PROMOTIONS TO PERSONAL CHAIRS

The Professorial and Readership Promotions Committee has made the following promotions to personal chairs which are, as always, subject to the formal ratification of Senate and Council.
 
Chris Exley – Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry

Chris Exley works at that fascinating interface between inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biology. He obtained his BSc in biology from Stirling University in 1985, and stayed there for his PhD at the Institute of aquaculture, where his fascination in the biological actions (and toxicity) of aluminium began. A stint as an ICI postdoc at Stirling was followed by a similar role at Keele, before starting a Royal Society Fellowship here between 1994 -2002, when he was appointed as a Reader. Chris has established an international reputation in the area of aluminium biochemistry, both promoting continued interest in this research theme, and developing his specific expertise in aluminium toxicity and in ways of mitigating its effects, most notably through the effect of silicon compounds (especially silicic acid). His work has been particularly prominent in evaluating the impact that aluminium has on triggering Alzheimer's disease, and he was an expert witness in the Camelford water contamination case. Chris has won around £2M of research funding, and published 80 peer-reviewed papers, of which 15 have been cited more than 50 times. He has presented his research extensively as a keynote speaker around the world, and has founded the biennial 'Keele Meetings on Aluminium', whilst also disseminating his knowledge to more general audiences through a range of public and media events.

Pat Black - Professor of Pharmacy Professional Development & Education

Patricia Black, Director of Postgraduate Studies in the School of Pharmacy, has been promoted to a personal Chair. Pat has been a member of staff since 1994.  During her career at Keele, Pat has built a rare combination of skills around knowledge of health care, pedagogical issues and experience of constructing courses via distance education.  She founded and subsequently developed a highly successful postgraduate unit and team that deliver courses to qualified healthcare professionals that meet a strongly expressed need for learning within the workplace.  The modular, 'pick-and-mix' approach is perfectly attuned to the increasingly sub-specialist nature of postgraduate training in health disciplines and has provided a model for PGT in the Faculty of Health.  She demonstrates vision and leading-edge thinking in her practice, particularly in relation to open, distance and flexible learning, and the use of structured reflective learning portfolios that have received critical acclaim nationally and internationally. Her research publications demonstrate the positive transformational effect that her work has had on learners, particularly in the context of CPD. Pat currently holds a National Teaching Fellowship.

Sue Read - Professor of Learning Disability Nursing

Sue Read has been awarded a personal Chair for her national and international standing as an academic in the field of Learning Disability nursing. Sue has become one of the leading international figures in the highly sensitive area of bereavement counselling and end of life care for those with learning disabilities.  A distinctive feature of her work is that it not only influences the field of nursing but has been utilised across the whole range of health and social care professions; such multi-professional impact is an outstanding achievement within nursing.  Her research has had an increasing impact on client service delivery as well as contributing to professional education and development. As a recognised leader in the field of working with vulnerable populations, Sue continues to drive forward changes to practice through her distinct and unique contributions.  Over a period of 15 years she has produced a sustained body of high quality collaborative research into learning disabilities, loss and bereavement along with novel practical aids in the form of a 'toolkit'.  By her dedicated focus on these relatively neglected clinical topics, Sue has been able to develop a significant body of research evidence that has begun to shift the quality and character of services for this vulnerable client group.

UNIVERSITY SECRETARY AND REGISTRAR RETIRES AFTER NEARLY 15 YEARS

Friends and colleagues gathered together this week to celebrate the career and contribution of Simon Morris who retires at the end of the month after nearly 15 years service as University Secretary and Registrar.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, paid tribute to Simon's 'huge contribution' to Keele and his 'excellent service'. He said Simon had joined the University as Secretary and Registrar in 1997 after a long career in the RAF and had a made a very significant impact. He added his personal thanks for Simon's extremely valuable support since he became Vice-Chancellor last year.

Simon said it had been "a tremendous privilege" to be University Secretary and Registrar at Keele. He said: "Keele is a great place to work and it has been tremendous fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with people across the whole of the University."

The picture shows Simon and the Vice-Chancellor with guests at his retirement presentation. Among the gifts were a framed picture of Keele Hall and a signed, framed Stoke City shirt, bearing Simon's name and the number 15.

WOLFSON GRANT FOR SUSTAINABILITY HUB

The Keele University Sustainability Hub has been awarded a £140k grant by the Wolfson Foundation, in order to support its outreach activities through the lecture theatre and related facilities.

The Wolfson bid was put together by a team of colleagues, and led by Professor Pat Bailey, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability, who said: "This funding will allow the Hub to extend its exciting range of events, with more activities planned for schools, talks on environmental issues, and projects to encourage an improved awareness of sustainability issues."

The Hub opened in September, following a complete renovation of the derelict Home Farm buildings. The Hub is not only an exemplar of a sustainable building with low carbon impact, but it provides resources that support education and research on sustainable technologies, as well as an exciting range of activities to help schools, the community and businesses operate in more sustainable ways.

Recent events have included 'Really Rubbish Week', in which local schools and Keele students used discarded rubbish to make a range of displays to highlight the amount of waste we create (pictured above); 'Grey Matters', in which older members of the community share their knowledge and life experience of sustainable living with younger people, and a 'Christmas Fayre', with stalls from small local businesses and environmental organisations.

