Prof Saths Cooper, one of the first cohort of 66 Foundation Fellows at the International Science Council

On 09 June 2022, the International Science Council (ISC) announced the creation of a Fellowship and the appointment of 66 Foundation Fellows who are recognised for their outstanding contributions to promoting science as a global public good.  The Fellowship is the highest honour that can be conferred on an individual by the ISC. The first cohort of Fellows includes eminent scientists, engineers and thought-leaders from the science-policy sphere who have made remarkable contributions to furthering understanding of and engagement with science.  As scientific experts and as knowledge brokers, they uphold the ISC's vision of science as a global public good, of knowledge that is shared openly and freely to all who wish to scrutinise it and to use it to further understanding.  The Fellows come from across the world and from different disciplinary backgrounds and sectors of work. There are 30 women and 36 men of the first 66 Foundation Fellows, including a number of younger scientists who have already made exceptional efforts in advancing science as a global public good.  

 

Subsequent to his nomination as fellow earlier this year, the ISC Council Governing Board invited him to join as member of the Standing Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science. The committee will be instrumental in prioritising and approving topics for action in the domains of freedom and responsibility in sicence, taking steps as appropriate in relation to breaches of freedom in science and promoting responsible conduct across the broader international scientific community, including the private and government sectors.

 

The committee will be chaired by Anne Husebekk, Vice-President for Freedom and Responsibility in Science. The ISC has a critical role to play as the international voice for science in the face of complex and urgent global problems. We rely on the expertise, experience and motivation of our governing bodies, not least our standing committees, as well as our fellows and wider membership, to work towards our vision of science as a global public good.

 

The Department of Psychology is proud to announce that Prof Saths Cooper, one of our Extra-Ordinary Professors, is one of the first cohort of 66 Foundation Fellows of the International Science Council. Prof Cooper is a graduate of the Universities of South Africa and Witwatersrand, and Boston University, where he obtained his PhD in Clinical/Community Psychology as a Fulbright scholar in 1989. Prof Cooper is the President of the Pan-African Psychology Union, and the past president of the International Union of Psychological Science and the Psychological Society of South Africa respectively.