Dame Judith Anne Rees, (born 26 August 1944), is a distinguished academic

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

, was interim director of

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

(LSE) from May 2011 until September 2012. Professor Rees also acts as director for its

Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy The Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP) is a climate change research centre in England, which studies the economics of global warming. It is hosted jointly by the University of Leeds and the London School of Economics and Politi ...

(hosted jointly with the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

) and is Vice-Chair of the

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008. The centre is a partner of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at I ...

Education

Rees was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, where she attended Bilborough Grammar School. She then went on to study Economics at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, graduating in 1965. She completed her MPhil and PhD also at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

Rees joined LSE in 1969 as a lecturer in Geography. Her main research interests include

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and the governance of environmental resources and risk. In the early 1990s she was the dean of Geography and pro-vice chancellor at the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

. She then became head of Geography and deputy director of LSE until 2004. From May 2011 until September 2012, Rees was the acting director of the

. She was the President of the Royal Geographical Society from 2012 to 2015, the first woman to take on this role in the society's history and working with Dr Rita Gardner as Director. Rees is also chair of the LSE's Grantham Institute on Climate Change, a board member of the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and the International Scientific Advisory Council (ISAC), a director of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, and a member of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

national research programmes on Climate changes Spatial Planning (CcSP) and "Knowledge for Climate" (KfC). Formerly, she acted as an adviser to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

on water privatisation.

Awards

Rees 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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in 2006 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to higher education.

Personal life

She is married to David Jones, Professor Emeritus at

LSE LSE may refer to: Computing * LSE (programming language), a computer programming language * LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology * Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Judith 1944 births Living people Academics of the London School of Economics British geographers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics People associated with the London School of Economics Presidents of the Royal Geographical Society Women geographers