Researcher Summary
My research interests lie in the field of EU and comparative West European politics and public policy analysis. My interest in the EU has been in how and why this international organisation has developed into a ‘policy-making state’. Thus, I have been interested in how actor behaviour changes in response to the emerging EU polity and the relationship of that polity to the ‘policy hinterland’ of nation states. Within this field I have a strong interest in gender and public policy and the ways in which the supranational and national levels interact in this sector. I have published widely in international, peer-reviewed academic journals and with high-quality academic publishers and have also been successful in obtaining competitive research funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Nuffield Foundation. I maintain an active research interest in EU politics and gender politics.
After a successful academic career in the UK spanning twenty years, I embarked upon a new career in senior academic management in 2003, initially at Oxford University and subsequently at the University of Canterbury (UC), New Zealand. I have extensive experience of undergraduate teaching, postgraduate thesis supervision and a proven research and publication record of international standing. Both as an academic and senior academic manager, I have extensive direct experience of strategic academic planning, curriculum development, academic quality assurance and accreditation processes as well as many years experience of managing people and budgets.