SPace
Bath Spa University’s monthly magazine JUNE 2014
Double win at Graduate Fashion Week Official opening of Commons Author’s Club First Novel Award
FEATURES 16
Spotlight on... Marnie Whiting, Head of Development and Campaigns
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My Student Experience... Philippa Williams, BA (Hons) English Literature and Psychology
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Grace Weller double win at Graduate Fashion Week
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Jack Wolf winner of Author’s Club First Novel Award
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Bath School of Art and Design Degree Show 2014
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16 NEWS 6
Update from the Vice-Chancellor
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University News
My Student Experience... Philippa Williams, BA (Hons) English Literature and Psychology
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News
10 Newton Park campus development update
24 Thank you from Indian schools book donation
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New Partnership with Theatre Royal Bath
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Global Academy of Liberal Arts
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Spotlight On... Marnie Whiting
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Talking Point... Why drawing needs to be a curriculum essential.By Professor Anita Taylor, Dean of Bath School of Art 32 and Design
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Research Celebration Week
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Visit by Sir Al Aynsley-Green 27 Research visit to the College of William and Mary, USA
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Alumni News
SPACE magazine is published every month and is aimed at staff and students of Bath Spa University. SPACE welcomes contributions from all members of the Bath Spa community. Want to get involved? Contact Jane Wakefield – j.wakefield@bathspa.ac.uk
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Editor Jane Wakefield
Features Writer Rob Breckon
Design and Layout Lorna Leigh Harrington
Contributors Professor Anita Taylor Philippa Williams Amy Lamborn
Front cover Grace Weller – double winner of the Womenswear and Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week 2014.
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Bath School of Art and Design Degree Show 2014
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Enterprise and Local Partnerships
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What’s On
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Students’ Union
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Staff News
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Professor Christina Slade, Vice-Chancellor
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Update from the Vice-Chancellor I was delighted to see so many staff, students and distinguished guests attend the opening
of our exciting new academic building ‘Commons’. I am extremely grateful to Lord Puttnam for officially opening the building and I know students and staff alike enjoyed meeting him and showing him around our fantastic teaching facility. We look forward to welcoming Lord Puttnam back in the future and demonstrating the quality of work that our students produce. Bath Spa University’s position in the Guardian University Guide 2015 has seen us rise to 69th in the table. On a subject level there have been a number of significant improvements, particularly Art, Drama and Dance. The inaugural meeting of the Global Academy of Liberal Arts (GALA) took place across two days this month at Newton Park. Leading academics brokered new collaborations in creativity inspired by landscape, in preparing students and graduates to work in the creative industries and in global citizenship and intercultural education. The network is the first collaboration of its kind, bringing together a diverse range of liberal arts providers from around the world. We once again have student successes to celebrate. My congratulations this month go to: • Creative Writing PhD student Jack Wolf who has been named winner of The Author’s Club First Novel Award for his book The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones. • Fashion Design graduate Grace Weller who has been named winner of the Graduate Fashion Week 2014 Womenswear Award and the overall George Gold Award, the highest honour and most prestigious of all the Awards.
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Ticker tape covers the building.
UNIVERSITY NEWS President of the Film Distributors’ Association, Lord Puttnam CBE, officially opened ‘Commons’
on 5 June. He was a fitting choice to open the building, which has state of the art media production and editing facilities, having a long and illustrious career as an independent producer. His films have won ten Oscars, 25 Baftas and the Palme D’Or at Cannes. His films include The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle. Lord Puttnam CBE officially opens Commons.
During a wonderful evening of celebration, staff, students and distinguished guests were treated to over 30 staff and student collaborative projects animating the building and demonstrating the wide range of talent and expertise at Bath Spa. A number of performances, exhibitions and installations were on display throughout the evening including: • Performances from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, • Liquid nitrogen ice-cream project, • Creative ‘tea-party’ including poetry and performance, • ‘My story’ by Olympic swimmer and Bath Spa student Lizzie Simmonds. 88
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Making ice-cream using liquid nitrogen.
During the opening event Lord Puttnam showed for the first time a brand new seven minute film made in collaboration with Duncan Kenworthy OBE - ‘100 Years of British Cinema’. Other highlights included a digital installation by award-winning visual artist Julian Opie on the building’s impressive 6.85 metre high media wall; and a sculpture, ‘L’Âge d’Or (Green)’ by British artist and Bath Spa Professor of Art and Design Gavin Turk in the landscaped grounds surrounding Commons. Lord Puttnam CBE added: “Having walked around Commons, the facilities are absolutely stunning. All of a sudden and for the first time in long time, I wanted to be 18 years old again and going to university, it is quite remarkable. “I left the movie industry when it was still analogue and where you could look through the film, but this is a wonderful digital facility which is going to produce a lot of talented people. “This is the sort of facility that any university anywhere in the world would envy.”
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Newton Park campus development update TThe entire site was handed to Miller at the start of June to ensure they have enough time to complete the residences by September. This has allowed work to pick up pace and the remaining services are being installed, landscaping works are progressing and scaffolding has started to come down on some blocks. The development site was also recently visited by the Considerate Constructors Scheme and awarded 45 out of 50 which gives it an excellent rating. If you have any questions or queries about the developments, please email the team npdevelopment@bathspa.ac.uk
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New partnership with Theatre Royal Bath We are pleased to announce a new Cultural Partnership with Theatre Royal Bath which sees
the University become the Theatre’s official higher education partner. Building upon existing and successful collaborations, this new partnership will provide: • Bath Spa students an opportunity to audition and perform in professional productions, • A number of technical theatre work placements each year for Bath Spa students, • New teaching and learning opportunities, and • A new MA in Theatre for Young Audiences. The MA in Theatre for Young Audiences is a key element of this new partnership. It builds on Bath Spa’s expertise in theatre production, performance and writing for young audiences. Students on the course will benefit from development training days at Theatre Royal Bath as well as the opportunity to work in a professional theatre environment at the egg. Exposing children to the arts is an important part of their cultural development and this new MA will allow students to develop new theatre productions that are tailor made for this large and important audience. Bath is fast becoming a creative hub of performance and writing for young audiences. The egg is renowned for offering placements for young people to participate in the process of making theatre. It has recently launched ‘The Incubator’, a new programme that encourages talented artists to write and make specifically for young audiences. SPACE JUNE 2014 SPACE NOVEMBER 2013
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The delegates assembled outside Commons.
