Annual Review 2008 Contents

ForewordS ...... 3. Mission ...... 4. Vision ...... 4. Core values ...... 5. ACKNOWLEDGING EXCELLENCE ...... 6. EMINENT VISITORS ...... 10 EXCHANGING IDEAS ...... 12 KNOWLEDGE SHARED ...... 14 SENSE OF PLACE ...... 17 INNOVATING AND INSPIRING ...... 20 PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS ...... 24 A SHARPER FOCUS ...... 26 IN PRINT ...... 28 STRENGTHENING LINKS ...... 30 THE BIGGER PICTURE ...... 32 THINKING GLOBALLY ...... 34 PUTTING SOMETHING BACK ...... 38 STUDENT AND GRADUATE LEADING LIGHTS ...... 40 STAFF MOVERS AND SHAKERS ...... 44 STIMULATING ENVIRONMENTS ...... 48 Senior Staff ...... 50 Financial Results for the year ended 31s t July 2008 . . . . . 51

2 | University of Chester ForewordS

Professor TJ Wheeler DL The Right Reverend Dr Peter Forster Vice-Chancellor and Principal Lord Bishop of Chester The Academic Year 2007-2008 has seen a massive growth in the President of the University Council and activities of the University, with developments in Research and Pro-Chancellor Knowledge Transfer being at the forefront of the University’s We continue to develop a range of activities and support concerns. The University has hosted a number of significant for business and our communities in Cheshire, Warrington, international conferences and has seen an impressive range of Chester and the North West. However, the international inaugural lectures, visiting speakers, together with its significant activities of the University continue to grow, as the participation in the Chester Literarature Festival. Staff of the University embraces fully the challenges and opportunities University continue to publish extensively and they have of globalisation. obtained a number of prestigious and competitive research contracts. As the University’s interests expand, it has put a The University’s history as an Anglican foundation is particular emphasis on partnership and on strengthening links demonstrated in many ways, the most obvious of which with its sister colleges in Cheshire. The University continues to are some dozen degree ceremonies that were held in the develop new courses, particularly at postgraduate level, and has Cathedral. They allowed tribute to be paid to distinguished seen the number of doctoral students enrolled nearly double. figures, who have made significant contributions to the work of the University, the region and nationally. The work of the All of these activities occur within the context of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies has seen University’s mission, vision and core values. The University an increased level of partnership between the University acknowledges its responsibilities to the community it serves and the Diocese. The development of a joint diocesan and and has worked hard to pursue its agenda for sustainability University Academy has been under discussion over the last and through initiatives, such as support of ‘One Water’ and its year and should come to fruition in the next few months. partnerships in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Japan, India and Dubai. The University puts particular emphasis on encouraging social There is much to be done to help the University of Chester responsibility for its students and this was demonstrated in to continue to discharge its mission of service and enhance the University’s commitment to volunteering, where more still further the contribution it makes to its stakeholders. than 200 students put in 14,000 hours of community work. The staff and students, together with the members of the Council, look forward to yet another successful year. The University had a record surplus of over £5 million and this money will be reinvested in the coming years to enhance the quality facilities that support students’ learning experience. All of this is only possible through the efforts of able, energetic and committed staff and students.

Annual Review 2008 | 3 Mission

The University was established by the Church of England in 1839 and, within an open and inclusive environment guided by Christian values, we seek to provide our students and staff with the education, training, skills and motivation to enable them to develop as individuals and serve and improve the communities within which they live and work . This mission, which has helped shape our development and diversification, continues to inform our future planning and strengthening as a University institution .

Vision

At the heart of the University’s vision is our commitment to: ensuring a rewarding student learning experience; developing the expertise of our staff; teaching excellence; and our growing research and scholarly profile . Fundamental to these ideals and aspirations is the positive impact that the University has on the lives of our students, our staff, and our community, all of which underpin the institution’s significant and developing contribution to the region and beyond . In valuing and celebrating our long history and traditions, the University is modern, dynamic and enterprising in its approach to developing new opportunities . In particular, we are committed to engendering a sense of pride and shared ownership in all those associated with us and with what we do .

4 | University of Chester Core values

In continuing expression of the University’s Christian foundation and the discussion of moral and spiritual values, the institution’s various activities are underpinned by a series of core values that help to define our identity:

The pursuit of excellence and innovation Inclusiveness and responsibility We seek continuous innovation and improvement and We actively espouse the principles of equality of opportunity constantly aim to secure the highest standards and and diversity, and continually apply them in the conduct quality in our learning and teaching and the creation and of our relationships and business. We are, in particular, application of new knowledge. committed to widening access to higher education. Within an ethically aware and professional environment, we A distinctive student experience acknowledge our responsibilities to promote freedom of We are committed to providing all our students with a high inquiry and scholarly expression. quality, caring and supportive learning experience, including work-related learning, that equips them with the necessary A supportive culture and environment personal and academic skills to engage confidently with the Based on team work and appropriately devolved authority wider World. and responsibility, we seek to promote a dynamic and cost- effective organisational culture within which all our staff and Partnership and community students feel empowered and actively supported to respond Through our staff, students and alumni, we seek to play a creatively and efficiently to the challenges of a changing leading role in the intellectual, cultural, social, spiritual and environment. economic life of the local, regional and wider communities we serve and with which we interact. A caring foundation Valuing openness and inclusiveness, we seek to promote an environment within which all our students and staff are provided with opportunities to reflect on moral and spiritual issues affecting individuals and society.

