National award for University of York academic

Posted on 15 July 2014

A University of York social scientist has been honoured for her contribution to social policy research and the sustained impact her work has had on the Government, local authorities and the public.

Professor Caroline Glendinning receiving her award from acting Social Policy Association President Professor Adrian Sinfield from the University of Edinburgh

Caroline Glendinning, an Emeritus Professor in the University’s Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) received a Special Recognition Award from the UK Social Policy Association last night. The Social Policy Association (SPA) is the professional association for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners of social policy.

Professor Glendinning retired in April after 40 years as a social policy academic. She is a member of the Academy of Social Sciences and between 1997 and 2012 was respectively secretary, vice-chair and chair of the SPA.

She said: "I am delighted and honoured to have received a Special Recognition Award from the Social Policy Association. Over the past 30 years social policy has undergone profound changes, as the post-war welfare state has fragmented. The SPA has helped to ensure the resilience of social policy, as an area of study, research and critical analysis. I am privileged to have been able to make a small contribution to this."

She joined the then Family Fund Research Project in 1974 and worked with Professor Jonathan Bradshaw and the late Professor Sally Baldwin. Most of her subsequent career has been in SPRU, researching a range of issues around disability, ageing, family and social care. She also spent 16 years at the University of Manchester, in its then Department of Social Policy and Social Work and the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre.

Professor Glendinning is one of three recipients of Special Recognition Awards this year. The judges were the SPA President, Sue Duncan, Professor Karen Rowlingson, Professor Ian Gough, and Professor Michael Hill.

Further information:

The Social Policy Association (SPA) is the professional association for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners of social policy. The SPA promotes the study of social policy and advances the role of social policy research within policy making, practice and wider public debates. Founded in 1972, it offers a wide range of services for all involved or interested in the subject and its development. The SPA aims to be an outward-looking association where international and global aspects of social policy, a broad world view, and engagement with scholars residing outside of as well as within the UK lie at the heart of what we do and how we go about it.
The Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York has an international reputation for excellence in research in social policy, especially health and social care, poverty, welfare and social work. It has become recognised as one of the leading centres for research in social policy in the UK. For more information about our current research please visit www.york.ac.uk/spru