Global Academy of Liberal Arts On Thursday 5 and Friday 6 June Bath Spa played host to higher education institutions from across the world as part of a new global network of creativity, spanning national and cultural boundaries.
The Global Academy of Liberal Arts (GALA) is the first collaboration of its kind, bringing together a diverse range of liberal arts providers from around the world. Members include the Communications University of China, Tec de Monterrey (Mexico), the Centre for the Humanities at University of Utrecht (the Netherlands), and the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology (Australia). Nine additional founding partners hail from North and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. Founded by Vice-Chancellor, Professor Christina Slade, GALA aims to create a global community of creative people to explore the relationship between creativity and social engagement. Activities generated through the network will include student and staff exchange visits, study abroad programmes, such as summer schools, international work placements, virtual buddying and peer mentoring, and collaborative interdisciplinary research. Professor Slade said: “We know that students who are socially engaged global citizens become successful graduates. By collaborating with established liberal arts providers across the arts and creative subjects, Bath Spa University, and all of the GALA partners, can create fantastic international opportunities for students and staff. 12
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Professor Liz Coleman.
“For many countries, including the UK, the cultural industries are a major export, generating vital income and boosting economic growth. As the university of creativity, culture and enterprise, Bath Spa University is committed to developing globally aware and entrepreneurial students.” As part of the meeting, Professor Elizabeth Coleman, Director of the Elizabeth Coleman Centre for the Advancement of Public Action, at Bennington College, USA, delivered a public keynote lecture looking at the responsibilities and potential legacy of liberal arts education. Her lecture is available to watch here She said: “I firmly believe that the promise of liberal arts education increases as the boundaries within it are removed or overcome. GALA has an exhilarating capacity to come up with new ways of working by applying international perspectives to cross-disciplinary themes. The potential benefits to students and wider society are huge.” More information about GALA is available here
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Successful Open Day On Saturday 7 June the University welcomed 1000
students, along with their family and friends to an Open Day at both Newton Park and Sion Hill campuses. Commons was packed full at Newton Park as Deputy Vice-Chancellor Neil Sammells welcomed everyone to Bath Spa. Visitors then had the opportunity to speak to subject leaders, find out more about student services, careers and employability and the Students’ Union. Tours of the campuses were very popular with those at Newton Park including a tour of a show house in the new residential accommodation. This was of the largest Open Days held at Bath Spa and the response from visitors was overwhelmingly positive
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Guardian University Guide 2015 In
the Guardian University Guide for 2015 Bath Spa has been ranked 69th out of 116 UK universities, a jump up of nine places. Universities are assessed in a number of categories including; course satisfaction, quality of teaching, feedback, student to staff ratio, spend per student, average entry requirements, value added and student career success after six months of graduating. On a subject level there were a number of significant improvements, particularly Art which has been ranked 27th (an improvement of 33 places from last year) and Drama and Dance which has been ranked 53rd (an improvement of 20 places from last year). Other subject categories that moved up the rankings were English and Creative Writing (up by 16), Music (up by 15), Sociology (up by 14) and Biology (up by 12).
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spotlight ON...
Marnie Whiting, Head of Development and Campaigns
spotlight on...
Marnie with Mary Berry, President of the Bath Spa University Alumni Association.
It has been less than a year since Marnie Whiting joined the University as Head of Development and Campaigns. She and her team work closely with various departments across the University and Marnie explains the role she plays in leading on the development of the University’s Alumni network and fundraising “I am responsible for developing the University’s fundraising in terms of individual donations, business sponsorship and grants from trusts and foundations to support students and nonresearch related projects led by academic staff.
our sector, demonstrates why it is increasingly important for universities to seek funding from external sources. The University is a charity, we have the right and obligation to actively seek funds and use them in the most effective way possible. “More importantly, philanthropy is ultimately about supporting our students and adding to their university experience. It is also a way of giving academic and non-academic staff opportunities to develop professionally and personally.”
“The recent report ‘Review of Philanthropy The University offers a number of Awards and in UK Higher Education’ by HEFCE and the Scholarships and as Marnie explains these ongoing reduction of government funding in funding opportunities about enabling recipients 16
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to further their experience and development during their time at Bath Spa: “To list just a few, we have secured the Cullum Family Award for third year students and recent graduates of the Department of Music; the Porthleven Prize which is five fully funded art residences in Porthleven and the Jennifer Skellett Award which provides grants towards postgraduate study in music at Bath Spa.” “The majority of our funding opportunities are focused on extending opportunities for students while they are studying, rather than fee reduction,” she said. “In this sense, the Jennifer Skellett Award provides recipients with £500 each and the money has been used for a variety of different things from attending gigs to buying sheet music to purchasing equipment to support the students’ continued development.” Marnie is also responsible for the development of the University’s Alumni Association. Despite being a relatively newly established university, the Alumni network spans its 160 year history. She said: “We are currently going through all the old paper records of previous students and having them digitised so that we can get in touch with them and expand the reach of the Alumni network. We now have a database of over 50,000 people which is really exciting!”