To obtain this information in an alternative format – large print, on audio tape or in translation – call 01244 511450 or email [email protected]

Annual Review 2008 | 5 ACKNOWLEDGING EXCELLENCE

The ‘family’ of Honorary Graduates continues to grow and flourish, as the University welcomes individuals who have achieved distinction in their field to be recognised for their merits at each Graduation Ceremony and to begin a closer association with the institution .

Ian Dunn – Master of Letters, honoris causa College London, he returned to his native Cheshire as The definitive history of the University of Chester, The Deputy County Archivist, then County Archivist. In the University of Chester 1839-2005: The Bright Star in the Present mid-1990s, he became successively Cheshire’s Senior Policy Prospect, was compiled by Ian Dunn, to coincide with the Advisor, County Secretary, and Head of Libraries, Archives, granting of University Status in 2005. After gaining an Arts and Museums. In 2002, he became Director for Regional English degree from Queen Mary College, London and Affairs and Local Government Review and he is a former qualifying in archive administration through University President of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.

6 | University of Chester Sue Birtwistle – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa Celebrated television adaptations of Emma, Wives and Daughters, and, most recently, Cranford, owe much of their success to their producer, Sue Birtwistle, who has set new standards for screening classic literature. Her acclaimed 1996 production of Pride and Prejudice was voted the BBC’s Best Programme of the Year and television’s Best Drama Series. Originally from Northwich, she studied Drama and English at Coventry College of Education, then worked in Theatre in Education in Coventry, Edinburgh and Nottingham. As her reputation grew, she was approached by Thames Television to commission and produce Theatre Box, a series of six plays for children.

Loyd Grossman, OBE, FSA – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa Perhaps best-known for his culinary interests, Loyd Grossman also has a lifelong interest in history, heritage and the arts and has served on numerous committees and public bodies. Born in Massachusetts, where he read History at Boston University, he continued his studies at the London School of Economics, before entering journalism and developing a notable career as a television presenter. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and a founding member of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. Locally, he is a Trustee of St Deiniol’s Library, Hawarden.

The Very Reverend Dr John Hall – Doctor of Theology, honoris causa A prolific writer, public speaker and broadcaster, Sidcup- born John Hall was in 2006 appointed by Her Majesty The Queen to be the 38th Dean of Westminster. After reading Theology at the University of Durham, he was ordained and spent 17 years in parochial ministry. Progressing from Diocesan Director of Education in Blackburn, of whose Cathedral he was a Canon Residentiary, he spent eight years as the Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, based in Westminster. During this time, he had overall responsibility for the Church’s strategy, policy and practice in relation to schools and universities, and promoted the expansion of church secondary school provision.

Annual Review 2008 | 7 Professor Andrew Motion – Doctor of Letters, honoris causa Appointed Poet Laureate in 1999, Andrew Motion reinterpreted the role and became an ambassador for verse. Brought up in Essex, he read English at University College, Oxford and is now Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. One of the finest English autobiographical narrative-lyric poets of recent years, he is also a distinguished biographer, critic, reviewer and anthologist. He has been a popular and stimulating speaker at the Chester Literature Festival and a reader, judge and presenter for the High Sheriff’s Cheshire Prize for Literature.

John Platt OBE - Doctor of Science, honoris causa Cheshire soil is in the blood for John Platt OBE. His family has farmed in and near Lach Dennis, Vale Royal, for some five centuries and he himself has spent a lifetime as a prominent figure in the Cheshire farming community, chairing the Cheshire Agricultural Society for nearly 30 years and co-ordinating the Cheshire County Show. He received an OBE for services to Cheshire agriculture, and in 1995 he became a Deputy Lieutenant of Cheshire, a decade later being awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. He is President of the Mid-Cheshire Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled and Chairman of Governors at Reaseheath College.

The Right Honourable, The Lord Wade of Chorlton KT LLD (Hon) - Doctor of Letters, honoris causa A life peerage in 1990 followed a knighthood for services to the North West for Oulton Wade, who took the title Baron Wade of Chorlton. An active member of the House of Lords, he is also Chairman or Non-Executive Director of businesses engaged in the food industry, finance, and technology, and a supporter of charitable ventures. Chester-born, on graduating from Queen’s University, Belfast, he joined his family’s farming company, William Wild & Son, in Mollington, and became its Chief Executive. He is a former member of Cheshire County Council and a Cheshire magistrate.

