Professor Sandy Cameron CBE appointed as CYCJ Executive Chair

Professor Sandy Cameron CBE has been appointed as independent Chair of the Executive Governance Group for the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice (CYCJ).

Professor Cameron and the Executive Governance Group will support CYCJ and partners in their mission to ensure youth and criminal justice practice, policy and research is informed by the best possible knowledge.

The Executive Governance Group will provide strategic leadership to CYCJ, which is based at the award-winning University of Strathclyde and receives funding from the Scottish Government.

Professor Cameron, whose longstanding and exceptional contribution to social work earned him a CBE in 2000, has accepted the role for an initial period of three years.

Professor Cameron said: “I am very much looking forward to having this opportunity of working with the team to take forward the development of sound and innovative practice which can make a real difference in young people’s lives – helping them to move on from offending.

“We already have a great deal of good practice in Scotland but there is always scope for testing out new ways of working which can improve outcomes. I have every confidence that the Centre, working with its partners across Scotland, will be able to bring about positive influence to both policy and practice.”

Claire Lightowler, who will join CYCJ as Director in December, said: “This is a hugely significant development for CYCJ. In attracting someone of Sandy Cameron’s calibre there is a real opportunity to further advance CYCJ’s contribution across youth and criminal justice.

“Given the wealth and range of his experience, Sandy is ideally placed to lead CYCJ’s work, spanning practice development, knowledge exchange and research.

“Sandy Cameron will bring a new and challenging perspective to CYCJ, and on behalf of everyone involved in CYCJ I am delighted to welcome him.”

Professor Sandy Cameron began his social work career in the early 1970s, following his graduation from the Universities of Strathclyde and Aberdeen. In 1987, he was appointed Director of Social Work in Borders region where he remained until he was appointed as Executive Director of Social Work Resources for South Lanarkshire Council in 1995. From there, he became Chair of the Parole Board for Scotland, a position he retired from in 2012.

Professor Cameron is a past president of ADSW (the Association of Directors of Social Work), with which he has been closely involved through some of the most challenging times for Scotland’s social work sector.

With a particular interest in the field of drugs misuse, Professor Cameron was Chair of the Lanarkshire Alcohol & Drugs Action Team and a past Chair of the Association of Drug Action Teams. He was a member of the Scottish Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and is currently a member of the National Advisory Body on Offender Management and the National Social Work Forum. He sits on the Lloyd TSB Foundation’s Board of Trustees and is Chair of the Partnership Drugs Initiative Steering Group and a member of the Audit Committee, and a board member for Sacro.

He is also a Director of Care Visions, an independent sector provider of residential care for young people, Non-Executive Director of the State Hospitals Board for Scotland and Independent Chair of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS).

During his career, Professor Cameron has made a substantial contribution to education as Visiting Professor in Social Work at the University of Strathclyde and as a Fellow of the British American Project.

Image courtesy of Sacro.

Contact Us

Children's and Young People's Centre for Justice
University of Strathclyde
Lord Hope Building, Level 6
141 St. James Road Glasgow G4 0LT

(0141) 444 8622

cycj@strath.ac.uk

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