The Royal Agricultural College is very pleased that the Principal, Professor Chris Gaskell has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in Her Majesty’s Birthday honours for his contributions to veterinary medicine and agriculture.
Professor Gaskell has been Principal of the College since 2007, and was previously Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool, where he also served as a Pro-Vice-Chancellor. He is a graduate of the University of Bristol, where, after a year at the University of Pennsylvania, he was also a postgraduate student and lecturer in veterinary medicine before moving to Liverpool as a professor in 1982.
Professor Gaskell was a member and then chairman of the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Science Advisory Council from 2002 until 2011, and chairman of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s (BBSRC) Sustainable Agriculture Strategy Panel between 2007 and 2011. He was a member of the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons from 1995 until 2007, and Chairman of the Committee of the Heads of UK Veterinary Schools from 1997 to 2002.
Professor Gaskell is currently a member of the Government Chief Scientific Advisors’ Food Research Partnership, and chaired its Translational Research Sub-Group. He is a member of the Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales’ Science Advisory Council, the Advisory Board for Defra’s Animal Health / Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society for England, the Board of the Animal Health Trust, and the BBC Rural Affairs Advisory Committee.
Professor Gaskell said "I am extremely honoured to receive this award, and very grateful to all those that I have worked with for their support. These are times of great opportunity for agriculture and veterinary science, and there is much to be achieved".