Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Beckett Professor awarded prestigious health fellowship
Jane South, Professor of Healthy Communities in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett, has been awarded a Fellowship by Distinction in recognition of Jane’s significant contribution to the field of public health through her research and partnership working.
Professor South’s passion for understanding what members of the public can bring to health and wellbeing has seen her lead many national and local projects on volunteering and community participation. As well as her research at Leeds Beckett University, Jane is currently on secondment to Public Health England (PHE) as the national advisor on communities and recently authored the Guide to Community-Centred Approaches for Health and Wellbeing published jointly by PHE and NHS England in February this year.
Prof Jane South gets her Honorary Fellow award from @FPH Pres John Ashton well done Jane! @Prof_IeuanEllis @FurberA pic.twitter.com/Uhq57p4wWH
— Mark Gamsu (@markgamsu) June 23, 2015
Speaking about receiving the award, Jane said: “I am delighted and very honoured to be awarded the fellowship. Like others working in UK public health, I care deeply about reducing inequalities and want to make a difference through what I do. My research has focused on building a practical evidence base for involving volunteers and communities in health improvement.
“There is increasing recognition that communities bring vital insights, skills and connections and that the public have a core part to play in mainstream public health. I see the fellowship as a wonderful opportunity for further collaborations and shared learning around how to do this well.”
Professor Ieuan Ellis, Dean of Health and Social Sciences and Pro- Vice Chancellor at Leeds Beckett University added: “Jane is passionately committed to making a difference through tackling health inequality and is a strong and effective champion for enabling health improvement through community engagement and empowerment. Jane’s research is collaborative, participatory and embraces and promotes the development of strong academic – community partnerships.
“I am absolutely delighted that Jane’s very significant contribution to Public Health as a Professor in Healthy Communities at Leeds Beckett University is being recognised through this national fellowship award.”
Professor Jane South has a national and international reputation for her research on lay health workers and volunteer roles in health. She has a long standing interest in community engagement and is the lead author of People-Centred Public Health, recently published by the Policy Press
As Director of the Centre for Health Promotion Research, Jane leads a small team of experienced researchers and has built an extensive portfolio of community health research and publications, along with evaluation and planning frameworks for public health practice.
Jane is committed to promoting equity in health and has worked to establish a community campus partnership initiative to strengthen links between the Institute for Health and Wellbeing and local communities.
The Faculty of Public Health works to improve people’s health and wellbeing through its core aims of setting the standards for and quality assuring the specialist public health workforce and advocating for action on public health issues.