Cara Aitchison

Cara Carmichael Aitchison, FAcSS, FRGS, FHEA, FWLA, FLSW (born 1965) is a British social scientist and university leader. She has been President and Vice Chancellor of Cardiff Metropolitan University since 2016 and was formerly Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive or Plymouth Marjon University in England (2013–2016).[1] She was previously Dean of Moray House School of Education and Professor in Social and Environmental Justice at Edinburgh University in Scotland (2010–2013) and has an international research profile in the geography and cultural economy of leisure, sport and tourism and in gender studies, cultural identity and social inclusion.

Cara Aitchison

FAcSS FRGS FHEA
Born
Cara Carmichael Aitchison

1965 (age 57–58)
Falkirk, Scotland
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Middlesex University
University of Bristol
ThesisLeisure Studies: Gender, Power and Knowledge (1999)
Academic work
DisciplineGeography
Sub-discipline
Institutions

Early life and education

Aitchison was born in 1965 in Falkirk, Scotland, and educated at Stirling High School.[2] She studied geography at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) degree in 1987.[2][3] She continued her studies at the university's Moray House School of Education, completing a postgraduate diploma (PG Dip) in recreation and leisure practice in 1988.[2] Over the following years, she gained other qualifications: a Certificate in Education (CertEd) in further and higher education from Thames Polytechnic in 1990, and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in gender and society from Middlesex University in 1993.[2] She undertook a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in social science at the University of Bristol, completing it in 1999 with a thesis titled "Leisure Studies: Gender, Power and Knowledge".[2][3]

Academic career

Aitchison taught at Croydon College, the University of North London and the University of Gloucestershire, before becoming Professor in Human Geography at the University of West England (2003–2008). She then joined the University of Bedfordshire in academic and academic administration appointments, serving as dean of its Faculty of Education and Sport and Professor in Leisure and Tourism Studies from 2008 to 2010. She moved to the University of Edinburgh as head of its Moray House School of Education and Chair in Social and Environmental Justice from 2010 to 2013.[2][3]

In 2013, Aitchison was appointed to lead her first university, serving as vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of St Mark and St John, Plymouth between 2013 and 2016. She has also been an honorary professor at the University of Bath since 2015. In 2016, she joined Cardiff Metropolitan University as its president and vice-chancellor, and also Professor of Geography and Cultural Economy.[2]

In 2018, Aitchison was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.[4]

Books

Aitchison's books include:

  • Leisure and Tourism Landscapes: Social and Cultural Geographies (with Nicola E. MacLeod and Stephen J. Shaw, Routledge, 2000)[5]
  • Gender and Leisure: Social and Cultural Perspectives (Routledge, 2003)[6]
  • Urban Transformations: Regeneration and Renewal Through Leisure and Tourism (with Greg Richards and Andrew Tallon, Leisure Studies Association, 2007)
  • Sport and Gender Identities: Masculinities, Femininities and Sexualities (edited, Routledge, 2007)[7]

References
  1. Archived 2016-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, Cardiff Metropolitan University, retrieved 2016-11-19.
  2. "Aitchison, Prof. Cara Carmichael, (born 5 Feb. 1965), President and Vice-Chancellor, and Professor of Geography and Cultural Economy, Cardiff Metropolitan University, since 2016". Who's Who 2021. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. "Professor Cara Aitchison". Cardiff Metropolitan University. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  4. Wales, The Learned Society of. "Cara Aitchison". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  5. Reviews of Leisure and Tourism Landscapes:
    • Ashworth, G. J. (January 2002), Geography, 87 (1): 95, JSTOR 40573658{{citation}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
    • Hall, C.M. (December 2004), Tourism Management, 25 (6): 811–812, doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2003.09.008{{citation}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  6. Reviews of Gender and Leisure:
  7. Review of Sport and Gender Identities:
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