Janet Ford (born

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

) is a British sociologist and

university administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

. Until October 2007 she served as pro-vice-chancellor of the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

; her remit included estates and strategic projects, including the expansion of the university approved on 25 May 2007.

Biography

Ford joined the University of York in 1996 as director of the Centre for Housing Policy and the Joseph Rowntree Chair of Housing Policy. She had previously held appointments at

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

and the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. Following a period as head of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the university, she was appointed, in October 2003, as pro-vice-chancellor for estates and strategic projects. Ford's academic research focuses on the development and experience of

home ownership Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, con ...

in a risk society. In 1993, she undertook the first national survey of UK borrowers in

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

arrears Arrears (or arrearage) is a legal term for the part of a debt that is overdue after missing one or more required payments. The amount of the arrears is the amount accrued from the date on which the first missed payment was due. The term is usually ...

, covering the perspectives of

lenders A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

, borrowers and the courts. She is also interested in the changing relationship between the housing market, the labour market and

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, and in the reliance on home ownership in a society where individuals face more risk and less certainty. She has also explored in a range of European countries the impact of globalisation upon owner occupation, and has considered the response to insecurity in countries with different social, economic and cultural structures. She was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2004 for her efforts on behalf of restructuring the approach to housing concepts. Ford has published widely in

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

s and has also written for UK pressure groups such as

Child Poverty Action Group Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is a UK charity that works to alleviate poverty and social exclusion. History The Group first met on 5 March 1965, at a meeting organised by Harriett C. Wilson. It followed the publication of Brian Abel-Smith a ...

and

Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

. Between 2001 and 2005, with Professor Roger Burrows of the Department of Sociology, University of York, she was co-editor of the leading international housing journal ''Housing Studies''. As pro vice-chancellor in York, her portfolio included responsibility for the capital projects on the current campus at

Heslington Heslington is a suburban village and civil parish within the City of York district, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, south-east of the centre of York. Before 1974, it was a village in the Derwent Rural District, which was pa ...

and the

King's Manor The King's Manor is a Grade I listed building in York, England, and is part of the University of York. It lies on Exhibition Square, in the city centre. History King's Manor was originally built to house the abbots of St Mary's Abbey, York. ...

and the strategic planning for the intended campus extension at

Heslington East , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students = ...

. From 2008, she is working on particular projects at the oniversity.

References

Photograph and brief career sketch of Professor Janet FordJanet Ford's 1988 book ''The Indebted Society: Credit and Default in the 1980s''

External links

Website for The University of York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Janet 1944 births Academics of Loughborough University Academics of the University of Warwick Academics of the University of York British sociologists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Living people Place of birth missing (living people) British women sociologists