Fred Sherratt is an ex-builder, a vegetarian, an academic activist, highly tattooed, and a very proud Mancunian from Manchester, England – which is rather an odd assortment of things, but it seems to work. Fred has worked on construction sites in the Northwest of England then became a Professor of Construction Sociology at a UK University, and now happily ensconced in CU’s Construction Safety Research Alliance as an Associate Director. Their research is all about the people Fred used to work alongside on-site, focused on their occupational health, safety, and wellbeing – as to paraphrase Mother Jones, "whilst we remember the dead, we still need to fight like hell for the living"!
What are some meaningful ways in which you have felt welcomed to CEAS?
Quite soon after I started at the CSRA, my colleague and I won an international leadership award at a conference in Australia. There was some kerfuffle about this as we were wearing our best Hawaiian shirts at the time (it’s tradition!), so we looked oh-so-professional on stage in amongst all the suits! But, when I got back to CU there was even more kerfuffle…as there were streamers, decorations, and congratulations on my office door – which was just wonderful! That has never happened to me before, and I felt like I’d really found my home. I might even have had a little cry; it was that lovely. You know who you are, so thank you again!
What’s the best way for others to collaborate effectively with you?
Come find me and talk to me in real life! I don’t do social media, and I will LinkedIn with you but then probably unintentionally ignore you for months, if not years – so if I’ve done that to you already, please accept my apologies. But email is certainly useful in helping us arrange a meeting, and that’ll find me.
What do you like to do the most to unwind?
Get into very hot water. Literally, not figuratively. And ideally outside. Luckily there are lots of places to do that in Colorado.
What has been your favorite work or personal project so far?
Working with my colleague, Dr. Emmanuel Aboagye-Nimo from the UK, on a project exploring the decolonization of construction safety research, particularly safety culture work, with Ghana as our case study. As a white woman (apart from all the tattoos) I was trying so hard to stay in my lane, but we were forced by the reviewers to make recommendations for the future in the published version, which was both ironic and paradoxical as the whole point of the paper was that making such recommendations was exactly what I for one, along with all the other post-colonial white western-educated folks, should absolutely not be doing! Oh well – we tried! But to date, this is the paper I am most proud of.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I can ring church bells. They are the biggest and loudest musical instrument ever made, and I could think of nothing less punk than waking everyone up at 10am on a Sunday with their delightful noise! It’s incredibly hard, and like nothing I have ever done before, involving mathematics, muscle memory, rope-handling skills and teamwork. Being an anonymous link in the historical chain of people that have rung the bells in the UK for centuries, the oldest bell I ever rang was cast in 1310 – is such an amazing feeling that you can’t really get from anything else.
What is your guilty pleasure?
I subscribe to the National Enquirer. Is there any way back from that?!Â