It is with great sadness that CAIPE shares the news of the death of Professor Hugh Barr following a period of ill health. Earlier this year we were able to celebrate Hugh’s 90th birthday and reflect on his vast contribution to the field of Interprofessional Education.
Whilst CAIPE colleagues were last with Hugh in 2024 in Nottingham University, we were fortunate that Hugh was able to continue to support us in our role of the CAIPE joint chair throughout 2025.
Nottingham was the city where Hugh started his career as a probation officer. He left Nottingham for London where he went on to have national roles to promote care for prisoners before being appointed to the newly established Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work in the UK. Working at the interface of many professions managing people with complex needs, brought Hugh into the world of interprofessional practice where he discovered the importance for practitioners to learn together.
In the 1980’s, Hugh was part of a team which established CAIPE, and he then led the charity for almost 40 years, first as the CAIPE Chair, and then as President. Hugh was regarded as a founding father of interprofessional education in the UK, and for many colleagues internationally, not least because of his work to define IPE. He was a visionary, a perceptive leader, cognisant of the current political backdrop when promoting interprofessional education and always paving a way for others to follow.
Throughout his career he was bestowed with several distinguished awards as a recognition for his service to interprofessional education, including in 2023, the prestigious Pioneer Award from the Nexus Centre in the United States. In all his roles he offered wise counsel and support to many, and to all CAIPE Chairs.
This year, CAIPE established a Hugh Barr Award in collaboration with the Journal of Interprofessional Care. The award is aligned to Hugh’s work in social practice and will bi-annually recognise the best research paper in the Journal of Interprofessional Care which promotes and progresses interprofessional learning or working in social care. The award details will feature in the Journal of Interprofessional care in early 2026.
Those who have worked with Hugh describe his helping hand, encouragement, and genuine interest. Throughout, he was a fastidious scholar.
He will be sadly missed by all who knew him, but celebrated for the vast literature he leaves in our hands to guide this important academic field into the future.
Prof Elizabeth Anderson PhD SRN MW HV & Dr Angela Lennox CBE DL FRCP
CAIPE Joint Chair