NEW PRO VICE-CHANCELLORS APPOINTED

The appointment of two Pro Vice-Chancellors, to serve a five-year term of office, was announced this week. Both will take up their new roles later this year. As always, this is subject to the formal ratification of Senate and Council.
 
Professor Marilyn Andrews has been appointed as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Student Experience).  Currently Head of the School of Health and Rehabilitation, and also Director of Learning and Teaching for the Faculty of Health, she is a Physiotherapist by training.  She worked in clinical practise before moving into Physiotherapy education, and has been at Keele since this discipline moved into the University in 1994.  She has played lead roles nationally in the oversight and redesign of Physiotherapy educational programmes.

At Keele she has played University-wide leadership roles in chairing the University Learning and Teaching Committee, and served for a year as the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health.

Kevin Mattinson who is Head of Teacher Education at Keele, has been appointed to the post of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Community and Partnerships).  He has led the initial teacher education programme since arriving at Keele in 2004.  Over this period the PGCE programme has moved from scoring very poor Ofsted grades when he arrived, to recently having achieved the top grades possible.  Keele has now returned to being recognised as being one of the leading high quality providers of teacher education in the UK.

Active nationally in relation to teacher education, he is widely used by other HEIs as an adviser on the Ofsted inspection process.  At Keele he has been instrumental in the development of widening participation links into schools, and in supporting the West Midlands Science Learning Centre based at Keele. His deep knowledge of standards and quality issues has been put to use through his membership of the University Academic Audit Committee.

The Vice-Chancellor said: "I am delighted that we have been able appoint two talented people, who have both demonstrated success in their careers and for Keele, to these important leadership posts.  In Marilyn and Kevin we have found two colleagues who are ideally suited to the particular roles to which they have been appointed".

KEELE RESEARCH BRINGS US CLOSER TO EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Dr Joanna Collingwood, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, has told an international conference in Chicago of a research project that aims to find a method for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, so that medical treatment can begin as soon as chemical changes are detected and before the irreversible cell death takes place.

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science she presented new results from studies carried out, in collaboration with Dr Mark Davidson from the University of Florida (UF), at Diamond - the UK's national synchrotron. Their results show that the distribution of metal ions in the brain tissue of sufferers is altered by the disease process. By studying the tissue as a whole, it has been possible to map metal distribution throughout the brain region containing the vulnerable motor neurones in Parkinson's disease in a region where they had earlier shown that iron levels nearly double in individual cells. The primary support for this research is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in the UK.

Dr Collingwood said: "Our studies at Diamond involve a technique called microfocus spectroscopy, in which powerful, tightly focused beams of X-rays penetrate our tissue samples. We have been able to investigate human tissue with such precision that metal ions, particularly iron levels, in and around individual cells can be mapped. What makes the microfocus synchrotron approach so unique is that we can also use the focused beam to obtain information about the form in which the iron is stored.

"To move this research on into the clinical arena, we need to determine how much the contrast change seen by clinicians in the MRI scan results is directly due to changes in iron distribution and form. Improving our understanding of the biochemical aspects of the disease should in the long term contribute to improved therapeutic approaches and also provide potential openings for early MRI detection and diagnosis."

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

At a ceremony hosted by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Finch, this week, a memorandum of understanding was entered into between Keele and Wardell Armstrong, the Stoke-based Environmental and Engineering Consultants.  Board members and senior managers from Wardell Armstrong, including Jeff Smith (chairman) and Colin Brown (managing director), joined Keele staff in celebrating the long-established relationship between the two organisations.

Wardell Armstrong acts as a contractor on Science Park developments but also as a collaborator on research projects and an employer of Keele graduates.  The MOU recognises the growing links between Keele and the company, particularly in the area of collaborative research and enterprise projects.

PLATE PRESENTATION TO MARK COLLABORATION ANNIVERSARY

An antique Delft earthenware plate, made in about 1750, has been presented to the University to mark the 10th anniversary of a collaborative relationship between the Instituut voor Management & Bedrijfskunde, Amstelveen in the Netherlands, and Keele.

Dr Kees van den Bosch, Director of IM & B, made the presentation when he visited Keele to introduce this year's Dutch cohort to the part-time Keele MBA.

The plate is marked B:P, which stands for "De Vergulde Bloempot" (The Gilded Flowerpot), which was the name of the Delft factory in which it was produced. A reciprocal gift to mark the anniversary was presented to Dr van den Bosch by Professor Chris Phillipson and Professor Peter Lawrence on a recent visit to the Netherlands.

STOCKHOLM BUSINESS SCHOOL VISIT

Keele welcomed a 15 strong delegation from the Stockholm Business School, composed of academics and administrators. They were led by their Dean, Tom Hartman, who knows the University from his time here as a Lecturer in Accounting. While at Keele he also acted as the Subject Tutor for Management subjects and as the Institutional Co-ordinator for various European universities, and as such was familiar with how exchanges functioned at Keele. The group spent two days at Keele on an "Away-Day", focusing on internationalisation. They had a presentation on staff and student mobility from Dr Annette Kratz, Head of Centre for International Exchange and Development, and an overview of Keele's internationalisation strategy from the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Rama Thirunamachandran.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES CHILDREN'S CONFERENCE AT KEELE

Keelelink, Keele's School and College Partnership Programme, hosted a rights and responsibilities children's conference on campus last week.  The conference, co-ordinated for Keelelink members by the Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning Division, was attended by more than 60 12-14 year old, young people from across Staffordshire and Cheshire.

