Queen's Birthday Honours: Fife welfare activist thanks colleagues after getting MBE

An Anstruther woman who has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list has thanked her colleagues after being given an MBE.
Dr Chris Lusk.Dr Chris Lusk.
Dr Chris Lusk.

Dr Chris Lusk, head of special projects at the University of St Andrews, has been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, currently fulfils a dual role working with other universities to set up a research network for Human Trafficking across Scotland, whilst simultaneously leading the university’s Coronavirus Rapid Response Team.

Dr Lusk said: “This award is a testament of work done by amazing teams of people it’s been my privilege to work with. People who have always gone the extra mile, working nights, weekends, never complaining, just determined to get the job done.”

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Educated in Glasgow and the universities of Edinburgh, Dundee and St Andrews, Dr Lusk began her career in social work, specialising in assessing child and sexual abuse.

On arrival at the University of St Andrews, she created a structured student welfare service in-house and as director of Student Services for the past 30 years has established teams of support workers, counsellors, mental health specialists, disability and wellbeing advisers at the university.

Dr Lusk also created a “one stop shop” for assistance (the Advice and Support Centre), a student health hub at the local community hospital and an emergency out-of-hours service whilst working with others to develop a student placement project in Zambia.

She has regularly been called upon to offer consultancy on student support to other universities, but her personal caseload has continued to be in the area of abuse survivor support and her research in the arena of identity from a social constructivist perspective.