Jonquil Fiona Williams, (born 22 July 1947) is a British retired academic of

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

whose research covers gender, race, ethnicity, and the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

. From 1996 to 2012, she was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Social Policy at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

. She was previously a lecturer at the

Polytechnic of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

Plymouth Polytechnic The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

, and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

, before becoming Professor of Applied Social Studies at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

Early life and education

Williams was born on 22 July 1947 in

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

, Warwickshire, England, to Celia and Leonard Williams. She was educated at

Ilkley Grammar School Ilkley Grammar School (IGS) is a co-educational, state comprehensive secondary school in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, that specialises in humanities and sciences. In 2011 it gained Academy (English school), academy status. History Early ...

, a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

grammar school in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within ...

, Yorkshire. She studied sociology and

social administration Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD an ...

at Bedford College, London, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1968. In later life, she studied for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree with the

, which she completed in 1993.

Academic career

From 1968 to 1970, Williams was a Commonwealth Scholar at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

in Nigeria. Having returned to the United Kingdom, she was a part-time lecturer at

Kilburn Polytechnic The College of North West London (CNWL) is a large further education college in north-west London, England. It was established in 1991 by the merger between Willesden Technical College and Kilburn Polytechnic in the London Borough of Brent. Today ...

from 1970 to 1972 and a lecturer at the

from 1972 to 1975. After a break from academia, she joined

where she was a part-time lecturer between 1981 and 1985, and a

research officer A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

from 1985 to 1987. She was a research officer at

Leeds Polytechnic Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univer ...

during the 1987/1988 academic year. In 1988, Williams joined the

; she was a lecturer from 1988 to 1992 and a senior lecturer from 1992 to 1995. For the 1995/1996 academic year, she was

of Applied Social Studies at the

. In 1996, she joined the

having been appointed Professor of Social Policy and remained there until she retired. She was Director of the

Economic and Social Research Council The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...

(ESRC) Research Group on "Care, Values and the Future of Welfare" between 1999 and 2005. In 2012, she retired from full-time academia and was appointed a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Williams has led an active retirement. Since 2012, she has been a

research associate Research associates are researchers (scholars and professionals) that usually have an advanced degree beyond a Bachelor's degree such as a master's degree or a PhD. In some universities/research institutes, such as Harvard/Harvard Medical Scho ...

of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, She continued to be co-editor of the

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

''Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society'' until 2014. Since 2014, she has been an

honorary professor Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of the Social Policy Research Centre,

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Personal life

Williams has two children: a daughter and a son.

Honours

In 2003, Williams was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences The Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) is an award granted by the Academy of Social Sciences to leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners of the social sciences. Fellows were previously known as Academicians and used t ...

(FAcSS). In the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, she was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) "for services to social policy". In 2016, she was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Selected works

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fiona 1947 births Living people Academics of social policy Academics of the University of Leeds Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences People educated at Ilkley Grammar School Alumni of Bedford College, London Alumni of the Open University Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Academics of the University of North London Academics of the University of Plymouth Academics of Leeds Beckett University Academics of the Open University Academics of the University of Bradford People from Rugby, Warwickshire