Queen’s Birthday Honours: Aberdeen University professor made a CBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours

By Ross Hempseed

June 1 2022, 10:30 pm

Professor Tim Ingold (right), daughter Suzey (left), my wife Anna (centre). Picture by Tim Ingold.

A professor who set up Aberdeen University’s anthropology department has been made a CBE.

Emeritus professor Tim Ingold has been included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to anthropology – the study of what makes us human.

He was instrumental in setting up the department at the university in 1999 and led it until his retirement in 2018.

Since the first students graduated in 2003, the department has gone on to forge international connections with over 80 PhDs awarded.

Prof Ingold, who is originally from Manchester, is now enjoying his retirement with his wife Anna in Aberdeen, and the couple will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary in December.

The father-of-four is also enjoying having more time to pursue his passion for music, and is an accomplished cello player. He began playing at the age of 12 and was part of the Concordia String Orchestra.

‘I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised’

Speaking about his CBE, Prof Ingold, said: “I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised.

“We had been away for the day and had found this envelope among a pile of post, and when I opened it up and realised what it was, I was very surprised but pleased.”

When Prof Ingold was brought in to lead the new anthropology initiative at Aberdeen University, he decided to create an entirely new department.

Professor Tim Ingold during a walk on the island of Skye. Picture supplied by Tim Ingold.

He said: “My ambition was to set up a department of our own as opposed to joining the sociology department.

“So I was able to build this department from scratch, and we had our first graduates in 2003, and we grew from there and ended up with a flourishing programme and large department.

“When I first came to set up the department, moving up from Manchester, people would question why move to Aberdeen?

“The strategy we took was to not see ourselves as part of the UK at all. Instead, we were focused on building a network of relations with colleagues across Nordic countries, Russia and Canada.

“Right from the start, we established the department as an international network base, and in terms of those places, Aberdeen is right in the centre.”

While pleased to be recognised for his work, Prof Ingold is having an understated celebration with a bottle of Cava while he breaks the news to his family in a virtual chat.