8 | University of Chester Annual Review 2008 | 9 EMINENT VISITORS

The opportunity to hear, debate with and meet prime-movers from all walks of life significantly enriches the experience of students and staff .

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• An expert on the dynamics between politicians novelist. A keen cyclist, she also took the opportunity and the press, Edwina Currie, was invited to talk to promote the Chester Bikeathon, part-hosted by the to Journalism students on her work as a former University in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, a charity Government minister and lately in the media and as a for which she is patron.

1 Edwina Currie with Chester Bikeathon organiser Bob Ellis. 2 The Barbados Under-17 football squad. 3 Her Excellency Mrs Hamida Mrabet Labidi, Ambassador of Tunisia (centre), with members of the Senior Management and Business Development teams, International Office, and academic staff representatives.

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• In preparation for the FIFA World Cup, the Barbados • Her Excellency Mrs Hamida Mrabet Labidi, Ambassador Under-17 football squad took advantage of the Chester of Tunisia, and officials from the Tunisian Embassy in campus training facilities, together with those at Liverpool London, discussed a possible partnership between FC and Wrexham FC’s grounds, and took tactical and the institution and the Tunisian Government, which technical tips on their game back to the Caribbean. is particularly interested in developing its human resources. Potential applications for existing University • One of teaching’s most notable figures, Sir Jim Rose, specialisms, including work-based learning and went back to the classroom to meet Faculty of Education lifelong learning strategies, are now being explored for and Children’s Services representatives as part of a fact- North Africa. finding exercise for the follow-up to his Government- commissioned report into early reading. Fourth year BEd 3 students benefited from his lecture on the reasons for recent changes, such as the move to synthetic phonic approaches, as part of a broad and rich curriculum.

• Baroness Deech, the UK’s first Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education; Dianah Worman OBE, Diversity Advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; Professor Uduak Archibong of the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Bradford; and former BBC governor Abraham George from the Ministry of Defence were among the programme of influential speakers at the 2008 Diversity Festival. With a theme of Education to Employment, the Festival also featured a taster workshop on British Sign Language, theatrical performances, films, musical events and exhibitions.

Annual Review 2008 | 11 EXCHANGING IDEAS

The value of debating, listening, learning and networking is evident through the quantity and quality of the fora, which have been hosted by the University, a sample of which is featured .

Analysing Identity Training Workshop joined 65 North West colleagues at the Warrington campus Specifically designed for practitioners, researchers and as part of the ongoing collaboration with the University of academics concerned with issues of identity development Bethlehem, through the University of Chester Palestinian and change, for example in cases of clinical distress and Project Group. An interactive drama performance, devised studies of gender, ethnic and racial issues, this followed to increase understanding of the Palestine-Israeli conflict, similar successful events in Montreal, Copenhagen and formed a topical talking point. Belfast. Organised by the Social and Health Evaluation Unit, the session provided hands-on practical experience of Subcultures: Deviants or Illuminators? Identity Structure Analysis (ISA), a research tool developed Facts and fantasies in the categorisation of students as a by the psychologist Professor Peter Weinreich. This can be deviant sub-culture was one of the subjects under debate at used, together with associated computer software, as an the Department of Social and Communication Studies’ Annual approach where issues of identity are significant. Conference. Among nine presentations by distinguished speakers in the field was that of keynote speaker Mike Thinking Through Practice Presdee (University of Kent), whose address focused on the How to invigorate the learning and teaching experience criminalisation of youth and youth culture. Others covered the through drama was the motivation behind a two-day sociology of football fandom; girls, gangs and violence; the symposium, organised by the Faculty of Education and integration and segregation of refugees; the criminalisation Children’s Services and the Department of Performing Arts, of the politics of dissent; women and drug culture; and the in collaboration with Arts Learning Consortium North West. psychedelic-trance music scene. Practitioners from Finland, Italy, Portugal, Japan and Palestine

1 Professor Chris Smith (centre) with Leo Stevenson from Liverpool John Moores University (left) and Professor Graham Bonwick (right) at the Spring Conference and AGM of the Institute of Food Science and Technology. 2 Authors Justin Somper, Dianne Hofmeyr, and Linda Buckley-Archer, during the Write Away Conference.

