UCLan centre is a national first

Believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, the new Centre for the Study of Compassion will officially launch next Wednesday.

Focusing initially on developing interdisciplinary research projects and providing supervision and support for new PhD students, it will be working to embed UCLan’s ambition to be a compassionate university.

The centre will be lead by Professor Patrick Pietroni, the newly appointed Elizabeth Bryan Foundation Trust (EBFT) Chairman for the Study of Compassion.

His career has spanned the NHS and academia. He is currently director of the EBFT, a charitable trust founded in memory of the eminent paediatrician Elizabeth Bryan. Prof Pietroni is also the director of the Darwin Centre Trust CIO and so far 18 institutions have affiliated with DIISC, including the University of New Mexico, which is home to DIISC’s North American hub and Harvard Medical School.

The centre will also act as a hub for an international network of universities and other organisations working on research into different aspects of compassion.

Prof Pietroni said: “I have had the good fortune to be appointed as the first occupant of the Elizabeth Bryan Chair for the Study of Compassion. It will be the most challenging post of my academic career– we have recognised the necessity of helping to nurture a generation of compassionate leaders.”