The first Donald Dewar Visiting Professor in Social Justice and Public Policy is announced today. Professor Ruth Lister is to be the first holder of the visiting chair created in memory of the late Donald Dewar, First Minister for Scotland. The appointment is for two years, commencing on 1 January 2005.

Professor Ruth Lister is a leading member of the social policy research community in Britain and is a scholar of international distinction. She combines academic work with engagement in public policy debates. She has specific interests in poverty, gender and citizenship. These topics complement and enhance social justice related research being carried out in the University.

Principal of the University, Sir Muir Russell said 'Professor Lister will contribute to the University's aim of engaging with the policy community in relation to issues of public policy and social justice and in memory of Donald Dewar'.

Professor Lister said: 'I am greatly honoured to be the first holder of the visiting chair established in memory of Donald Dewar, a man who was absolutely committed to the cause of social justice. I look forward to contributing to and learning from the work of the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice and the wider policy community in Scotland.'

Donald Dewar, a distinguished graduate of the University of Glasgow, was First Minister in the Scottish Parliament until his death in October 2000.

Professor Lister will be based in the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice within the Department of Urban Studies and will contribute to a series of seminars and other events, including the series 'Public Policy and Social Justice' recently funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

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Ruth Lister is Professor of Social Policy in the 5* Department of Social Sciences at Loughborough University where she has been since 1994. Prior to that she was Professor at the University of Bradford from 1987. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Manchester and was elected as a founding member of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences in 1999.

Her work has focussed on poverty, the social security system, gender, welfare reform, citizenship and participation. She has carried out research for the ESRC, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation amongst others. She is a prolific author, including many articles in international journals. She is active in the Social Policy Association, and is a member of the British Sociological Association.

First published: 10 November 2004