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Spring Conference and Annual General Meeting Fourth National Meeting on of the Institute of Food Science and Technology Environmental Mass Spectrometry Leading professionals from industry and academia Some of the world’s leading environmentalists and food addressed the challenges of meeting society’s current specialists accepted the Department of Biological Sciences’ nutrition and health demands. Topics included the invitation to further their understanding of this key analytical development of special carbohydrates for weight loss, the technique which determines the physical, chemical, or latest advances in frying technologies, issues associated biological properties of substances and has a wide range with reducing salt levels in foods and healthy food product of practical applications. The latest advances in the science development. behind keeping water pure and identifying hazardous chemicals in the environment were among the areas of focus. The Roar of the Tiger: The use and abuse of power and its traumatic impact Bringing the Past to Life Persistent, repeated trauma, which causes long-lasting The merits of student teachers meeting practicing writers and the damage as serious as that caused by one-off atrocities, importance of children’s literature in schools were emphasised by was the subject chosen for the Annual Conference of the a gathering co-ordinated by Write Away, an organisation which Department of Social and Communication Studies’, which is encourages student teachers to engage creatively with English believed to run the world’s only Masters programme of its teaching. Presentations were given by authors Dianne Hofmeyr, kind in Psychological Trauma. Whereas previous conferences Linda Buckley-Archer and Justin Somper. have discussed more overt effects resulting from natural disasters and bombings, delegates examined the traumatic The Obesity Epidemic: Opportunities consequences of “hidden” trauma arising from the abuse of and Challenges in the North West power, as in cases of child abuse, workplace bullying, and Evidence that a significant weight gain during a child’s first torture – and its treatment. year of life, and that its mother’s build may be significant factors influencing obesity in later childhood, was heard at the regional meeting of the Association for the Study of Obesity, organised by the Centre for Public Health Research. It was shown that for children to remain physically active into adulthood, enjoying activities is more important than the nature of the exercise itself.

Annual Review 2008 | 13 KNOWLEDGE SHARED

The broad appeal of expertise from academic staff is reaching an ever- widening audience through the public lecture series, whether attending inaugural lectures celebrating the appointment of new professors, or joining the growing online community accessing the library of pod- and vod-casts on the corporate website .

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1 Oliver Cromwell. 5 Professor Caroline Rowland, with Professor Des Hickie, Dean of Business, 2 (Inset) Professor Peter Gaunt. Management and Law. 3 Professor Mike Thomas (left), with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr Dorothy 6 Professor Adrian Worsley. Marriss and Professor Tom Mason. 7 Professor Allan Owens, with Anne Sutton, Dean of Education and Children’s 4 Professor Colleen Schaffner. Services, and Dr Peter Harrop, Dean of Arts and Media.

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Performance Management: Monkey Tales from the New World Has History Taught us Anything? An authority on the diminutive marmoset and tamarin The roots of contemporary business practice can be found monkeys, Professor Colleen Schaffner chose as the subject in ancient civilisations, as Professor of Leadership and for her inaugural lecture the ways in which spider monkeys Management, Professor Caroline Rowland, demonstrated and other primates organise their social lives. She drew on in her inaugural lecture. Professor Rowland, who studied evidence collected in Central America to illustrate how these both Egyptology and Performance Management at the species cope with conflict and the various strategies they University of Manchester, drew attention to precise methods adopt for regulating relationships. Professor Schaffner’s latest of measuring performance used by Ancient Egyptians when project, based in the Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, building tombs and pyramids, and traced the origins of analyses the dynamics of spider monkey interaction and is appraisals back to Ancient China. intended to increase understanding of why sub-groups split.

Food, Eating and General Wellbeing Oliver Cromwell Over the Centuries: The question of why anorexia nervosa and bulimia have the Many Faces of God’s Englishman been classified as mental health conditions since the As Chairman of the Cromwell Association, Professor Peter 1970s, while obesity has not, was posed by Professor Mike Gaunt observed in his inaugural lecture that there is a real Thomas, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care. In divergence of opinions about Cromwell, whose changing his inaugural lecture, he warned that eating disorders are reputation is reflected in both popular and academic circles all part of an addictive pattern, which is on the increase, and around the world. He investigated the nature, strengths due to worsening eating habits and more readily available and weaknesses of the sources upon which most modern processed food. The resulting decline in cooking skills, at a scholarly assessments are based. time when children are tending to lead more sedentary lives, has led to an increase in obesity. If You Love Something, Set it Free: the Ownership of Research 60 Years of the NHS The benefits of service user-led research, with academic Ten lunchtime lectures coincided with the diamond support, were examined in Professor Aidan Worsley’s anniversary of one of the UK’s most unique institutions. inaugural lecture. The Head of Social Work believes that Among those charting the history and evolution of the social work has a particular responsibility to be more ethical National Health Service, particularly over the past decade, in its approach and that current research practice, which was Dr Dorothy Marriss, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and former tends to be very quantitative, is out of date. He asserts that a Dean of Nursing and Midwifery. The series was accompanied more qualitative account of everyday feelings and realities, by an exhibition of memorabilia, clinical artefacts, archives, provided by service user research, should be acknowledged paintings and photographs, now on permanent display. as a reliable account of life experience.

