Vivien Helen Stern, Baroness Stern (born 25 September 1941) is a crossbench member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Stern was educated at

Kent College ) , established = 1885 , closed = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding school , religious_affiliation = Methodist , president = , head_label = , head ...

and read

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

where she graduated in 1963. She was awarded an MLitt in 1964 and a Certificate in Education in 1965. Between 1967 and 1969 she taught General Studies at Birmingham College of Food and Domestic Arts. In 1970 she became a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, and in 1977 became the director of

NACRO Nacro is a social justice charity based in England and Wales, established in 1966 from the previous National Association of Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Societies, it became the largest criminal justice-related charity in England and Wales. In th ...

, a post she held until 1996. She was a visiting fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, from 1984 to 1991, and was Secretary General of Penal Reform International from 1989 until 2006. In 1997 she was appointed a senior research fellow of London University, based at the International Centre for Prison Studies in

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. She was appointed a

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 o ...

(CBE) in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

and was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baroness Stern, of

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London ...

on 13 July 1999. She has been a member of several parliamentary committees and is currently a member of the Parliamentary

Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to scrutinise all statutory instruments made in exercise of powers granted by Acts of Parliament. Instruments l ...

. She lists her political interests as criminal justice, foreign affairs, human rights, international development,

penal reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...

, and

prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

, and has written several books, including ''Creating Criminals: prisons and people in a market society''; ''Bricks of Shame: Britain's prisons''; ''Failures in Penal Policy''; ''Imprisoned by Our Prisons: a programme for reform'' (Fabian Series); ''The Prisons We Deserve'' and ''A Sin Against the Future: imprisonment in the world''. Baroness Stern is a patron of several charities including the Venture Trust, the Prisoners' Education Trust, and Clean Break. She has honorary doctorates from the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

, the University of Stirling, the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and is an Honorary Fellow of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. She is married to Professor

Andrew Coyle Andrew Coyle CMG is Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies at the University of London. Between 1997 and 2005, Coyle was founding director of the International Centre for Prison Studies at the School of Law, King's College London. In 2003, he was ...

References

External links

Announcement of her introduction at the House of Lords
House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 13 July 1999 * Baroness Stern i
patron
for the charit
Venture Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Vivien Baroness Stern 1941 births Living people English Jews Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Stern, Vivien Stern, Baroness Alumni of the University of Bristol Academics of King's College London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Jewish British politicians University College Birmingham