industry or country and if there is a fellow Alumni who is already where you want to be, that connection may be decisive in providing you with that extra foot in the door for getting your dream job. “Another aspect of my team’s role is working with Alumni in businesses all around the world and growing the international opportunities for both our students and staff. We are working closely with the Enterprise and Careers Team who have already established good links with our Alumni and their businesses. These connections allow our students to gain vital industry experience and our Alumni benefit from working with highly motivated and talented students who bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to the workplace.” Marnie wants to ensure good and hopefully fruitful relationships are established with growing numbers of Alumni as Bath Spa reaches its 10 year anniversary as a University in 2015. “In the long-term we are keen to encourage our Alumni to start giving back. This can be through volunteering their time, expertise or making a financial donation. Our door is always open and we encourage anyone interested to get in touch.”
For current students and staff, becoming or engaging with Alumni may not seem important, but as Marnie explains, there are many mutual benefits to be gained from keeping in touch with the University’s previous students: “I am an Alumni of this University, albeit when it was called Bath Spa University College. In the absence of an official Alumni community, we had an informal network of friends and colleagues after we graduated. When you graduate your networks become really important because you may want to progress your career in a particular
Marnie with her friend and fellow alumni Ben in New York.
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talking point Why drawing needs to be a curriculum essential. By Professor Anita Taylor, Dean of Bath School of Art and Design Drawing has creative, expressive and education value; it remains fundamental to translating and analysing the world.
Drawing
talking point
has seen something of a renaissance in the last twenty years in the UK. From the Campaign for Drawing to the Drawing Research Network, from the Drawing Room to the Rabley Drawing Centre, we’ve witnessed a proliferation of passion, effort and energy matched by increased museum exhibitions, dedicated degree courses, professors, publications and conferences. All of the above have been established in pursuit of understanding, developing and promoting drawing, and many inside and outside the sector endure to evidence drawing as both the most sophisticated means of thinking and communicating, and an activity for all. In the 1990s dedicated resources for drawing were much thinner on the ground. At Gloucestershire College of Art (now University) my team taught a structured programme that started with an intensive drawing course as the introduction to the underpinning systems and principles of visual language and painting in particular. The need for current exemplars 18
was evident, more than anything to ensure the vitality of a student’s application and his or her practices. The Jerwood Drawing Prize grew in the face of this need, and developed in the wake of the Cleveland International Drawing Biennale that came to an end in 1996 after 23 years, and as the successor project for the nascent
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Malvern Open Drawing, founded in 1991. The project was a twin-headed opportunity: to facilitate an understanding of current drawing practice; and to provide students with professional experience as part of the curriculum to organise and understand the process of an open exhibition. Our overarching aim was to affirm the value of drawing, and the reach of the project is more tangible than we could have imagined. We have received phenomenal support from a number of funders, champions and supporters of drawing in our establishment, joining the Jerwood Charitable Foundation family of projects in 2000 and redefining our scope as UK wide. Having collectively raised the game and placed drawing back on the agenda – in schools, universities, in teaching and research, galleries and contemporary practices – perhaps it is time to deepen, extend and further evaluate its specific function. Drawing remains a central and pivotal activity to the work of many artists and designers – a touchstone and tool of creative exploration that informs visual discovery. It fundamentally enables the visualisation and development of perceptions and ideas. With a history as long and intensive as the history of our culture, the act of drawing remains a fundamental means to translate, document, record and analyse the worlds we inhabit. The role of drawing in education remains critical, and not just to the creative disciplines in art and design for which it is foundational. As a primary visual language, essential for communication and expression, drawing is as important as the development of written and verbal skills. The need to understand the world through visual means would seem more acute than ever; images transcend the barriers of language, and enhance communications in an increasingly globalised world. Alongside a need for drawing skills for those entering employment identified by a range of industries in the creative sectors – animation, architecture, design, fashion, film, theatre, performance and the communication industries – drawing is also widely used within a range of other professions as a means to develop, document, explore, explain, interrogate and plan. This includes the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine and sport. Surely, this should affirm drawing to be an essential part of the curriculum at all levels for all subjects, and something for which a clear commitment needs to be made. If we really want to move the STEM to STEAM agenda, drawing could be the connector at the heart of it all.
Article originally published in The Guardian 29.05.14
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MY STUDENT EXPERIENCE Philippa Williams, BA (Hons) English Literature and Psychology
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my student experience
ath Spa has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Whether that is because I’m specifically at Bath Spa or just simply attending university I can’t say – although I feel it’s probably the former. Bath Spa University has suited me down to the ground. I grew up in a small village and hadn’t realised how sheltered my life was. If I had ended up at university in London or another big city, I don’t think it would have suited me at all. I feel incredibly lucky to be living in Bath as, being a slightly lazy and unprepared student, I decided not to visit any of my chosen universities and instead just sort of winged it, but I felt more confident because a friend from my college was going to be with me. However, during the first night of Freshers’ Week I spent the evening with the girl from my home college and instead of meeting new people I ended up being introduced to the people she would be living with for the
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next year, and not people I would be likely to see again. My advice is to be brave and instead of sticking to what you know, introduce yourself to new faces – you’re in your first week at university, so get out of your comfort zone. Freshers’ Week is often portrayed as one of the best weeks of your life, fuelled by alcohol, meeting new people and sometimes making bad decisions that you’ll ultimately laugh off. Personally, I found it was one of the most difficult weeks of my life. I had such big expectations that a week of drinking just couldn’t fill. I wanted more from my university experience. However, this does not mean I didn’t enjoy myself or that I don’t enjoy university life now. As I said earlier, to make the most of your student experience, you should branch out and do the unfamiliar. It soon becomes familiar and before you know it you feel yourself becoming part of the university culture. In your first year you don’t get to pick who you live with, you’re simply lumped with a group of people and this was probably my favourite part - settling into a group and everyone slotting into their stereotypical roles. Although first year was amazing, my second year has been even better! I can finally wander around Bath knowing where I’m going without getting lost and bump into people I know. I’ve settled into my friendship group and I’m beginning to get a handle on how to cope with being away from home. I feel like I’ve grown in confidence and that I’m more certain of the person I am. I am now about to enter my third year at Bath Spa and life after university is now fast approaching. It is terrifying! University is the last academic hurdle a student has to overcome, after this, real life begins. I plan to put off the inevitable (just for a bit) and go travelling around America in the hope inspiration will hit me in the face and I’ll know what to do with my life, either that or come home and have a bit of a cry. Talking to friends about my lack of ideas about what to do after third year has assured me that I am not the only student that hasn’t a clue what they’re doing, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
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News Once of Grace’s designs on the catwalk.
