Sharon Fae Witherspoon, Lady Jowell (born 1956) is a British statistician, serving as Head of Policy of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...

and the

Campaign for Social Science The Campaign for Social Science was launched in 2011 to advocate social science to the UK Government and to the public, at a time of significant change in the higher education system. It campaigns for the restoration of the post of Government Chi ...

, and as a member of the Review Body on Senior Salaries of the British government. She was, for four years, Vice President for Education and Statistical Literacy of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

Education and career

Witherspoon went to high school in the United States, and earned a degree in sociology at an American university, before her postgraduate study of

historical sociology Historical sociology is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of research that combines Sociology, sociological and History, historical methods to understand the past, how societies have developed over time, and the impact this has on ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. She worked for a market research firm before becoming a researcher at Social and Community Planning Research, which later became the

National Centre for Social Research The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is a registered charity and is the largest independent social research institute in the UK. The research charity was founded in 1969 by Sir Roger Jowell and Gerald Hoinville with the aim of carryin ...

(NatCen). At NatCen, Witherspoon was one of the initial researchers of the

British Social Attitudes Survey The British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA) is an annual statistical survey conducted in Great Britain by National Centre for Social Research since 1983. The BSA involves in-depth interviews with over 3,300 respondents, selected using Survey samplin ...

. She worked for the

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

from 1996 to 2015, and was director of the foundation from 2012 until 2015. She moved to the Academy of Social Sciences in 2016.

Recognition

Witherspoon is 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 ...

(2010). She became a

Member 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 ...

in 2008. In 2011 she was awarded the President's Medal of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. In 2015,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

gave her an honorary doctorate.

Personal life

Witherspoon married one of her collaborators on the British Social Attitudes Survey, statistician Sir

Roger Jowell Sir Roger Mark Jowell, CBE (26 March 1942 – 25 December 2011) was a British social statistician and academic. He founded Social and Community Planning Research, now known as the National Centre for Social Research, and the Centre for Compar ...

(as his third wife) in 1996; he died in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witherspoon, Sharon 1956 births Living people British statisticians British women statisticians Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Wives of knights