New Year Honours

Members of the University's staff and student community have been recognised for their pioneering work in the New Year Honours.

Professor Teresa Rees, of the School of Social Sciences was awarded a Damehood for services to Social Sciences, further to her original CBE in 2002.

Dame Teresa has a distinguished record of research which focuses on inequalities, women and science policy, gender mainstreaming and higher education funding and has been focused on contributing to evidence-based policy in the European Union, the UK and Wales.

A keen supporter of devolution, she has chaired two independent investigations on higher education to assist the National Assembly for Wales develop its policies. Dame Teresa was a member of the Government Steering Group to set up the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and of the National Equality Panel that reported in 2010.

She is currently Principal Investigator for the Women Adding Value to the Economy (WAVE) project, Visiting Professor at the GEXcel centre of excellence in Sweden, on the Scientific Advisory Board of 5 European Commission funded projects on women and universities, and until recently was Director for Wales of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

Among her other accolades, Dame Teresa is a Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences and of the Learned Society of Wales and also won the Western Mail's Welsh Woman of the Year Val Feld Award for her work to promote the life chances of women in Wales.

Professor Dame Teresa said: "As a social scientist, I am delighted by this honour which celebrates the contribution of social science to evidence-based policy and notes the importance of research on gender, social justice and equality."

Amongst Cardiff University alumni receiving honours was Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds who received an OBE for her campaigning work on the equality and rights of disabled people and Tina Donnelly, Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, who received a CBE for her services to nursing.

Welcoming the news, Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan said: "On behalf of the whole University, I would like to congratulate Professor Rees, and indeed all Cardiff graduates who have received honours.

"The work of Terry Rees is recognised not only in Cardiff but the world over as being of the highest distinction, and I am delighted that she has been honoured in this way.  All of us at the University aware very proud of Terry and of all the Cardiff graduates whose work and dedication have been recognised for their services across the UK."