Professor Dame Joan Kathleen Stringer, DBE,

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(born 12 May 1948) is a British

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and former

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

and

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of both

Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh Napier University () is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napie ...

and

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Biography

Education

Stringer attended Portland House High School,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, and Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. She then went to

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, where she took a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree with joint honours in History and Politics and completed a Ph.D degree in Politics in 1986.

Career

From 1980 to 1988, she worked at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, Aberdeen as a lecturer in Public Administration, becoming in 1988 the Head of the School of Public Administration and Law, and served as Vice-Principal from 1991 to 1996. In 1996, she was named

and Vice-Patron of

Queen Margaret University College Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...

(QMUC) in

. Her time at QMUC saw much expansion, and in 1998, the institution was awarded full degree-awarding powers, changing its name in 1999 to Queen Margaret University College (QMUC). Dame Joan laid the foundations for the University College to become

, Edinburgh. Stringer left Queen Margaret University College in 2003 to become Principal/Vice-Chancellor of

Napier University Edinburgh Napier University () is a public university in Edinburgh, Scotland. Napier Technical College, the predecessor of the university, was founded in 1964, taking its name from 16th-century Scottish mathematician and philosopher John Napie ...

. In 2009, Stringer oversaw Napier University's change of name to Edinburgh Napier University in a bid to raise the institution's profile. In 2010–11, Professor Stringer oversaw a programme of redundancies at Edinburgh Napier University which resulted in 89 staff taking voluntary severance and a further anticipated 100 staff being dismissed on the grounds of compulsory redundancy. Stringer has held a number of appointments outside of academia, including Chair of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission Working Group from 1998 to 1999, Lay Member of the

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland () is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for making recommendations on appointments to certain offices of the judiciary of Scotland. It was established ...

from 2002 to 2007, Senior Independent Director of the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and inco ...

, Member of the executive committee for the

Scottish Council for Development and Industry Prosper, formerly the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), was founded in 1931. It is a non-governmental, membership organisation which aims to strengthen Scotland's economic competitiveness through influencing government to ...

, Chair of Education UK Scotland, Chair of Community Integrated Care, Convenor of the

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership body for Scotland’s voluntary organisations. SCVO's mission is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in building a flourishing society and support them ...

, and trustee of th
David Hume Institute.
She is currently Chair of Capital Theatres in Edinburgh and a board member o
Entrepreneurial Scotland

Honours

Stringer was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in 2001, and promoted to

Dame Commander 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 ...

(DBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours. In 2001, she was elected a Fellow of

The Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. She is also a Companion of the Chartered Institute of Management and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

References

External links

British Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stringer, Joan 1948 births Academics of Edinburgh Napier University Alumni of Keele University British political scientists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People associated with Queen Margaret University People from Stoke-on-Trent Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academics of Robert Gordon University British women political scientists