Introductory Words
James Seth Memorial lecture
Tuesday 12th May, 5.15pm
Professor Viv Cree, Head of Social Work
I am delighted to welcome you all to this James Seth Memorial lecture at the University of Edinburgh on a lovely May evening. I am looking forward very much to introducing our speaker to you this evening, but first think you might be wondering who James Seth is.
James Seth was appointed Chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburghin 1898, a position he held for the next 25 years. Although a moral philosopher, Seth believed that the academic moralist should be above all a good citizen, and was passionate about civic betterment and social responsibility. In that spirit, he set up the School of Social Study and Training, one of the earliest institutions in the UK to train social workers with the knowledge and skill they would need to deal with what was then known as ‘social ill-health’.
After his death in 1924, his brother and sister set up a memorial fund in his name, and when the school joined the university in 1928, it was decided to use the fund to support a public lecture by a distinguished speaker. Since then, a host of well-known names have been proud to give the Seth lecture, including John Rex, Eric Sainsbury, Roy Griffiths, Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, and most recently, Peter Baldwin. We are delighted to welcome this evening Jane Aldgate.
Professor Jane Aldgate OBE is a social work scholar with an outstanding academic and professional background. For over 20 years, she has been at the forefront of creating a theoretical and practice knowledge base about children in need, particularly focusing on children in public care. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh, she has been Chair of Social Care at the Open University since 1999. In 2004, Professor Aldgate was seconded to the Social Work Services Inspectorate, Scottish Government, to undertake research to inform the Scottish Government’s review of children in the care system. Since 2006, she has continued to be seconded by the Scottish Government, designing and implementing a new model of assessment and planning for vulnerable children. Professor Aldgate is a prolific author. She has, writing with others, published 13 books and 4 edited collections, as well as a large number of peer reviewed journal articles and chapters in edited volumes as well as reports on research and government-funded reports.
This evening, Jane is going to speak to us about Child Well-being, Child Development and Children’s Lives. In doing so, she will be drawing on her current research on assessment and planning for vulnerable children, being conducted with colleagues at the Scottish Government. Jane will speak for about 45 minutes, then there will be an opportunity for questions. You are warmly invited to join us for a reception after the lecture, to be held in the foyer outside.