Former University of Chichester lecturer awarded CBE
Dr Anita White (second from left) and Dr Jordan Matthews (right) with some of the WSLA participants.
Dr Anita White, who helped set up the first sports degrees at the University of Chichester in the 1980s, has been awarded a CBE for services to women and to sport.
An international sportswoman, Anita captained the England hockey team, leading them to victory in the 1975 World Cup. She has held a long association with the University of Chichester, first as a member of staff from 1971-1990, when she was involved with establishing the first Sports Studies degree in 1982, and subsequently when she served on the Board of Governors from 2001-2010. She was made an Honorary Fellow of the University in 2012.
Anita was a founder member of the Women’s Sports Foundation, now Women In Sport, and was pivotal in staging the first international conference on Women and Sport in 1994. She also established the Anita White Foundation (AWF) at the University from 2011-2020 and one of its programmes, the Women’s Sports Leadership Academy (WSLA), which has continued at Chichester and now has a total of 456 graduates from 76 countries. Since 2000, Anita has worked as an independent consultant in the field of national and international sport policy and sports development.
She said: “It is a great honour to receive this award. The University of Chichester has a long history of promoting Physical Education and Sport for girls and women. I know of many graduates who have made, and are making, significant contributions to the ongoing quest for gender equality in sport. It is important that Universities such as Chichester continue to engage in teaching and research to support the social change that is still very much needed. I hope this honour inspires other women and girls to break down barriers and smash glass ceilings in 2025.“
Dr Jordan Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management at the University of Chichester and former coordinator of the Anita White Foundation, said: “The topic of women in sport has become mainstream in recent years due to success on the field. Yet this progress is also because of phenomenal women like Anita who, off the field in prominent advocacy and leadership positions, have continuously pushed for better access, rights and opportunities for women and girls in sport. This further recognition of her lifetime of work is richly deserved.”
For more information about sport courses at the University of Chichester, visit www.chi.ac.uk/sport. Find out more about the WSLA at www.wsla.co.uk.
