CPC's Professor Derek McGhee conferred Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

On 19 October 2016 the Academy of Social Sciences announced that it had conferred the award of Fellow on Professor Derek McGhee, Head of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton and joint coordinator of CPC's migration stand of research.

Fellows of the Academy are drawn from across the spectrum of academia, practitioners and policymakers, recognised for the excellence and impact of their work through the use of social science for public benefit. Derek has been recognised for his eminent contribution to scholarship in the fields of identity, difference and citizenship, with particular interests on legislative discrimination and sexual minority groups, asylum seekers and migration policy, community cohesion, and counter-terrorism and security policies.

Some of Derek's recent CPC research in this area includes investigating the role of non-government organisations in the return of asylum seekers and irregular migrants to their country of origin, improving our understanding of patterns of household formation, intimacy and social networking amongst East and Central European migrant workers in the UK, and Investigating migrants' attitudes to a changing EU.

Announcing the conferment, Professor Roger Goodman FAcSS, Chair of the Academy, said: 'I am delighted that we have been able to confer a Fellowship on all these eminent social scientists. It is particularly gratifying to include a larger number of economists, policy makers and practitioners on this occasion. This is a result of our work to see representation from these areas increased to maintain balances between the individual disciplines and between academics and those working in the policy and practice communities. This gives the Academy legitimacy to speak on behalf of the social science community as a whole.'

Derek, who was delivering a keynote address at a conference in China when his award was announced, has commented 'I am delighted to have been awarded a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences. Academic work in this area is highly relevant to public policy debate and change, particularly during the current political climate and it is fantastic that these scientific contributions are being recognised and promoted by the Academy at this time'.

Congratulations are also extended to Professor Catherine Pope, Professor of Medical Sociology at the University of Southampton and Professor Patrick Sturgis, Professor of Research Methodology at the University of Southampton who have also become Fellows of the Academy.

Posted 26/10/2016 16:50