Grace Weller double win at Graduate Fashion Week
Grace with models wearing her designs.
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ashion Design graduate Grace Weller was named the winner of the Graduate Fashion Week 2014 Womenswear Award and the overall George Gold Award, the highest honour and most prestigious of the Awards. Previous winners of this Award include Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon, Julian Macdonald and Matthew Williamson. Competitors came from far and wide with over 1,000 fashion designers of the future, from 42 universities, in 21 catwalks shows competing for the coveted Awards. Grace wowed the judges with her designs which featured deep blue sheer materials embroidered with dark orange flowers. She was presented with the Womenswear Award and £5,000 prize money by Londonbased milliner Philip Treacy, as well as the overall George Gold Award and £10,000 prize money by brand director for George at 22
Asda, Fiona Lambert and Sara Mower MBE, Ambassador for Emerging Talent at the British Fashion Council, Chair of the BFC’s NewGen committee, and leading fashion journalist. Commenting on winning both Awards, Grace said: “I’m overwhelmed and so happy. I’m completely pinching myself. I’ve always wanted to be a designer so I can’t believe I’ve won two awards today.” Grace’s achievement is evidence of the continued success of the BA (Hons) Fashion Design course at Bath School of Art and Design and she follows another Bath Spa graduate, Chloe Jones who won the same Awards at Graduate Fashion Week 2012. Grace’s winning collection as well as those from other Bath Spa University Fashion graduates was on show at the annual Bath Spa University Fashion Show on Tuesday 17 June at the Assembly Rooms in Bath.
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Jack Wolf winner of Author’s Club First Novel award reative Writing PhD student Jack Wolf has been named winner of the First Novel Award for his book The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones. Jack was presented with the £2,500 prize at the National Liberal Club in London by this year’s guest adjudicator and novelist, Isabel Wolff. This year’s competition received more than 60 submissions and Jack was shortlisted alongside five other debut novelists including Bath Spa Alumni Anthea Nicholson and Lucy Cruickshanks.
Cover of The Tale of Raw Head & Bloody Bones.
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Set in the mid-18th century, The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones is the story of a young man, Tristan Hunt who, at the age of 20, goes up to London to study anatomy and surgery at St Thomas’s. Since childhood, Tristan has been subject to sudden, explosive episodes of extreme violence. Considered a genius and a physician of extraordinary promise, he is also, alas, psychotic. Torn between the body (his uncontrollable lust for causing pain) and the mind (his insatiable intellectual curiosity) Tristan’s struggle for self-control mirrors and personifies the contradictions of the ‘Enlightenment’, and the emergence of reason as the absolute standard. A lost, motherless boy, a sadistic monster, a philosopher, fantasist, visionary, Tristan’s story is funny, moving and frightening. Commenting on the continued and growing success of Bath Spa’s Creative Writing courses, Dean of the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries, Professor Steve May said: “It can be no coincidence that our Bath Spa creative writers are not only publishing in volume (44 titles have appeared since January 2013), but also with quality, as this and awards, such as Nathan Filer’s Costa Book of the Year winning novel The Shock of the Fall, testify.” Jack’s novel has received a number of endorsements including: “Wolf is a superb storyteller who sucks the reader into his fascinating imagination” (The Times) and “There is no doubting the talent, I might even say brilliance, of the author, Jack Wolf…I simply cannot imagine whence came the idea for such a beautifully bizarre story” (S.J Bolton). SPACE 2014 2013 SPACE JUNE NOVEMBER
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The handover in Sahauli village school.
Thank you from Indian schools for book donation R eaders may well remember the book collection for school children in India that Geography students and staff (Dr Esther Edwards and Dr Rich Johnson), along with the Students’ Union organised at the beginning of this academic year. Earlier this year 283 books were handed over to Mr Tars Sandu of GeoIndia who has now delivered these books to the children in Sahauli village in the Punjab. GeoIndia is a specialised tour company in the UK offering bespoke geography themed educational visits and fieldtrips to India with a strong philanthropic ethos. Each book donated by Bath Spa staff and students was inscribed with a personal message to a child. Tars Sandhu, the Company Director has said: “We are all really pleased with how the Kahani collection is progressing and we would really like to thank everyone who has forwarded these presents to Sahauli School, and in particular for the wonderful messages contained in the books. To facilitate the book collection GeoIndia has agreed to pay for a new set of shelving to house the books in the school library. “The wonderful thing about the initiative is the additional benefits it seems to have generated. While the primary aim of the Kahani collection 24
is to provide story books to inspire the children to improve their use of English, we are delighted to find that it has inspired the students and staff to develop other areas of the curriculum in music and sport.” The school is delighted with the books and Surinder Singh Litt, who inspired the Kahani Collection said: “All of the teachers and kids are really happy with the books and really proud that schools (and universities) from England know about their school. The books have really been a great encouragement to the children in their studies. It has also inspired the school and staff in other areas, and recently the school has for the first time set up a music band and set up a football team who have played at district level.” The Geography Department at Bath Spa is continuing to build connections in India across research, teaching and philanthropy, and hope to forge a new relationship with schools in India and in the South West UK who have also visited the Punjab with GeoIndia and are actively contributing to the Kahani collection. The Department hopes to visit Sahauli village to investigate ground water/irrigation environmental concerns as part of the Level 5 Geographical Fieldwork module when they next visit India in April 2015, so there may be further opportunities to extend our gift of books at that time.
