Q&A with Professor Susan J. Smith
Read our interview with 2025 Patron's Medal recipient, Professor Susan J. Smith.
Professor Susan J. Smith is the recipient of the Patron's Medal for the encouragement and promotion of geographical science and discovery.
What did you want to be, or where did you want to work, when you were a teenager?
"I have always kept an open mind about the future, which is probably why I ended up in geography."
What role do you do now and how would you describe your work?
"Like most academics, I do a bit of everything, though these days there is more writing and speaking, and sadly less teaching, in the mix."
How did you get into this field of work?
"I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a wide variety of roles during my academic career. There has never been a ‘master plan’ so I might describe them as happy accidents.
"I suppose my one ‘rule of the game’ has been that it is always worth pushing on an open door – I’ve never regretted doing that."
What has been the highlight of your career, regardless of how big or small, so far?
"The colleagues who’ve supported me and the friends I made along the way. All my other achievements have been the product of good luck and hard work, especially the former."
What projects are you working on right now?
"I’m writing, mainly about housing and economic inequality in the long run, though I have quite a lot of project work to wrap up. It feels a bit like feeding words into a fairground penny-pusher. One of these days a whole bunch of them will get across the line!"
What is one thing you wish you had learned earlier in your career?
"I’m tempted to answer how to say no but, in fact, saying yes far too often has been entirely energising, if exhausting at times."
What are you looking forward to in the future?
"For the next four years I have the honour of being the President of the British Academy, which will involve doing as much as I can to champion the humanities and social sciences, underlining their capacity to enrich people’s lives and address the pressing issues of our age."
What three words would you use to describe your life and work?
"Charmed, exciting, exhausting – which, according to the App, takes me to a remote location in south-west Sumatra."
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