Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences for Lancaster University Professor

Carol Holland is one of 41 leading social scientists elected in 2024 to a Fellowship at the Academy which includes academics, learned societies and practitioners in the social sciences, whose mission is to promote the social sciences in the UK for public benefit.  

Professor Holland, the Director of Lancaster University’s Centre for Ageing Research, and Chair in Ageing within the Division of Health Research, was nominated for her academic and applied research in the Psychology of Ageing and Gerontology over a significant period.

She said: “I am honoured that my work has been recognised by my peers in social science in this way, and hope to continue making a contribution to the challenges of ageing within and across disciplines.”

The Academy has a total of around 1,500 individual Fellows, each of whom has been elected by peers for the excellence of their work and their wider impact, as scholars in academia or leaders in a range of other professional sectors.

President of the Academy Will Hutton said: “At a time when the importance of the social sciences to addressing many pressing issues cannot be overstated, it’s a pleasure to welcome these 41 leading social scientists to the Academy’s Fellowship.

“Their contributions have furthered our understanding in tackling a wide range of societal challenges including mitigating health and economic inequalities, understanding the causes and effects of hate crime, the development of inclusive practices in education, and the future of cities. We look forward to working with them to further promote the vital role the social sciences play in all areas of our lives.” 

The work of Professor Holland ranges from cognitive ageing focusing on social cognition (autobiographical memory, social problem solving and impacts on functional independence and loneliness), through issues around safe self-regulation to maintain driving in older age and eventual driver cessation, to work on the evaluation of Extra Care housing in relation to wellbeing.

Her work on frailty has focused on an examination of personal and social resilience and development of multidimensional assessment tools for community use.

She is currently Principal Investigator of a BBSRC/MRC funded Interdisciplinary Network on Cognitive Frailty, pulling together researchers from Biology, Neuroscience, Psychology/Gerontology, Social Policy and the VOICE older citizens group (based at the National Innovation Centre for Ageing) and bringing social sciences influence to the group of 11 networks nationally via the AgeNet UK structures.

Professor Holland’s contribution is also evident in her leadership roles on a national and international basis. She was chair of the 2021 50th Anniversary Conference of the British Society of Gerontology, and is currently the President of the BSG, and in this role examples of her activities include commissioning of an evaluation of the role of ageing and of Social Gerontology in 2021REF impact case studies and supporting the Human Rights in Ageing policy event, and the launch of a new Journal of Global Ageing.