College Officers

The Principal, Professor Maggie O'Neill, is:

• Chair of the European Sociological Associations research network on ‘European Biographies’;
• a member of the editorial board of the Sociological Review and co-chair of the Sociological Review Seminar Series;
• a member of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Global Network;  
• and a national champion for the  Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) the Home Office (HO) AND the UK Network of Sex Work Projects (UKNSWP) pilot 'ugly mugs' database.

At Durham the Principal  is a member of the steering group for the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) and the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action; a founder member of Social Enterprise, Innovation and Research Foundation (SERIF) which also connects with the work of the Bursar, John Hirst and members of the SCR, and a founder member of the Race, Crime and Justice regional network, which was founded at Ustinov following the  launch of the ‘Race Crime and Justice in the North East’ report July 27th 2012.

The Principal is also a member of: the Institute for Medical Humanities and the Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities, and is currently co-chair of the Crime, Violence and Abuse Research group in the School of Applied Social Sciences (SASS).   

Dr McKinven introducing a Cafe Politique

The Vice-Principal and Senior Tutor’s research activities and expertise includes: internationalisation, global citizenship and the residential experience of international students. Doctoral thesis – ‘Living Together – investigating student interaction in a multi-national postgraduate community’. Dr Theresa McKinven is also a contributor to British Council’s international education conferences, ‘Going Global’, including contribution to the Association of International Universities working group on rethinking internationalisation of higher education.  Theresa's background is in English languaged education, English for Academic Purposes course provision, teacher and examiner training and langauge teaching management.

The Bursar, John Hirst, is also a member of the teaching staff at Durham Business School. A Senior Teaching Fellow in Management his teaching and research interests include; Business Ethics, Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility, Sustainability Leadership, and Social Enterprise/Business practice. He has initiated a ground-breaking International Enterprise Project module, providing post-graduate students with an opportunity to undertake empirical research in Sri Lanka. His published work ranges from organizational learning to sustainable development. A member of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research which is at the forefront of research into emerging approaches to accounting for sustainability, social value and sustainable livelihoods John also teaches post-graduate students using reflective practice and writing for which he has pioneered innovative assessment methods.