Brunel Vice-Chancellor Professor Julia Buckingham has been made a CBE and Dr Ruth Caleb an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, released today.
Professor Buckingham has been honoured for services to biology and education, in recognition of her distinguished career as a pharmacologist and academic leader. She is a Fellow of four Learned Societies, including the Royal Society of Biology, of which she was a founding trustee until last year. She holds a DSc from the University of London and has been awarded the Society for Endocrinology Medal; British Pharmacological Society Gaddum Memorial Prize; and AstraZeneca, Women in Pharmacology prize.
Prof Buckingham’s voluntary work in bioscience and education spans a range of roles and organisations, including trustee of the Royal Institution; President of the British Pharmacological Society; President of the Society for Endocrinology; Chair of the Science Community for Education; and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neuroendocrinology. She currently holds trustee/board member roles at Universities UK, STEMNET, Imperial College Health Partners, National Centre for Universities and Business and the All-Party Parliamentary University Group Council. Professor Buckingham also chairs The Concordat Strategy Group, supporting the career developments of early career researchers.
Dr Ruth Caleb, who was Head of Counselling at Brunel for 17 years, receives an MBE for her services in professional support of the mental health and wellbeing of students within higher education institutions in the UK.
As Chair of Universities UK Mental Health in Wellbeing in Higher Education Working Group, Dr Caleb has consistently worked to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues among university students, advising the Government and influencing national policy.
As well as authoring numerous papers and articles on the subject of student mental health, Dr Caleb acts as an academic adviser on the Doctorate of Psychotherapy programme run by Metanoia Institute and Middlesex University, and had a principal role in producing the Student Mental Wellbeing in High Education: Good Practice Guide.
She has also made several media appearances to raise exposure of student mental wellbeing to a wider audience, including on BBC1’s Breakfast programme, BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat and BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Since leaving Brunel last year, Dr Caleb has been co-editing a book, on the subject of student mental health and wellbeing in HE, which will be published by Sage next year.
Professor Mike Spyer, Chair of Brunel University London’s Council, said: “For Julia, this is a highly valued and justified honour and a testament to the national recognition of her service to higher education and research, whilst Ruth's honour reflects her outstanding contribution to what is only now being recognised as a national issue - student mental health. We are so proud of them both.”
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