The purpose of the event was to complement the Key Stage 3 citizenship studies programme, building on the efforts of many local schools who are aiming to become 'Rights Respecting Schools'.  The conference also aimed to give local, young school students, who may not have had the opportunity to witness university life, a glimpse of what higher education can offer.

Kylie Cross, Widening Participation Manager said: "We feel the children's conference programme is an exciting new addition to our Keelelink partnership offering.  Each conference is designed to support an area of school curriculum delivery.  Our partners have really responded to subject areas we have chosen for our conferences and we were really pleased with the range of speakers and activities involved in the day."

The programme was packed with informative, insightful and somewhat touching talks and sessions from a wide range of organisations. Amnesty International delivered a session on democracy and justice, the Co-op provided a resource used for a session exploring identity and diversity in the UK, and the day was rounded off by a session entitled 'Invisible Children', a project set up in 2003 to turn the apathy of young westerners into action to combat the injustices in war torn Northern Uganda.

KEELE STUDENT'S WORK SELECTED FOR MANCHESTER CONCERT

Jon Weinel, a 2nd year Music PhD student, has had a musical work selected for performance at a Manchester University concert on the Mantis 40+ channel sound system.  The concert, taking place on the 7 March, forms part of the Mantis Festival and NWNW (North-West North-Wales) Postgraduate Conference; a whole weekend of academic papers and musical concerts.

This will be the second time Jon has had a work presented at the Mantis festival, having previously had an audio visual work performed there.  This time Jon will diffuse an electroacoustic musical work entitled "Night Breed", which forms part of his ongoing research concerning music and altered states of consciousness.  "Night Breed" draws influence from modern electronic forms and utilises mimetic sound manipulation process in order to reflect the "Cellular Level Consciousness" which Timothy Leary describes in "The Politics Of Ecstasy". For further information regarding the concert and the Mantis Festival click here.

DEGREE CEREMONIES AT KEELE

Degrees and diplomas were awarded to 420 postgraduate, undergraduate and nursing students at graduation ceremonies in the University Chapel today.
 
During the ceremonies television and film director, Ken Loach, was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film.

In 1966 Ken Loach made the socially influential docu-drama Cathy Come Home portraying subjects such as homelessness and unemployment. In the late 1960s he started directing films and in 1969 made Kes, the story of a troubled boy and his kestrel, based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Himes. It remains perhaps his best known film in Britain.

In May 2006, he was awarded the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Fellowship at the BAFTA TV Awards. Also that year he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his film The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film about the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Irish Civil War during the 1920s.

CFM PASS QUALITY ASSESSMENTS

Commercial and Facilities Management Directorate have passed assessments for ISO 9001:2008 and Investors in People standards with flying colours.

CFM has been under close scrutiny over the past couple of weeks with two four-day audits to check their ongoing compliance with the quality standards

The ISO assessors reported good practice in all areas of the directorate and commented that staff presented a very professional approach to carrying out their duties.  

The assessor from Investors in People highlighted the success of the Directorate's recent communication event, "This Morning with CFM", the positive results of Open Space and Step-up programmes and a more consistent approach to appraisal, enhanced by the introduction of "grand parenting" in line with the University's SPRE process.

On the whole he said that the staff he spoke to demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment and he felt that since his last visit there was more cohesion and common understanding of business goals across CFM.

Rachel Cairns, Head of Training, Quality and HR, CFM, said: "I would like to say thank you and well done to everyone in CFM. The ongoing attainment of these quality standards is the result of the efforts and commitment of the whole team."

Malcolm Salt and Janet Hunt, CFM, are pictured with the ISO award.

A BICENTENARY CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE, WORK AND LEGACY OF CHARLES DARWIN

As part of international Darwin day, a joint celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and 150 years since the publication of the Origin of Species, Birmingham University Medical School hosted a varied programme of events for scientists and the general public.

The day brought together keynote speakers on wide ranging aspects influenced by Darwin's theories.

Keele Scientist Dr Richard Emes, Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, was invited to offer his perspective on the use of Darwin's theories to understand evolution of genes and genomes and joined scientific speakers on plant and human evolution, geology and forensic psychology.

The event, sponsored by the British Council, BBSRC and the Lunar Society (co-founded by Charles' Grandfather Erasmus Darwin), also featured the American journalist Lauri Lebo, author of "The Devil in Dover", recounting her first-hand experience of the 2004 trial to overturn the Dover school board's decision to teach Intelligent Design, the science fiction writer Stephen Baxter, artist Franziska Schenk and the Canadian "Lit-Hop" rapper Baba Brinkman performing the "Rap Guide to Evolution".