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Professor Fay Weldon.
Performing the Freak.
Research Celebration Week R
esearch Celebration Week was held from 9 to 13 June to coincide with Universities Week 2014. The week was an opportunity for the public to engage, participate, and learn about current research projects at the University and to reflect on the role research plays in today’s society. Bath Spa has a rich and diverse research portfolio that focuses on creativity, culture and enterprise, with established strengths in Art and Design, Music and Performing Arts, Humanities and Creative Writing and Education. For 2014, a programme of activity was developed to emphasise the relevance of the University’s research and its everyday impact on our lives. With this in mind, Research Celebration Week involved the local community and local businesses through a programme of specially devised talks, workshops, performances, and events. Some of the events that took place were
SenseAbility Festival –The Pound Arts Centre, Corsham • The Novelist and the Neuroscientist – Fay Weldon in conversation with Alison Lee. • Performing the Freak – Wattle & Daub Figure Theatre gave an insight into how theatre and science can work together.
• Peter White MBE on Inclusion in Broadcasting.
Futurkammer – The Holburne Museum, Bath • Artists, Makers and Museums in the 21st Century – panel discussion chaired by Professor Anita Taylor. • Futurkammer exhibition. • Lunchtime talks with Bath Spa Students.
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Visit by Sir Al Aynsley-Green T
he School of Education recently welcomed the former Children’s Commissioner for England, Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green. During his visit Sir Al met with Vice-Chancellor Professor Christina Slade and delivered a keynote address to a cohort of secondary PGCE students as they prepare to take up teaching posts next year. In his address, Sir Al took the themes of courage, compassion and commitment and challenged the PGCE students to consider how they would address issues such as: • Building resilience for children and young people, • Dealing with bullying and bereavement, • Listening to and respecting the rights of children and young people, • Dealing with the intolerance towards children in British society and the media, • Supporting children through transitions, particularly primary to secondary school, and school to work, • Addressing educational inequalities. Sir Al also met with members of staff from the School of Education and the Department of Psychology to discuss a range of issues and research, including emotion coaching, attachment awareness and cooperative schools. Dr Kate Reynolds, Dean of the School of Education commented: “Sir Al has always hugely influential in promoting the agenda for children over the past ten years. He has been always been a keen ambassador for children, driven by a passion to promote the rights and well-being of all children in our society. It is a real privilege to work with him on the issues which concern us all in education today.” Sir Al with staff from the School of Education.
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Research visit to the College of William and Mary, USA
The College of William and Mary.
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research project involving staff and students from the School of Education and the College of William and Mary in the USA, The Comparative Study of English Language Support for Ethnic Minorities in Southern England (UK) and Eastern Virginia (US), included an exchange trip for the students involved. One of those students, Amy Lamborn, a second year Education Studies with Media Communications student describes the experience: “Data collection is now complete! Team Bath Spa University arrived back in the UK early May after two weeks in a school in a suburban area of eastern Virginia. Team College of William and Mary went back to the United States end of May. On behalf of team Bath Spa it’s safe to say it was the most incredible experience; we met amazing teachers and children and learnt so much about how schools teach English as a second language. Those of us from Bath Spa were overwhelmed by the support and resources the schools in Virginia had to offer the children learning English. There were many cultural differences and a very strong value of diversity in our particular schools as well as it being an incredibly strong community. One of my fellow students Lydia Maley commented: “This experience has been personally and academically beneficial. The research opportunity enabled me to enhance and apply my theoretical knowledge of sociological research methods, through practical experience. I would recommend to any Bath Spa student to gain as much experience that is valuable to their degree.”
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Lexi Hartley from the College of William and Mary also said: “I had a wonderful time during the few short weeks I spent in the UK. I never thought I would have an opportunity to observe a school in another country, and I learned a lot from the teachers at the school I was at. We also had a great time exploring Bristol, Bath and Oxford with our lovely Bath Spa student host. After our research was over, I presented at my first professional conference with Dr Ghazala Bhatti, which was tremendously exciting. Overall, my trip was a wonderful professional and personal experience, and I am looking forward to hopefully returning to the UK eventually in the future.” Professor Gail McEachron from William and Mary and Dr Ghazala Bhatti from Bath Spa are now working incredibly hard to write up our findings; we can’t wait to see the end result and hopefully see it published! On behalf of everyone I wish to take this opportunity to thank the School of Education at both Bath Spa University and The College of William and Mary as well as the Reeves Centre in Virginia for all their support financially, administratively and academically. I also would like to thank Dr Bhatti Team Bath Spa in Virginia, USA. and Professor McEachron for giving us students this once in a lifetime opportunity to conduct the research and be part of something very real and meaningful. It has been an unforgettable experience and we have all made valuable connections which we will take with us in our future careers.”
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Creative Writing and Publishing Degree Show Students with iPad digital portfolios.
