A distinguished Business School Academic has been elected a Fellow of a prestigious academy.

Professor Carol Propper from Imperial College Business School was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, which is the national institution for the humanities and social sciences.

The British Academy elected 42 new Fellows including Professor Propper at its Annual General Meeting on 17 July 2014. Each of them is a highly distinguished academic, recognised for his or her outstanding research. The Fellows represent the full range of the Academy's subject areas from early literature to law.

Professor Propper is the first academic at the Business School to be granted this accolade.

Carol Propper, Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School, said:  “I am delighted and honoured to be elected to the Academy and look forward to playing an active role in it.”

Professor G. ‘Anand’ Anandalingam, Dean of Imperial College Business School, said: “I want to extend my warmest congratulations to Carol on her Fellowship.  Our academics are a cornerstone of the Business School and this acknowledgement of Carol’s hard work and dedication in academia and teaching is a proud moment for all of us. We are very honoured to have Carol in the faculty of Imperial College Business School. By all accounts, she is one of the top two or three health economists in the UK and has made significant contributions to improving our research and teaching mission.”

Lord Stern of Brentford, the President of the British Academy, added: “Our fellows are elected from across the UK for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. Together they represent an unrivalled reserve of expertise and knowledge. They play a vital role in the work of the Academy, encouraging younger researchers, engaging in public discussion of the great issues and ideas of our and other times, contributing to policy reports and publications, and helping to select researchers and research projects for funding support.”

Professor Propper’s research specialises in the use of markets and financial incentives to improve the delivery of public services such as healthcare.  Her research has also extended into other areas.  This includes her study on how better management practices can improve the performance of university departments, which in turn can improve student performance. She has also carried out a study into how violent crime in England is having a direct impact on the amount that people are walking in their local environments. 

Professor Propper joined Imperial College Business School as Professor of Economics and Head of the Health Management Group on 1 October 2007. She also holds an appointment at the University of Bristol where she helped found the Centre for Market and Public Organisation, which has attracted major research funding from a number of bodies.

In 2010 Professor Propper was awarded a CBE for her services to social science. The accolade recognised Professor Propper’s research into public economics and economics of health care as well as her work with colleagues from other social science and medical disciplines.