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Applied Drama: Thinking Through Practice status as monarchy commanding a vast palace incorporating National Teaching Fellow Professor Allan Owens’ inaugural a great public chapel, and being responsible for developing lecture, considered applied drama, which gives audiences an efficient system of taxation. Ceremonial conventions the chance to participate in a situation as well as to watch were only discontinued in 1963, when Pope Paul VI stopped and think. This is currently being used in various settings, wearing his crown. including education, health, justice, business and heritage, as a tool for critical reflection. The lecture featured a short History in the Making demonstration, using a traditional tale, about how an Opportunities to hear the popular lunchtime lectures hosted individual might be removed from a powerful position, to by History and Archaeology have now been extended from explore issues of power, freedom and space. the Department’s base at Chester’s Blue Coat School to the Warrington campus. Significant events, customs and periods The Evolving Papacy of time featured in a range of accessible topics from death in Images of the Pope in Rome with all the trappings of an the Viking age and the role of railways in the Holocaust, to imperial ruler, introduced Dr John Doran’s public lecture. the precursors of today’s motorway and tunnel tolls. He went on to describe French Pope Clement V’s relocation to Avignon in the 14th-century, with the Papacy’s effective

16 | University of Chester SENSE OF PLACE

The University appreciates and respects its position as the foremost higher educational institution in the county and beyond . Its contribution takes many forms, from providing openings for adult learners to develop basic skills or indulge their interests; working with vulnerable groups and fund- raising; to offering the public access to the literati .

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• The new Atelier at Burton Manor College has generated • The first Flower Festival for 32 years at the Church of St a nucleus for rural craft and related education, culture Boniface, Bunbury was set in a historical context by Fine and employment on the Wirral. Jointly funded by the Art student Natalie Papworth, who spent four weeks University and the Northwest Regional Development making an installation of life-size sculptures. Depicting Agency’s Rural Recovery Fund, the project has transformed figures, such as St Boniface and Queen Elizabeth 1, which courtyards and outbuildings into studios and a gallery for have a significance for the building, the Festival raised entrepreneurial artisans, with full business and IT support. more than £4,000 for charities including Cancer Research The classes, lectures and short courses which they run in the UK. Natalie and fellow students Hannah Nolan and Laura inspirations behind, and techniques used in contemporary Pilling also recreated a nativity scene for the Church later and traditional crafts for the surrounding communities and in the year. schools have added to Burton Manor’s existing portfolio of creative activities.

1 Graduate Barbara Singleton at the Atelier. 4 Scouts learn about a healthy diet from Public Health Nutrition Masters 2 Dr David Starkey with Dr Keith McLay, Head of History and Archaeology, student Alan Haddy. during the Autumn Festival.. 5 Fine Art student Natalie Papworth at work on a cast for one of her historical 3 Alastair Stoddart, High Sheriff of Cheshire, with Jaki Brien, Senior Lecturer sculptures. in Education and Children’s Services, launching the forthcoming Cheshire 6 Warrington Wolves players Chris Riley and Vinnie Anderson, enjoying a fruit Prize for Literature. smoothie with the Food Appreciation Society’s Emma Bryce (left) and Nicola Turner-Smith (right).

Annual Review 2008 | 17 • Writers of national and international acclaim continue 2 to converge on the Autumn Festival events on campus, forming part of the Chester Literature Festival. Colin Dexter, the creator of one of fiction’s best-loved detectives, Inspector Morse, was joined by iconic Observer columnist Katherine Whitehorn, television historian Dr David Starkey and Sir Roy Strong, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum for this year’s programme.

• Meanwhile, Cheshire’s pre-eminent writers were honoured by the High Sheriff’s Cheshire Prize for Literature, which grows in prominence each year. Organised by the University, whose academic staff sit on the judging panel and which hosts the awards ceremony, the competition was privileged to welcome back Professor Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate, to present the prizes. A selection of the best entries, including that of 3 the winner, former Cheshire Poet Laureate Andrew Rudd, was edited by Dr Peter Blair and published as Elements by Chester Academic Press.

• For the second time in three years, the University’s exhibit won a silver rosette and second prize in the Trade Category at the Cheshire Show, held at Tatton Park. Interactive features for the public to try ranged from sampling the latest music technology to an archaeological ‘mini-dig’ and ‘hands-on’ painting sessions with members of the Department of Fine Art.

• Training facilities, professional sports science support and accommodation for teams competing in archery, basketball and fencing events have been offered by the University in the Pre-Games Training Camp Guide, published by the London 2012 Organising Committee for 4 the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

• Scouts hoping to qualify for their chef’s badges were taught the theory of health eating and the importance of maintaining a balanced diet by students on the Public Health Nutrition Masters programme, who then helped put the new-found knowledge into practice as they supervised the preparation of three course meals.

• A promise auction and carol singing in Chester city centre helped Christian Youth Work students fund the Make Your Mark event at All Saints Church in Hoole, giving 14 to 18-year-olds the opportunity to express themselves creatively.

