Thursday, March 28, 2024
BusinessUniversity of Dundee academics join the Royal Society of Arts

University of Dundee academics join the Royal Society of Arts

TWO SCOTTISH lecturers have been awarded prestigious fellowship for their outstanding contribution to social progress and development.

Dr Fiona Kumari Campbell and Dr Megan O’Neill from the University of Dundee will join the worldwide fellowship marking their significant contribution in their field.

Dr Fiona Kumari Campbell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Education and Social Work, and Dr Megan O’Neill, Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, were awarded the fellowship by the Royal Society of Arts.

The worldwide fellowship has more than 29,000 individuals who have made significant contributions to their fields, including Dame Judi Dench and Bob Dylan.

Dr Fiona Kumar Campbell was awarded the fellowship for her contribution to Education and social work

Dr Kumari Campbell, an expert in Disability Studies and Social Theory who joined the University of Dundee in 2017, says the recognition from RSA has empowered her to reach out to all local fellows and attempt to see what they could achieve by working together.

“There’s this view that all academics are stuffy or removed from reality but this really isn’t the case anymore. Actually, many people I work with have come from professional jobs or worked in industry before turning to academia and it’s the same with the RSA. It’s a broad church of innovators.

“The RSA were impressed by my work in ableism and disability studies, and I’m very proud of that.

“I don’t come from a traditional ‘spoon-fed’ background, I was left disabled by a virus whilst studying for my undergraduate degree when I was 18 years-old.

“I think it’s important for people from all walks of life to see disabled people receiving recognition like this. The Paralympics has its inspiring role models, its time academia has its own.”

Dr Megan O’Neill was awarded the fellowship for her contribution to policing in Scotland

Dr Megan O’Neill, originally from Michigan, USA, is a specialist in police research and is an Associate Director for the Scottish Institute for Policing Research was surprised by her appointment

She said: “It was completely unexpected, but quite exciting. I got an email out of the blue saying the RSA had identified my contribution to policing in Scotland, in terms of directly engaging with Police Scotland to improve their practices and policies such as Stop and Search.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be a fellow. To receive that outside validation from a well-regarded community is inspiring for any academic and I’m thrilled to be a part of that fellowship.”

Fellowships to the RSA come from a wide array of backgrounds and professions and are distinguished by the letters FRSA. 

Former fellows of the RSA include Stephen Hawking, Charles Dickens, Karl Marx and Benjamin Franklin.

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