A very busy event saw students, proud parents and lecturers admiring a wide range of exceptional work from our graduating students – and enjoying wine and snacks in the sunshine. The show was held in the new digital making spaces in Commons, decorated for the occasion with handmade bunting of student work. Subject Leaders, Paul Meyer and Katharine Reeve, awarded the departmental prizes for an incredible range of subjects from digital literature and short stories to food writing and script writing.
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Mahinda Deegalle at UNESCO in Paris
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he Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka to UNESCO recently invited Dr Mahinda Deegalle, Reader in Religious Studies and Ethics, to moderate a panel session on ‘Buddhism in Sri Lanka’ and present a paper entitled: The Significance of Vesak for Buddhist Nations at the international symposium on ‘Vesak and Interreligious Cooperation’ held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
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Richard Marshall on BBC 1 Food Inspectors
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enior Lecturer in Food Enterprise Richard Marshall featured on BBC1’s The Food Inspectors and demonstrated how food additives are added to chicken nuggets food companies to increase their profitability.
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Alumni news Code Club
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lare Sutcliffe has devised an inspirational after school club to help develop children’s technology skills. What sort of after school clubs did you go to? Technology today plays an increasingly important part in people’s lives and a Bath Spa alumna is leading the way in offering school children a different sort of afterschool experience. Clare Sutcliffe is a Graphic Design alumna and in 2012 she created a nationwide network of free, volunteer-led after school computer coding clubs for children aged nine to 11. After graduating in 2004 Clare began working as Art Director for Alphabet Advertising. Two and a half years later Clare moved on and until 2012 she worked as a designer for a number of different companies. ‘Code Club’ is a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations from the public, technology companies and grants. There are currently over 2,000 Code Clubs across the UK. Clare’s company creates projects for its volunteers to teach at afterschool coding clubs or at non-school venues such as libraries. The projects teach children how to program computers by showing them how to make computer games, animations and websites.
ALUMNI NEWS
The way Code Club works is quite simple. A volunteer who knows how to program computers visits their local school or venue. They take with them one of Code Club’s specially written projects and teach children how to program. Each Club meets for one hour a week and one project is taught per session. Every term a new set of projects is written to challenge the students while encouraging them to use their imagination to create their own projects. Clare explains the aims and objectives of Code Club: “Our mission is to give every
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child in the UK the chance to learn to code. It is our aim to have a Code Club in 25 per cent of primary schools in the UK by the end of 2015,”she said. A recent survey of UK adults showed they believe computer coding skills will be of greater value to their children than a second language. The survey, published by code.org showed that 52 per cent of British adults favoured coding when asked which subjects they thought should take priority in schools. Clare added: “Teaching children to code empowers them to bring their imaginations to life. Code is another tool they can use to be creative and express themselves, which is what children do best!”
Clare recently returned to Bath Spa and gave a lecture to current Graphic Communication students. Anna Judson, who will graduate from the course in 2015, attended the lecture and commented: “Having attended Clare’s lecture I have been encouraged to continue experimenting with coding in my own work. Clare emphasised how important it is to know how to write and understand code in the graphic design industry today. “Following Clare’s talk I have used coding in my recent projects and plan to continue developing my coding knowledge to better my career opportunities.” More information about Code Club can be found at: www.codeclub.org.uk If you have a story to share, contact the Alumni Relations Team at alumni@bathspa.ac.uk.
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Bath School of Art and Design Degree Show 2014 The annual Bath School of Art and Design Degree Show was held from 7 to 15 June. An outstanding collection of work from across the School was on display. Here’s a sample of just some of the work produced and exhibited by our talented graduating students.
Jane Hall
Anna Hext
Andrea Lopez Sahun
REVIEW
Charlotte Raven
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Charlotte Josephine Welsby Chris Dix
Becky Dodds
Charlotte Lewis
Cheryl D’Allen 35
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Samantha Partington
REVIEW
Nina Tagart
Ciarrai MacCormac
Sarah Smith 36
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Matthew Brann
Sasha Evans
Cheryl D’Allen
Sean Robinson SPACE JUNE 2014 SPACE NOVEMBER 2013
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David Anthony
Erica Bloom
Emily Santos Figueira
Naomi Coombes
REVIEW
Fiona Coupe
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Sarah Watkins Katie Dominy
Tristan Dowrick
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Georgia Monaghan
REVIEW
Katy Faulkner
Jessie Keable-Elliott 40
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Thomas Riddell
Chun Yiu Jansis Wong SPACE JUNE 2014
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Enterprise and Local Partnerships update Job Shop Awards 2014
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Enterprise & Local Partnerships
he University has recently launched the new Job Shop Awards to reward outstanding achievement by Bath Spa students in their part-time jobs. At a ceremony on 20 May, four students – accompanied by their employers - received cash prizes in recognition of being exceptional employees. The Bath Spa Jobshop works with over 460 local employers in and around Bath and advertises over 2,400 part-time and vacation jobs to students every year. 80 per cent of our students work during their studies, to gain valuable work experience. Employers using the Bath Spa Jobshop to recruit are invited to nominate Bath Spa students for an award, where they feel outstanding commitment, initiative and flair have been demonstrated. Prizes were awarded in four skills categories:
Beth Vowles.
Award: Above and Beyond Following feedback from Ben Brown, Centre Operator, Language Studies Centres, Beth Vowles (BA English Literature) was selected for a prize of £400 for her contribution as an Activity Leader. Beth helped to create a vibrant and cohesive team, who respond to every task with enthusiasm and vigour. Activity Leaders are responsible for the organisation and delivery of varied and interesting social programmes for international teenagers who come to study English in the UK.