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• Fine Art students, dressed as storybook characters, stole • Induction Week saw players from the University- the show at the Lord Mayor’s Parade in Chester, winning sponsored Warrington Wolves RLFC side sampling the Best Decorated Float and raising awareness of the smoothies alongside first-year students, to promote work of the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, during its positive lifestyles and a balanced diet on a budget. 18th anniversary year. Health-conscious members of Chester Students’ Union Food Appreciation Society concocted the drinks from • A Men’s Health Day unveiled promotional multimedia fresh produce, in conjunction with nutritional advice films and complementary advice, produced by second from the Department of Biological Sciences and the year Advertising students and used widely at Thorn Cross University’s Health 4 Work well-being initiative. Young Offenders’ Institution, highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle in that particular target group. • The many and varied journeys of discovery at Chester’s LEC also attracted considerable public interest. Tea and IT • Residents living near the Parkgate Road campus were classes helped members of the Cestrian University of the invited to a liaison evening in the new Chester Students’ Third Age to enhance their computer skills in a friendly Union (CSU) building, to celebrate the area’s community setting; an interactive Back to School workshop compared spirit and discuss subjects of joint interest. Previous such the intellectual challenges of 11-plus questions with events resulted in the University part-funding a CCTV a modern-day exam paper; personalised descriptions camera, providing three community notice-boards and brought photos to life in the Writing Lives workshop; while hosting a sports day on its facilities. Passionate About Poetry used Valentine’s Day to encourage students to share favourite verses and try penning some of • Staff at the Warrington Learning and Enterprise Centre (LEC) their own. From interviewing techniques to filling in online celebrated their 1,000th course enrolment - on a European application forms, Job Surf, delivered with partners Chester Computer Driving Licence course. Another student, Padgate City Council and Jobcentre Plus, focused on the skills those octogenarian Norman Sears, won the Learning category returning to work or seeking a change of career needed to of the Widening Participation for Older People Awards, impress a potential employer. A cohort of mature learners, organised by Warrington Borough Council Arts and Sports ‘graduated’ in the University Chapel after completing their Engagement Team. Situated in the new £3 million Business Professional Certificate in Management qualification, Centre, the LEC is a fully equipped, modern training facility which accredits existing workplace competencies and which offers members of the public an opportunity to responds to skills gaps and development needs. improve their proficiency in a wide variety of subjects. Following its scriptwriting workshops, autobiographical monologues were performed by youth drama groups at Pyramid and Parr Hall in Warrington.

Annual Review 2008 | 19 INNOVATING AND INSPIRING

Through taking creative approaches to identifying and addressing specific learning needs in the marketplace, while sustaining the tradition of excellence in teaching standards, the University’s range of subjects and qualifications continues to draw one of the highest rates of applications in the country .

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1 Forensic Biology students gathering evidence at one of the University’s specialist mock crime scenes. 2 James Jenkins and Dot Gosling, Senior Lecturers, and The Rev Dr Ruth Ackroyd, Head of Theology and Religious Studies, with Christian Youth Work students. 3 An MA in Television Production gave student Bryan Lomax a head start in the media. 4 Sport Development student, Harveer Ghatora (with ball), with Jason Clare. Programme Leader for the Sport Coaching Foundation Degree.

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• Complementing the existing Christian Youth Work • Uniquely taught and assessed exclusively in British programme, the Department of Theology and Sign Language (BSL), the one year Christian Ministry Religious Studies launched the world’s first professional programme, has awarded Church College Certificates qualification in Muslim Youth Work. The Foundation to its first students. This distance learning programme Degree has generated international interest because is delivered online, with residential weekends and it addresses a need for trained professionals to serve placement experiences in churches, and through a the specific needs of the 50% of the country’s Muslim partnership between the University, the Archbishops’ community aged under 25. Council of the Church of England, and Signs of God, which promotes the use of BSL in Christian settings. • The highest possible grade, ‘satisfactory with distinction’, was awarded for the sixth successive year by The National • In another breakthrough, the Department of Biological Youth Agency for the Christian Youth Work programme, Sciences’ Foundation Degree in Mortuary Science following its annual validation assessment. Chester is provided the UK’s first-ever higher education qualification one of only eight recipients at this level. Centred on the for funeral directors and embalmers. In addition to core skills required of professional youth workers, the core areas of the biological and human health sciences, programme also equips students to understand the the course examines contemporary funeral practices, Christian context, and appreciate cultural sensitivities. communication with the bereaved and ethical, legal and cultural aspects. It is studied through a combination of taught sessions at the University, distance-learning and e-learning and is intended to be the precursor to a full BSc degree in the subject.

