Professor Sharon Arkell Awarded MBE for Services to Higher Education

The University of Wolverhampton is proud to announce that Professor Sharon Arkell has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of her outstanding services to higher education. 

Professor Arkell’s journey from being the first in her family to attend university, studying as a mature student while working as a registered nurse and raising a young family, to becoming a national leader in healthcare education and policy, epitomises the University’s values of resilience, ambition, and inclusivity. 

With 27 years of experience in higher education, including 20 years at the University of Wolverhampton, most recently serving as Dean of Faculty of Education, Health & Wellbeing, Professor Arkell has led transformative initiatives that have widened participation and improved access to graduate employment. She has been instrumental in expanding the University’s healthcare education portfolio, introducing new programmes, and growing student numbers.  

Her work has created clear pathways from further education into healthcare careers, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds across the West Midlands. These efforts have helped build a more representative local health workforce. She has also contributed to national healthcare regulation and policy and played a pivotal role in leading the University’s healthcare education response during the COVID-19 pandemic, advocating for both higher education and healthcare through national policy groups. 

Professor Arkell, MBE said: “Many of the students at the University of Wolverhampton are recruited from the local region, which has significant and multiple areas of deprivation and disadvantage. This academic expansion strategy has provided employment opportunities for many disadvantaged students in the region and for developing the local health workforce to be more representative of the communities in the region.” 

Reflecting on the honour, she said: “It was a huge, and amazing, surprise to receive the award. It is incredibly humbling to know that someone has considered the work that I have undertaken within higher education and taken the time to nominate me for such a distinguished title. 

“As a former nurse and first-generation university student, I’ve always been passionate about making higher education accessible and meaningful. I’m proud to have helped shape a more inclusive and representative healthcare workforce." 

The University extends its warmest congratulations to Professor Arkell on this well-deserved recognition.