leadership Development.

Tuesday 10 September 2013