Annual Review 2008 | 21 • In contrast to the glamourised image of crime scene • Industry experience is key to the success of the investigation, as depicted by television drama, the Warrington campus’s MA in Television Production and Forensic Biology programme gives students a real-life employability of its students. Experienced lecturers grounding and insight into the skills required, in the foster close links with broadcasting companies, including context of biological sciences. The focus is on practical the BBC and Granada, to give would-be directors and techniques, including DNA profiling, finger-printing and producers a comprehensive understanding of their blood splatter and specimen analysis, together with the discipline. Students have 24-hour access to exclusive presentation of evidence at court. equipment, including broadcast-standard cameras and editing facilities, but study the theory and context of • Chester Business School was formally granted television production in addition to practical skills. membership of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) during its Annual • Future education of social workers at post qualification General Assembly in Oslo. This status provides excellent level could be revolutionised by the involvement networking opportunities with over 600 leading of service users and carers, as a pilot project at the international business schools and companies worldwide. Warrington campus sought to demonstrate, through the Social Health and Evaluation Unit and the Faculty of • Consultation with local companies about the skills, Health and Social Care. knowledge and abilities they would like to see reflected in their current and future workforce resulted in the • Dentists requiring a greater understanding of the latest designing of a new Foundation Degree in Business root-canal surgery techniques are now offered a one Management Development by the Faculty of Business, year Postgraduate Certificate in Endodontics, marking Management and Law. On completion, the two year, part- the start of a wider continuing professional development time course offers the option of a further year’s study for programme. Practical work is carried out in the student’s a full BA (Hons) Business degree. own surgery, with 10 days of contact study at the University. • Professionals with demanding careers can now embark on a more flexible part-time Master of Business • Two cohorts from the Greater Merseyside Connexions Administration degree (MBA) at the Warrington campus. Partnership, practitioners and managers who provide Blocks of teaching and independent study, involving support services to young people across Greater research, personal investigation and completion of tutor Merseyside, were presented with new Developing directed tasks are available over two years and apply Leaders and Leadership in Action professional certificates theoretical knowledge to practical workplace situations. from the University at a presentation ceremony at Wirral’s Burton Manor College. The programmes, blending • Among the first students on the inaugural Rugby League face-to-face workshops and learning support groups, Level 3 United Kingdom Coaching Certificate programme were developed by the Department of Leadership and was former Great Britain international and England Management, and form part of a Leadership Connexions captain, Steve Molloy. The qualification, endorsed by portfolio of training and development activities. the Rugby Football League, has become the minimum requirement for all coaches working in the professional • Prospective teachers gain a taste of the profession game. Staff from the Department of Sports and Exercise through a course for potential new recruits in the priority Sciences provide specialist teaching for the fitness and subjects of Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, physiology aspects of the course, and students enjoy full Religious Education and Science, thanks to a successful access to teaching, sports and laboratory facilities. bid to the Training and Development Agency (TDA). A second TDA-funded course, designed to encourage people from black and minority ethnic communities to consider a teaching career, is also scheduled.

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• Media students are now among a privileged few in the • England Basketball, the governing body for the sport in UK who receive specialised training in the use of RSC England, and BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, one of the country’s Selector, the national industry standard in technology premier professional basketball teams, have joined forces for music scheduling in radio stations, from Warrington with the University to launch a new Foundation Degree in graduate-turned-DJ Paul Smith. Sports Coaching at Warrington. It is targeted primarily at those already working or wanting to start work in sports coaching, • Teachers in Spain, Germany and the UK benefited from particularly basketball. Students will develop and be assessed an online, trilingual learning exercise, developed and on key practical and professional skills, covering academic delivered by Dr Debbie Wagener from the Department disciplines such as study, communication and computer skills, of Languages, as part of a co-operative venture with the as well as their core study of coaching and refereeing. educational institutions EOI La Coruña and VHS Stuttgart. She also ran an intensive course in Using German for • Over 450 students of 42 nationalities were registered Cost Accountancy, for Bentley Motors Ltd, Crewe. Her for MSc programmes in Exercise & Nutrition Science colleague, Heidi Spring-Jones, organised a one day event (delivered in Chester, Hong Kong, Singapore & Dublin), at Lancaster University for school children, on behalf Cardiovascular Rehabilitation (delivered in Chester & of the North West Universities Languages Alliance, and Mumbai) and Weight Management. The September 2007 has developed a collection of online German language intake to the Centre of Exercise and Nutrition Science of learning materials for the AQA, the UK awarding body 120 postgraduates was the highest to date, as were the for school exams, entitled AS German: Student’s Book, 75 MSc degrees conferred in March 2008. published by Nelson Thornes Ltd in 2008.

Annual Review 2008 | 23 PROFESSIONAL PARTNERS

Engaging with the business and other specialised communities underscores the University’s pivotal role in recharging the knowledge economy, regionally and beyond .

