Judith Irene Petts

CBE 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 ...

(born 7 January 1954) is a British academic and the Vice-Chancellor of

Plymouth University 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 ...

Academic career

She graduated from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

with a BA in geography in 1975. She was a research fellow in the Institute for Planning Studies,

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

and then joined

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 ...

where she completed her PhD in 1996 and became Director of the Centre for Hazard and Risk Management. In 1998, she became Professor of Environmental Risk Management and later Head of the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, serving as Pro-Vice-Chancellor 2007–2010. In 2010, she joined the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

as the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise. In February 2016, she was appointed the University of Plymouth's Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive.

Appointments and honours

Professor Petts served as a member of the Council of NERC 2000–2006 and the NERC Innovation Board 2014–2018. She is an associate of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. She was a Government advisor as a member of the

Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Coali ...

(2006–2011) and the Science Advisory Council of Defra (2011–2016). In 2012, she was awarded a CBE for services to scientific research.

Personal life

She was married to Profressor Geoffrey Petts (d. August 2018).

References

1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of Loughborough University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{England-academic-administrator-stub