MBE for welfare activist at St Andrews

Dr Chris Lusk, Head of Special Projects at the University of St Andrews, has been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Dr Lusk, who is to receive an MBE, currently fulfils a dual role working with other universities to set up a research network for human trafficking across Scotland, whilst simultaneously leading the University’s Coronavirus Rapid Response Team.

Educated in Glasgow and the universities of Edinburgh, Dundee and St Andrews, Dr Lusk began her career in social work, specialising in assessing child and sexual abuse, acting in an advisory capacity to court and medical professionals.

On arrival at the University of St Andrews, she created a structured student welfare service in-house and was Director of Student Services for 30 years. Over the three decades she she established teams of support workers, counsellors, mental health specialists, disability and wellbeing advisers at the University.

Dr Lusk also created a “one stop shop” for assistance, the Advice and Support Centre (ASC); a student health hub at the local community hospital; and an emergency out-of-hours service whilst working with others to develop a student placement project in Zambia.

She has regularly been called upon to offer consultancy on student support to other universities, but her personal caseload has continued to be in the area of abuse survivor support and her research in the arena of identity from a social constructivist perspective.

Dr Lusk said: “This award is a testament of work done by amazing teams of people it’s been my privilege to work with. People who have always gone the extra mile, working nights, weekends, never complaining, just determined to get the job done.”