Flinders human geographer Professor Iain Hay has been appointed to the prestigious Academy of the Social Sciences in the UK.

Representing some of the world’s top social scientists, the Academy annually elects a small number of scholars – 28 in 2014 – to its membership in recognition of the “eminence and impact” of their work.

The appointment as Academician recognised Professor Hay’s extensive record of research “on geographies of oppression and domination, proving insights to social power by revealing the often unintended and insidious ways in which structures of injustice – such as exploitation, marginalisation and powerlessness – are created, reproduced and transformed”.

Professor Hay’s research has appeared in 150 different outlets, and he has published 12 books.

Formed as an overarching body for the social science learned societies in the early 1980s, the Academy has 44 member societies that include the British Sociological Association, the British Psychological Society and the Royal Statistical Society. Of the learned societies’ total memberships of some 87,000, around one per cent are appointed to the Academy, with only a small proportion selected from overseas.

“This Award is a significant and uncommon honour,” Professor Hay said.

“To have work conducted at Flinders acknowledged from the other side of the planet and on the global social sciences stage is very encouraging.”

While his latest honour recognises his research, Professor Hay’s commitment to innovative teaching also earned him the Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year in 2006/2007.

“Like many other leading universities around the world, Flinders is a strong advocate of the nexus between teaching and research. I like to think that these diverse honours reflect a degree of success in my efforts to make that ideal a reality,” he said.