Outstanding contribution to British sociology

Dr Sara Delamont, Reader at the School of Social Sciences, has been selected as this year's winner of the British Sociological Association (BSA) Distinguished Service to British Sociology Award.

Launched in 2011, the award recognises an outstanding contribution to British Sociology over a long career and nominations are open to all members of the BSA in good standing. Dr Delamont was selected from a number of high-calibre nominations following a long judging process.

Part of the nomination for the award said: "Sara's research has spanned across many different areas and disciplines including anthropology, feminist and gender studies, the sociology of education, food, professions, qualitative research methods especially ethnography and her current research is on two martial arts, capoeira and savate. She has published widely and was elected an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) in 2000 and awarded a DScEcon in 2007."

Dr Delamont joined the School of Social Sciences in 1976, and was promoted to senior lecturer in 1979 and Reader in 1989. She was the first woman to become Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Studies (1983-1985) and Chair of its successor body, the Humanities and Social Sciences Board from 2001 to 2008. In 1984, Sara also became the first female president of the British Educational Research Association (BERA).

Professor Malcolm Williams, Director of the School of Social Sciences, said: "This award is well deserved for Sara. She is a sociologist of the first order. Her work has been stimulating and influential and has played a pivotal role in Cardiff's longstanding reputation for excellent qualitative research.

"But more than this she has been an exemplary sociological citizen serving on national committees in sociology and social science more generally. Most particularly her personal kindness and intellectual generosity have been a source of support and encouragement to so many young sociologists, but also to those of us further on in our careers."

Professor David Morgan, former President of the BSA (1997–1999) and former editor of the association's journal Sociology who accepted the award on Sara's behalf at the recent BSA annual conference in London, said: "Obviously you do identify her with sociology of education, but there's much, much more. Sociological agenda, feminist studies, the qualitative research and so on. I think frankly everybody in this room in some sense has been touched or influenced by Sara's work in some form or another. As has Cardiff University and the British Sociological Association. So I, for one, am very pleased to congratulate Sara in this award."

Dr Delamont currently teaches quantitative methods at Masters and Doctoral levels, plus undergraduate modules on the sociological and anthropological perspectives of Brazil, and the 'Myths, Monsters and Legends' (about the study of belief systems).

Sara was a member of the RAE Sub Panel in Sociology (2005-2008) and is currently a member of the REF Sub Panel 23 (Sociology).

An autobiographical essay, 'Milkshakes and Convertibles' was published inStudies in Symbolic Interaction (Vol.39) in 2012.