Jen stands side on and smiles at the camera. She is wearing a tweed suit jacket and glasses and has long brown hair
Jen stands side on and smiles at the camera. She is wearing a tweed suit jacket and glasses and has long brown hair

Meet Dr Jen Mayer, new Head of the School of Human and Social Sciences

Intro

Dr Jen Mayer joined UWL as Head of the School of Human and Social Sciences (SHSS) in November 2022. SHSS is a vibrant, multidisciplinary school that brings together disciplines, including criminology, psychology, education, addiction studies, nutritional therapy, sociology, international relations and forensic science.

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Talking about the School and University, Dr Mayer says:

There's a welcome autonomy at school level. UWL has found a balance that supports schools to thrive based on their unique approach, but under the UWL umbrella, allowing them to share good practice and work well together.”

Dr Mayer says that one of the first things that impressed her about UWL was the culture.

Many universities say that they have a student-centred approach, that students are at the heart of everything that they do. But this is the first one I've been at where I feel that they live and breathe students and student support, student experience and the students can see that, which is lovely.”

She has also been struck by how well staff know the students:

They are connected with them in a way that I've never seen staff do, even on courses with 50-150 students.”

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Going forward, Jen says that she and her team are looking to build on SHSS’ strengths and develop greater cohesion on its course offering. Recently, they defined its mission statement as ‘a multidisciplinary school that empowers and equips you to shape a sustainable, just and healthy society’.

We can do some exciting, well-rounded courses that build on our research strategy. There's a lot of work already going on in terms of sustainability, social justice, and societal change — staff are motivated and passionate about these areas; there's a lot of good practice to work with and the backbone is already there,”

she explains.

Dr Mayer’s own background is in psychology, specialising in adults with autism:

Initially my research focused on auditory processing in children and adolescents with autism. However, my PhD and later work expanded to sensory and emotion processing and focused on adults with autism, particularly those who weren’t diagnosed as children.”

While it may seem that autism is more prevalent now, she adds, it is that we're more aware of it:

You have this fascinating group that we won't have in about 10 to 20 years’ time, who went into adulthood without a diagnosis. There is a lot we can learn about the strategies and support that worked for them without external input.”

School of Human and Social Sciences

Our courses include foundation degrees and Certificates in Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) through to undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in psychology, substance use and misuse, forensic science and nutritional therapy.

Two forensic science students with a microscope

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Outside of work, when she’s not taking her two-year old miniature dachshund Ruby for walks in Richmond Park, Jen loves cooking.

I love to bake but I don’t want to eat it all myself, so I bring cakes and cookies to work. At my previous university, I was known for baking over the weekend and so on Mondays, around 3:00pm, people would show up at my door in the hopes I had been baking.”

Turning back to SHSS, Jen concludes by stressing that the school is focusing on courses that will enrich both students’ learning and their career prospects going forward:

Subject areas like criminology, sociology or psychology can lead to almost any career. So, we want to support students in ‘personalising’ their degree to include their passions and support their career trajectory based on their assessments, specialist modules and the placements they choose.”

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