Three Lancaster University academics have received top UK social sciences awards.

Professor Karen Broadhurst (Social Work), Professor Gordon Walker (Environment and Justice) and Emeritus Professor David Sugarman (Law) join 48 other leading UK social scientists who have been conferred the award of Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

All have been elected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to research and to the application of social science to policy, education, society and the economy.

The Academy’s Fellowship is made up of distinguished individuals from academic, public and private sectors, across the full breadth of the social sciences.

Through leadership, applied research, policymaking and practice, they have worked to help understand and tackle some of the toughest challenges facing us in modern times.

Their work has contributed to the UK’s position as a world leader in the social sciences.

Professor Karen Broadhurst is recognised nationally and internationally for high quality, high impact research that has catalysed change in family justice policy and practice. Karen’s work has had a major impact on women’s access to rehabilitation following involvement in family law proceedings. Through a number of leadership, expert advisory roles and media appearances, Karen has been able to use research evidence to make the case for better justice.

Professor Gordon Walker is renowned for his intellectual leadership in the area of environmental justice and sustainability, which encompasses analyses of the social dimensions of environmental, risk and energy issues.

He has championed bringing a carefully considered social science of inequality and justice into policy and practice for concerns such as air pollution, flood risk and energy poverty, and served as an advisor on national government committees and research programme advisory groups.

Professor David Sugarman is recognised forhis pioneering role in opening-up and developing an inter-disciplinary legal history of modern England that addresses the interplay between law, politics, economics, society and culture (‘socio-legal history’).

David’s wider contribution to social science is evidenced in his substantial engagement with a range of governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the European Court of Justice, the European Parliament, the European Court of Human Rights and the Law Society of England and Wales

Collectively, their world-class thought-leadership, research and professional expertise demonstrate the importance of the social sciences to so many domains of political, social and economic lives, including many of the challenges faced in the UK and globally.

Professor Roger Goodman, the President of the Academy of Social Sciences, said: “We are immensely proud to welcome 51 new Fellows to the Academy who are so highly accomplished in their fields. They have been selected following a robust review by their peers and have been recognised for the excellence of their work and its applications in academia, business and the public sector.

“Over the course of their careers they have surpassed the normal requirements of their positions and many have used social sciences to deliver public benefit in the realms of social, economic and environmental policy, and in higher education, regional development, government and law. I offer our new Fellows my sincerest congratulations and look forward to collaborating with them to take forward the Academy’s ambitions.”

See the full list of new Fellows

The Academy of Social Sciences is the national academy of academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences. Its mission is to promote social science in the United Kingdom for public benefit.