Peter Branney awarded honorary life membership

A University of Bradford psychologist has been awarded honorary life membership of the BPS thanks to his 'fantastic' contribution to the Society. Associate Professor in Social Psychology Dr Peter Branney is a Fellow and Trustee of the BPS and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Royal Society of the Arts.

Branney, who has previously served as a Chair of the BPS Senate, observer of the Board of Trustees, and Chair of the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section, is known for his psychological research on people's experiences of accessing healthcare and men's experiences of penile cancer. He said it was a privilege to be made a BPS life member. 'It really does take a village to raise a child and my contributions to psychology have only been possible because of the wonderful communities of psychologists have taken me under their wing, sharing their experiences, time and, more often than I dare to admit, patience.'

A former chair of the BPS conference committee, Branney said a highlight of that period had been the final BPS Annual Conference he helped to organise in Brighton. 'As a committee we shared out introducing the keynote speakers and it was great seeing people who don't usually put themselves out there getting on stage to give it a go. It was also a great experience to work with the BPS conferences team.'

In the future Branney said he would like to see the Society continuing to engage with policy matters. 'We need to have good relationships with staff and provide the conditions where staff can feel supported and challenged to do these kinds of things – bringing in their own knowledge as well.'

Christina Buxton, BPS honorary general secretary, has worked with Branney in his work as Senate Chair and Board Observer and said he brought a calm and level-headed approach to discussions. 'His commitment to the Society is exemplary and he is a great advocate of moving forward with its planned changes for the future. It gives me great pleasure to see the award of honorary life member bestowed on Pete in recognition of all that he does, and continues to do for, and on behalf of, the Society and its members.'