Professor Sue Black, Lady Black of Strome LT

Areas of Interest

Science and Technology, Education

Honorary Award

Honorary Doctor of Science

Citation

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Professor Lady Sue Black, for the award of Honorary Doctor of Science.

Sue Black is an academic, author, anatomist, internationally renowned forensic anthropologist, and President of St John's College, Oxford.

Born in Inverness, Sue grew up in the coastal hamlet of Strome. She left for Aberdeen University to study for a BSc and her PhD in Human Anatomy, specialising in human identification from skeletal remains.

Sue’s first teaching post came in 1987, when she was appointed Lecturer in Anatomy at St Thomas' Hospital, London. And it was during her time here that Sue’s expertise in human identification was first called upon by the Metropolitan Police – and so began a remarkable career in forensic anthropology.

By the early 1990s, Sue’s unique skills were in growing demand, and she worked with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations, helping to identify victims and perpetrators of international conflicts.

In 1999, she became the Lead Forensic Anthropologist with the British Forensic Team in Kosovo, and later carried out similar duties in Sierra Leone and Grenada. In 2001, in recognition of her achievements, she was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s honours list.

In 2003, Sue undertook two tours in Iraq, and in 2005 she participated in the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification operation.

When she was appointed Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee, Sue led the creation of the award-winning Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification. Her department went on to train the UK National Disaster Victim Identification team, and in 2013 was awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education.

In 2014 Sue received the prestigious Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and later secured funding to establish The Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science – which works to enhance the science underpinning evidence presented in court. In 2016 when the Centre opened, Sue was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In 2018 Sue was again pushing the boundaries of forensic research, this time helping to identify perpetrators of child abuse – work that has helped the police secure over 30 life sentences and more than 500 years of prison terms for child sexual abuse.

In 2018 Sue was appointed Pro Vice Chancellor of Lancaster University, tasked not only with raising the university’s profile, but also championing economic regeneration and growth in North West England. Indeed, she was part of the team that secured a £5 billion investment into Lancashire for the National Cyber Security Force.

In May 2021 Sue entered the House of Lords as a Crossbench peer taking the title of Baroness Black of Strome.

In 2022, Sue became the 37th President of St. John’s College Oxford. And in 2024 she was made a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle – the highest order of chivalry in Scotland.

Sue has authored of 14 textbooks, 153 peer-reviewed papers and two public interest books, including All that Remains, which won the Saltire Book of the Year award.

Sue has also become something of a television personality, appearing on a diverse range of popular shows, fronting eight episodes the hugely successful BBC2 series, History Cold Case. And delivering the 2022 Royal Institution Christmas Lecture – Secrets of Forensic Science.

Sue is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Biology and the Royal Anthropological Institute. She is Patron of three charities – Locate International, Escape2Make and Archaeology Scotland.

Sue’s work has had a direct and hugely positive impact upon work here at Anglia Ruskin – her successful introduction of Thiel embalming at Dundee University’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification, led to the adoption of the same technique within ARU’s Anatomy Centre. And she has been extremely supportive of our work.

As a remarkable innovator, pioneering scientist and passionate teacher, she will be a powerful role model – not only for medical students using ARU’s Anatomy Centre, but for all our students. We are delighted to welcome Sue Black to our Anglia Ruskin community.

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present Professor Lady Sue Black for the award of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Image Credit: Robert Taylor.