Pictured above: Susan Marlow
De Montfort University's (DMU) Professor Susan Marlow has become
one of only two professors in Britain to be honoured with a Queen's
Award this year for her outstanding contribution to promoting
enterprise skills.
Susan Marlow, professor of entrepreneurship and small business,
is an acknowledged expert in the field of labour management in
small firms and the impact of gender upon self employment.
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise Promotion coincide with HM The
Queen's birthday each April. The highly prestigious awards are
aimed at people who play a significant role in promoting enterprise
skills and encourage entrepreneurial attitudes in others in the
UK.
Professor Marlow's award was one of only ten individual Queen's
Awards made nationally for enterprise promotion in 2011, which
traditionally honour business leaders. This year, Professor Marlow
joins the privileged list of those honoured and will attend a
ceremony to celebrate her achievement at Buckingham Palace in the
summer.
On receiving news of her award, Professor Marlow said: "I am
very pleased and flattered to receive this award which recognises
the impact of my work on gender and entrepreneurship. It really
places a spotlight on the critical importance of researching
entrepreneurial activities and adds considerable credibility to
this field of activity.
"As a result of this honour, I have been invited by a number of
institutions and policy-makers to contribute to the development of
their future plans in this area. I am particularly grateful to
Professor Colette Henry from the Royal Veterinary College, who
nominated me for the award, and all those who acted as referees on
my behalf."
She was nominated by a colleague and previous president of the
Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE), Professor
Colette Henry, in recognition of her contribution to the ISBE,
research on gender and entrepreneurship and journal editorship.
The nomination, which included testimonials from leading
academics in the UK and overseas as well as private sector experts,
was considered by the Honours Office, who made the final
recommendation to the Prime Minister, before the entry was
recommended to the Queen.
Professor Marlow, who works in the Department of Human Resource
Management in DMU's Faculty of Business and Law, has partnerships
with colleagues at Queen's University Belfast, the University of
Strathclyde, Warwick Business School, the Royal Veterinary College
and Leeds Business School.
Professor Roger Blackburn of Kingston University also received
an honour in this year's awards.