Category Archives: Ambassadors

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn – Project Ambassador for ‘Newspapers, Poverty and Long-Term Change. A Corpus Analysis of Five Centuries of Texts’

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We are delighted to announce that the Rt Hon Alan Milburn has kindly agreed to become the project ambassador for our project ‘Newspapers, poverty and long-term change. A corpus analysis of five centuries of text’ led by Professor Tony McEnery.

Alan Milburn served as a Labour MP for Darlington between 1992 and 2010 and, throughout that time, was recognised for his strong commitment to combatting social inequality and modernising politics. In January 1998 he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury and, between 1999 -2003, served as Secretary of State for Health where he led wide-ranging reforms in health and social care services. He went on to serve as Chanceller of the Duchy of Lancaster between 2004-2005.

Alan Milburn chaired the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions from 2008 and 2009 under Prime Minister Brown and was then appointed by Prime Minister Cameron to chair the Commission on Social Mobility and Child Poverty which has a statutory duty to monitor and report on both issues. In this role, he has worked tirelessly to reduce child poverty and challenge Britain’s so-called ‘glass ceiling’ which maintains deep-rooted social inequality. His background, growing up on a council estate in a small town in County Durham, has given him first-hand knowledge of the crippling disadvantage that can be engendered by social deprivation. He has spoken recently of the changing nature of British poverty, arguing that it has become a mainstream issue affecting many working families.

Alan Milburn runs his own consultancy, advising governments and international corporations, and continues to be involved in a number of charitable ventures.

Alan Milburn already has a strong connection with Lancaster. He studied history as an undergraduate at the University and, in 2000, was awarded an honorary degree. In January 2015 he will start a new role as Lancaster University’s Chancellor.

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn’s commitment to our project has stemmed from his lifelong interest in the causes and consequences of poverty. As project ambassador, he will provide expertise and guidance to the project team members at CASS and is very well-placed to share our findings with other interested parties from non-academic backgrounds.

Profile: Chief Project Ambassador Cary Cooper

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carycooperWe are very proud to introduce Prof. Sir Cary Cooper, the Centre’s Chief Project Ambassador. Prof. Sir Cooper is a Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health in Lancaster University’s highly acclaimed Management School, and Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences, and thus has a broad experience of the different disciplines within the Centre’s purview.

Prof. Sir Cooper holds the Centre’s ideology of bettering broad dissemination of research results close to his own heart. In addition to his academic positions, Professor Sir Cooper is also the President of the Institute of Welfare, Past President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, President of RELATE, a former national Ambassador of The Samaritans, and a Patron of the Anxiety UK. As such, he has many links to non-academic users of research beyond those directly named as Ambassadors within the Centre.

As Chief Project Ambassador, Prof. Sir Cooper sits on the Management Board of CASS specifically to represent the interests of the other Project Ambassadors, liaising with them to ensure that their involvements with the Centre are mutually advantageous and result in the highest quality benefits for users of research at all levels. As the Chief Project Ambassador, Prof. Sir Cooper also reviews nominations for new non-academic members of the College proposed by members of the Centre, and presents the case for inclusion to the Centre management board.

Prof. Sir Cooper holds the mission of CASS in high regard, believing that heightened interdisciplinarity and wider distribution of knowledge can have some very positive effects on the work of academics and non-academics alike. CASS is very pleased to have such an esteemed scholar and forward thinker leading up the College of Project Ambassadors.