Award: Communication and Leadership Owain Jackson (BSc Psychology) has been working as a Personal Assistant (Support Worker) for the Shaw Trust and was selected for a prize of £400 in recognition of his exceptional communication and leadership skills, using techniques and skills learnt in his psychology degree course. In his weekend role, Owain 42
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Owain Jackson with Melissa Grady.
has been responsible for helping to introduce an autistic teenager to the outside world, supporting social progression and building confidence. He was nominated by Melissa Grady, who was impressed with Owain’s ability to take charge in a very challenging and responsible role – and a role which can be extremely difficult to find the right person for. The family explained: “Finding Owain - with his commitment, empathy and appropriate, relevant skills - is a gift that is priceless.”
Nicholas Toop with Suzanne Harris.
Award: Excellent Contribution to a University Department Suzanne Harris, Events and Venues Manager in the University’s Bath Spa Live department, nominated Nicholas Toop (BA Acting) for a prize of £400 due to his competence, commitment and reliability in the role of Duty Manager. Nicholas had previously also been on the events staff team. Suzanne particularly valued his input when a new computerised box-office system was implemented. She said: “Nick was able to accept that not everyone learns in the same way and he was patient and supportive with his colleagues. I know that Nick’s air of quiet competence is very helpful to everyone he deals with and he is able to respond appropriately to a wide range of people.”
Award: Highly Commended Employee Georgia Monaghan (BA Fine Art) earned her nomination from Dean Quintin, Club House Manager at Bath Rugby, due to her excellent work ethic as a Supervisor and her attention to detail on vital financial returns. She received a prize of £200. Georgia worked part-time at Bath Rugby throughout her three years at university. She was promoted to Supervisor within one year of being at the Club. Dean nominated Georgia because: “she is respected by staff and completes all her tasks to a high level within timeframes. She can easily manage the team and is able to lead from the front which sets an example to all staff within the business. This is exceptional bearing in mind the fact that she is a student managing her peers.”
Georgia Monaghan with Dean Quintin.
In the immediate future Georgia will continue with her role at Bath Rugby Club on a full-time basis and is intending to go into an events management career in the future. Juliet Mather, Jobshop Coordinator, commented: “These awards show how important part-time work experience is for the future employability of students, as well as the valuable contribution students can make to many employers in the local economy.” The students nominated for the Bath Spa Jobshop Awards will all now also go forward as Bath Spa University’s entries in the SEOTY (Student Employee of the Year) South West Regional heats. SPACE JUNE 2014
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What’s on BLAST 2014 Thurs 24 & Sat 26 Jul, Bath School of Art and Design, Sion Hill, Bath The Contemporary Writing Research Centre presents an interdisciplinary conference on the cultural and artistic significance of Vorticism one hundred years after the first issue of BLAST (a London-based modernist magazine) was published in June 1914. It will include all scholarly disciplines which provide an enlightening perspective on BLAST and its cultural context.
Forest of Imagination Fri 11 – Mon 14 Jul, Sion Hill, Bath This four-day event will give participants access to a ‘gallery without walls’: the metaphorical and magical immersive Forest of Imagination (designed by Andrew Grant of Grant Associates), will offer creative workshops and performances. There will be artists from a range of disciplines creating interventions within, and in response to, the Forest. We will hold workshops with artists including Michael Brennand Wood, Edwina Bridgeman, Mauricio Velasierra, and Gavin Turk (Professor of Art and Design, Bath Spa University).
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Enemy of the Stars Fri 25 & Sat 26 Jul, 8:00pm, Burdall’s Yard Students from Bath Spa University present the very first performance of the pioneering play Enemy of the Stars, exactly 100 years after its publication. In this philosophical vision of human life, Arghol, the ‘Enemy’ of the title, refuses to participate in the charade of social life, fearing the damage it will do to his integrity and freedom. However, in isolating himself he discovers that this desire has tragic consequences.
Enemy of the Stars was first published by the Vorticist artist and writer Wyndham Lewis in July 1914. The Vorticist movement, Britain’s first real avant-garde art movement, took inspiration from Cubism in painting and the group’s magazine BLAST also included the early writings of T. S. Elliot and Ezra Pound. The movement’s mission was to push Britain’s artistic tastes from conservative Victorian work towards abstraction and the geometric styles that were becoming popular on the continent. Considered by some to be Britain’s very first Expressionist play, this original version of Enemy of the Stars has been considered to be possibly “unperformable”!
Tickets: Full price: £8.00, Concessions: £5.00. Free for Bath Spa Live members.
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Bath Spa Sabs shortlisted for Officer Team of the Year
STUDENtS’ UNION
L-R: Emma Weskin, Amy Dawson and Holly Jenkins.
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ongratulations to Bath Spa’s Officer Team who have been shortlisted for Officer Team of the Year at the NUS Awards 2014. Amy, Emma and Holly have been shortlisted alongside the likes of Cardiff University, Nottingham Trent and Aberdeen University officer teams. The team have been nominated for the outstanding contribution they have made to student life and the Students’ Union - from raising awareness about mental health on campus, to negotiating funding for a Students’ Union refurbishment, from putting course reps at the heart of University decision making with our very first Course Reps Conference, to overseeing a record number of students participating in clubs and societies. The Officers have supported each other, our Liberation Reps, School Reps, Housing Reps, Club and Society Committees and worked with staff throughout the year to achieve wins as varied as making it onto BBC for Children in Need to receiving Investors in Diversity accreditation for the Union. NUS received record numbers of nominations this year so we are very proud to see Bath Spa’s name amongst the shortlisted. A truly wonderful way to say farewell to an incredible team. 46
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Introducing… As we say goodbye to Amy, Emma and Holly we say hello to our new Students’ Union Officer Team:
L-R: Robert Gould, Bruce Galliver and Nick Cox.
