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University of Sussex Media Release.
. Sussex careers psychologist to receive the OBE

19 June 2000
For immediate release

Staff in the Career Development Unit (CDU) at the University of Sussex are celebrating Saturday's announcement (17 June) that Ben Ball, careers psychologist and CDU's Associate Director, is to be honoured with an OBE for services to careers guidance.

Mr Ball is well respected in the careers profession for his rare combination of work - both locally and nationally - as a researcher, writer and practitioner. "His contributions to the theory and practice of careers guidance and management, especially in the higher education world, have been considerable," said CDU's director, Carolyn Morris.

Mr Ball lives in Newick, East Sussex. He has worked in the CDU for more than ten years and before that was head of the University of Brighton Careers Counselling Service, which he helped to establish.

During the early 1990s Ben Ball was heavily involved in the Enterprise in Higher Education (EHE) initiative at the University of Sussex. A partnership between the University and employers, it was designed to prepare students for the rapidly changing world of work.

Mr Ball's specialist knowledge of the graduate labour market led him to propose a joint research study with the independent Institute of Employment Studies (IES), which is based at the Falmer campus. The study, on the early career paths of Sussex graduates, resulted in two publications, 'What do graduates do?' (1995) and 'What do graduates do next?' (1997).

Mr Ball is also highly regarded in his profession as the author of a number of books, including Careers Counselling in Practice, which is a core textbook on all career-guidance courses.

Nationally Mr Ball has carried out a number of DfEE-funded evaluation studies - most recently on career management skills projects - which were conducted at nine higher-education institutions in the UK.

What makes all of these achievements so astonishing is that Ben Ball has suffered for the last 14 years from a rare brain cancer. "His courage and professionalism throughout has been remarkable and I feel privileged to have worked alongside him during this time," said Carolyn Morris.

Notes for editors

For further information, please contact Alison Field or Harriet Sexton, Press and Communications Office, University of Sussex, tel. 01273 678888, fax 01273 877456, email A.Field@sussex.ac.uk or H.D.Sexton@sussex.ac.uk.

To receive University of Sussex releases by email, please email information@sussex.ac.uk. Include the name of your media outlet, your title, postal address, phone and fax numbers, and the headline of this news release.

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