Professor of Sociology elected to prestigious Welsh Fellowship

A professor from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences has been elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

Professor Sin Yi Cheung is Professor of Sociology and Co-director of Research, who specialises in migration and social inequalities in contemporary societies.

Her research has addressed refugee integration, changing inequalities in higher education, ethno-religious penalties in the labour market and children in care.

Of the sixty-six newly elected Fellows, half of them were women.

Professor Cheung said: “I am honoured to be among such distinguished company. I look forward to delivering on the Society’s core missions in harnessing knowledge from a more diverse range of people and making stronger use of scientific expertise to reach new audiences.”

The Fellowship brings together experts from across all academic fields and beyond.

Professor Urfan Khaliq, the Pro Vice Chancellor for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cardiff University commented:

“Professor Cheung’s election to the Learned Society is testament to the international excellence of her work and contribution to the advancement of research, learning and making a positive difference.  It is a great honour and richly deserved.”

Academics, researchers, and public figures joined the Society from across academic and civic life in Wales and beyond.

Election to Fellowship is a public recognition of academic excellence following a rigorous process seeing nominations proposed and seconded by existing Fellows of the Society.

President of the Society, Professor Hywel Thomas, added, “The expertise of our new Fellows is outstanding. The range of research shows that Wales is well-placed to meet the environmental, technological, social, cultural, political and health challenges we face.

“The Society’s ability to bring together this talent allows us to initiate and influence important debates about how Wales, the UK and the world can navigate the turbulent waters we are in today.”

As a Fellow, Professor Cheung will be involved with the Society’s ongoing work and activities, including taking part in public lectures, working with other Fellows to provide policy briefings and advice, and nominating future Fellows.

Professor Cheung has written extensively on migration, refugee integration, race and ethnicity, educational and labour market inequalities.

Her most recent work includes a book on The Death of Human Capital and a paper that found the first empirical link between asylum waiting time and poor mental health of refugees.