TELETHON TEAM RAISES NEARLY £100,000

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Foskett, was joined by Keele alumnus Mark Hill (Class of 1974) at a special presentation in Keele Hall to present awards to members of the 2011 Telethon calling team.
 
The team of 29 students raised more than £97,000 for the Keele Key Fund and the Vice-Chancellor commended their efforts in a time of austerity. The team was especially pleased by the high level of support received from our more recent leavers. The top Ian Mahoney Award was presented to Dominic Moore (Marketing and Psychology) who achieved great outcomes from his calls and was also an inspiration to fellow team members.

Mark Hill was visiting Keele for the first time 35 years. He recounted how he enjoyed the experience of being called by a student during the telethon and gave his reasons for supporting Keele financially through the NAFKU Scholarship and with his time and expertise as a member of the Board of the North American Foundation for Keele University (NAFKU). During his visit Mark delivered the Keele Management School Annual Distinguished Lecture, toured the Sustainability Hub and also spoke to students involved in enterprise programmes.

TIME AND LE FIGARO

Professor John Wearden, Centre for Psychological Research, currently on a research visit to Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, gave a keynote presentation at a specialist colloquium at the University of Rennes on 'Time and Temporality: The Importance of rhythmicity in the psychic organization'. 

The subject of Professor Wearden's presentation was 'Clocks, memories and decisions: understanding of human time through the ages'.  The colloquium was organised by the University's Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and attracted wide-spread interest.  Professor Wearden was also interviewed by Le Figaro, the French daily newspaper.

KEELE HISTORIAN ON 'IN OUR TIME'

Dr Kate Cushing (Reader in Medieval History/Research Institute for the Humanities) took part in the renowned Radio Four programme 'In our Time with Melvyn Bragg' yesterday on a panel discussing the Concordat of Worms in 1122.

Together with Henrietta Leyser (Oxford) and John Gillingham (emeritus LSE), Dr Cushing discussed the background, context and nature of the famous agreement that ended one of the most serious conflicts of Church and State, known as the Investiture Contest, that had divided the medieval west since 1075, if not before.

MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY FOR ANTIMALARIAL DRUGS: KEELE UNDERGRADUATES PUBLISH STUDY

Five undergraduate students in the Schools of Life Sciences and Medicine have co-authored a study entitled "Synthesis and evaluation of a novel series of indoloisoquinolines as small molecule anti-malarial leads" in the journal Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

This work was carried out as part of honours research projects or were summer placements funded by the Wellcome Trust and Nuffield Foundation. The project, representing a collaboration between research staff in ISTM (Paul Horrocks) and EPSAM (Steve Allin), establishes key aspects of the structure activity relationship of a library of synthetic indoloisoquinolines and their inhibitory effect on malaria parasite growth.

This work is also funded by the North Staffordshire Medical Research Institute.

GRANT TO INVESTIGATE PMR

Dr Sara Muller (iPCHS) with Dr Sam Hider, Dr Toby Helliwell and Dr John Belcher, have received a grant of £19,200 from the Royal College of General Practitioners Scientific Foundation Board to investigate the long term outcomes of Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) in the General Practice Research Database.

PMR is a common inflammatory rheumatological condition that is usually managed exclusively in primary care, but has received little research attention. This grant will fund an investigation into whether the condition is associated with an increased risk of early death and with a higher rate of cancers.

KEELE WORLD FESTIVAL

Keele has a growing international population, with staff and students from over 100 countries. To celebrate this diverse community Keele World Festival will run from mid January to 9 March.

A wide range of activities including talks, sports and world films will run during this period with the aim of bringing people together to learn about each others' countries and customs. There will also be internationally themed dishes served at food outlets across campus. To learn more about the festival and how you can be involved click here.

BRITAIN IN 2012

Emerita Professor of Criminology, Anne Worrall and Dr Rob Mawby (Leicester University) have contributed by invitation to Britain in 2012, the annual magazine of the ESRC.  Their article, 'It is rocket science' summarises some key findings from their recently completed research on the occupational cultures of probation workers. Britain in 2012 is aimed at informing the general public about significant research funded by the ESRC and is on sale at W H Smiths, Marks and Spencer and Waterstones.

THE ARAB SPRING

SPIRE lecturer Naveed Sheikh was invited to give a guest lecture on the topic "The Arab Spring and the Polyphony of Political Islam: Notes on Notes, Refrains, Choirs and Song Sheets" at the Makhtoum Institute for the Study of Muslims and Islam.

Based in Dundee, and accredited by the University of Aberdeen, the Makhtoum Institute is Britain's largest postgraduate centre for the study of contemporary Islam and Muslim community affairs. It was founded shortly after 9/11/2001 with generous funding from HH Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, to provide advanced training in the study of Islam and Muslims.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Twenty-five years ago -
A memorial service for Professor Alan Gemmell, well-known broadcaster and founding Professor of Biology at Keele, was held in the University Chapel on 13 December 1986. Professor Gemmell, for many years a stalwart of Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time, died on 5 July 1986 at the age of 73.