Bruce Galliver, President Hello! My name’s Bruce and I’m happy to say I am the incoming Students’ Union President here at Bath Spa. I’ve just finished a degree in Commercial Music, which was awesome, and I was also the president of the gymnastics society last year, which was great too! I’m really excited about taking on this new role and I’m very keen to channel my energy towards maximising the student experience at the University. It’s already a great place to be, and with all the changes going on at the moment it makes my job all the more challenging, which I welcome! I’m currently in my first week within the role and I’m learning as much as I can to improve my understanding of what I can do. There’s a lot to take in, but the opportunities that are already arising have so much potential. I’m really looking forward to welcoming all the new students to the university and I hope to get to know as many of them as possible.
Robert Gould, Vice-President Welfare I’m Robert Gould, your new Vice President Welfare for 2014-15! I’ve just finished a Film Studies with Publishing degree and then blasted straight into my new role which is proving incredibly exciting, challenging, tiring and lots of fun. Having been last year’s Equal Opportunities Officer I’m already familiar with the Students’ Union, but there’s still so much to learn. One of the things I’m
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really excited about is working with students, the Liberation Reps and the new Equal Opportunities Officer around equality, to ensure the fight isn’t left untended by the next generation of Bath Spa students. It’s all still in the preliminary stages, but there should be some very exciting stuff going on this year! I’ve been told being a Sabbatical Officer is a lifestyle, not just a job, so I’m eager to get my teeth into improving the student experience for as many people as possible. Even on days when I’m tired or stressed, I know the fact that I’m making a positive difference to Bath Spa and its students will keep me going. It’s nerve-wracking stepping into a role held by Emma Weskin, who has done so much incredible work, especially around mental health, and the wider Sabbatical Team in general who have increased student engagement on campus and come up with so many innovative ideas to improve student life, but I’m certain with the right amount of student involvement and my own spin on the role, we can make the next year the best it can be.
Nick Cox, Vice-President Activities Hello! I’m Nick Cox, the incoming Vice-President of Activities. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my three years here at Bath Spa and I cannot wait to crack on with the role and further improve the experience of students of the University! I’ve been an active member of the rugby team throughout my university life. This year I’ve been RAG Officer and raised over £3,000 for different charities organising events such as the Bath Half and Movember. I have spent a lot of time at the Students’ Union and firmly believe that I am in touch with the wants and needs of students across the campuses.
STUDENtS’ UNION
With the new halls of residence being built for this September it provides an exciting opportunity for me and the other Sabbatical Officers. Student engagement with the Students’ Union is certain to improve and I will accommodate for this by ensuring that we provide anything and everything that students want to see.
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Archive update Another New Start, or, Goodbye to the Peacocks...
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y Kate James
I write this in what will be our last week at the Bath Spa University Archive office at Corsham Court. We are moving! Since beginning the development of the archive in January 2011, we have occupied the boot of a car or two, a garage, a walk-in cupboard and our current premises in the Stable block at Corsham Court. Although we’ve had a roving brief, Bobby (Dr Roberta Anderson, Senior Lecturer: History) and I have always hankered after premises at Newton Park, and have eyed the ground floor room in the Castle jealously. This is because, when the teacher training college was founded in the late 1940s, the Castle building housed the first reference library. In fact the shelves are still there. And next week, we move into the Castle. It’s very exciting. Sadly we cannot take a peacock or two with us. Personally I’ll miss these extraordinary and wildly flamboyant birds. Their mating rituals are bizarre and highly entertaining and their behaviour has become part of our landscape. Their calls and screeches have been recorded in the background of recent oral history interviews though, so in a way, we are taking them with us. Follow the BSU Archive blog at http://bsuarchive.blogspot.co.uk/ Or on Twitter @BSUArchive
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STAFF NEWS Neil Latham appointed Chief Operating Officer
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eil Latham has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and will take up his post in September 2014. Since March 2008 he has held positions at Kingston University, most recently as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Affairs) and University Secretary. In these roles he was responsible for the delivery of a wide range of services and strategic development in many areas of the University. Prior to moving to the HE sector Neil served in the Royal Navy. This included command of the Defence College of Management and Technology at Shrivenham, and of the engineering training establishment, HMS Sultan, near Portsmouth. A Chartered Engineer, Neil’s academic interests include international security and defence economics, which he pursued whilst a visiting fellow at St Antony’s College Oxford. On being appointed, he said: “I am very much looking forward to joining the team at Bath Spa and contributing to the development of the University at an exciting period in its history.”
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Starters and Leavers In June we welcomed‌ Tristan Foot, University Solicitor, Chancelry Emily Bradshaw, Nursery Officer, Day Nursery Carol Wilkinson, Administrative Assistant: Quality Assurance, Academic Services Luis Lima, Cleaner/Porter/Driver, Domestic and Portering Services Jayme Fraioli, Technician, School of Music and Performing Arts Abigail Herbert, Development Assistant, Development and Alumni Relations
We also said farewell to‌ John Sumpter, Learning Technologist, School of Humanities and Cultural Industries Tom Davidson, Graduate Opportunities Officer, Enterprise and Local Partnerships Ruth Russell, Alumni Relations Manager, Development and Alumni Relations Matthew Wilkins, Lecturer in Human Geography, School of Society, Enterprise and Environment April George, Art Shop Assistant, Bath School of Art and Design Gordon Dossett, Senior Learning Development Advisor, Library and Learning Services Evangeline Money, Cleaner, Domestic and Portering Services Joanne Taylor, WLC Language Associate, Library and Learning Services
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