Nuffield Fellow Lucie Cluver elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences
Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work, has recently joined other leading social scientists as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, in recognition of the significant impact her work has had on children’s wellbeing.
Lucie works in collaboration with international agencies such as UNICEF to provide evidence that can have a positive effect on the lives of young people in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Her research began in South Africa with children who had lost their parents to HIV, and it has expanded to produce evidence that supports resources for families around the world affected by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lucie’s research aligns closely with the ethos of the Academy of Social Sciences, which is a belief ‘in the power of social science to advance understanding of our contemporary human world and to shape a better future’. Lucie’s cohort of new Academy Fellows was elected from a wide range of social science fields, but with the overarching theme of highlighting ‘the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to tackling the pressing issues facing society today’.
In June 2023, Lucie was given the honour of delivering the Academy’s annual lecture, where she elaborated on her research and also looked to the future and the role social science will play in helping steer society through new challenges. She said: ‘We’ve got a big task on our hands in this next decade. There is no way that we will do it alone. We’ll do it if social scientists, medical scientists and data scientists work together…because these people, these children, their families, they deserve the absolute best social science.’ You can watch the full lecture on the Academy of Social Sciences’ website.
Lucie also recently appeared on the Academy’s popular podcast, ‘The We Society’, to discuss her research. You can listen to the podcast via Podfollow to learn more about the vital contributions Lucie has made both to social science as an academic field, as well as to the countless people whose support has been informed by her research.
Many congratulations to Lucie on this achievement.