Michele Verroken is a leading international figure in the field of ethics and anti-doping in sport.
As a student, Michele was always drawn to the psychology behind doping: the ethics of playing sports and games bound by intricate rules, only to cheat at them. “My degree gave me a real interest in how people make decisions about what they do in sport”, she recalls, “and whether, when presented with a decision, decide they’re not going to play by the rules”.
Having first studied doping during her degree at Dartford College, Michele went on to become Director of Ethics and Anti-Doping at UK Sport for 18 years.
She helped to design internationally accepted standards for doping control and many credit her expertise with the UK becoming the first nation to achieve ISO 9000 certification for antidoping.
Michele has remained a leader in the sector and now works as an independent consultant to several sports organisations.
Additionally, since 2002 she has been Secretary of the Medical Commission for the Commonwealth Games Federation.
In 2018 the university awarded Michele with an Honorary Doctorate in Education.