Professor Jan Pahl CBE

Honorary Graduate: Doctor of Letters

Professor Jan Pahl is Professor Emeritus of Social Policy at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research.

Professor Jan Pahl earned her Bachelor’s degree in Historical Geography from the University of Cambridge. She began her academic career at the University of Kent, and for 20 years worked as a social researcher. From 1985, she was a researcher in the National Health Service, and in 1990 became Director of Research at the National Institute for Social Work. Professor Pahl returned to Kent in 1995 as Professor of Social Policy in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, and was made Professor Emeritus of Social Policy in 2002.

Throughout her career, Professor Pahl has been responsible for research grants totalling £4m and has received awards from 12 funding bodies. She was appointed an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2008, presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Social Policy Association in 2010, and awarded a CBE in 2011.

Professor Pahl has published 7 books and over 50 other publications. She has contributed to policy debates across many fields, including family-related policy, poverty and inequality, social security, financial exclusion, violence against women, taxation, and health and social care.