• The University has taken a national lead on Higher organisations. HEFCE has recently commissioned Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) co- a report into the effectiveness of the Work Based funded employer engagement activity, particularly in and Integrative Studies accreditation framework developing customised training for staff in declining in encouraging employer engagement within HE, skills areas, as identified by the Regional Economic reflecting the significance of this work. Strategy. This is delivered through faculties, in conjunction with partners including its Associate • Numbering influential multi-nationals Bentley Colleges and private training providers. Employees Motors and Barclays among its sponsors ensured are attracted by the flexibility of shorter qualifications, The High Sheriff’s Award for Enterprise continued to multi-level assessment and using a non-standard gain prominence in its second year. Co-ordinated by year. The Work-Based Integrated Studies framework the Department of Corporate Communications, in also facilitates the ‘fast-track’ validation of employer association with Chester Business School, the Award training. Among the beneficiaries have been Pets at recognises outstanding achievement by local private Home staff, attending small modules at Reaseheath sector companies in Cheshire, Halton and Warrington College to build qualifications, and 60 employees with a turnover of at least £1 million and between 20 from a range of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and 250 employees. The winners were announced at a who received leadership and management training special ceremony at the Warrington campus, addressed from private training provider ‘Learning to Inspire’. by His Grace, The Duke of Westminster KG, CB, OBE, TD, Such varied organisations as the British Institute CD, DL, Foundation Chancellor of the University. Judging of Embalmers, Cheshire Police and Quill Pinpoint criteria include ambition, innovation, growth, enterprise Accounting have all had their in-house training and employee and management development, as well developed into HE qualifications by the University. as strategies to ensure future expansion. First prize, including a place for an appropriately qualified manager • Through the Faculty of Business, Management and on the MBA programme, went to BiG Storage, one of the Law, the University continues to increase its standing 10 largest self-storage and business centre operators in as a region-wide provider of innovative leadership and the UK. Runners-up were construction and insurance management programmes and short courses for public firm EBL Group, of Sutton Weaver (second) and and private sector organisations. Typical of these are an Northwich-based company, PMI Health Group, which MBA delivered to managers from Wirral Metropolitan provides health care, insurance and risk management Borough Council and a Developing Leaders programme services (third). for Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership. Joint initiatives with the Faculty of Education and Children’s • Delegates from 70 diverse regional, national and Services include the creation of an MA in Multi- international companies, including football clubs, Professional Leadership for public sector managers, high-profile communications organisations, and who increasingly have to work across agencies and recruitment agencies, were drawn to the Warrington disciplines. Postgraduate training now also supports the campus Business Centre for a talk on How to get the development of North West action learning facilitators. Best from E-mail Marketing. The secrets of gaining maximum impact through electronic publicity were • The Faculty of Business, Management and Law’s divulged by Martin Corlett-Moss, Managing Director growing reputation in the field of negotiated work- of the digital and direct agency Mobius at the event, based learning includes involvement with a range of organised by MERIT, one of the country’s foremost outside organisations, from the Department for Work Information & Communication Technology (ICT) user and Pensions to leading UK coaching and training groups, and Business Link Northwest.

1 Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor; Partner of BiG Storage, Andrew Donaldson; His Grace, the Duke of Westminster; and David Briggs, former High Sheriff of Cheshire and Founder of the High Sheriff’s Award for Enterprise. 2 Martin Corlett-Moss, Managing Director of Mobius; David Carter, Business Link Digital & Creative Sector Support Broker for Cheshire; and Paul Moody of MERIT. 3 Luis Juste, Santander Universities Director in the UK and Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor.

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• Nurses, paramedics, civil servants, engineers, finance experts with scholarships and travel awards for students and professionals from a range of other sectors attended a wishing to pursue their academic work in those recruitment evening, hosted by the Faculty of Applied and areas. Research grants have been allocated for the Health Sciences, discussing options for targeted professional Department of Geography and Development Studies and postgraduate study, aimed at enhancing their career to continue investigations into climate change and development and promotion prospects. human intervention on the arid landscape of southern Spain and for the Department of Psychology to assess • Knowledge transfer and cultural understanding the behavioural and social development of spider are being promoted across Europe and Central and monkeys, their ecology and associated conservation South America, thanks to an agreement with Banco issues in Mexico. The agreement also allows for non- Santander’s UK subsidiary, Abbey National plc. Through academic awards for achievements in public service, the Santander Universities scheme, support is available such as volunteering. for students originating from Iberoamerican countries,

Annual Review 2008 | 25 A SHARPER FOCUS

The awarding of Research Degree Awarding Powers (RDAP) is testimony to the University’s established record for research, while the number and variety of staff publications attests to its scale, as individuals, faculties and centres gathered evidence for the first Research Assessment Exercise since 2001 . Below is a small snapshot of this work .

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• Chester is the first of the institutions granted University and Knowledge Transfer office, advanced research and status in 2005 to achieve autonomy in terms of reaching scholarship are promoted and partnerships with other the high standard required to award research qualifications universities and external organisations fostered. It also in its own right. This achievement marks the culmination acts as a focal point for accessing information about of years of hard work by the RDAP team and resulted from grants. a rigorous assessment process by the Quality Assurance Agency. The judgement was based on the submission of • Collaborating with colleagues at Ohio’s Kent State written evidence, visits to facilities and discussions with staff, University, Dr Catherine Birch and Professor John students and partner organisations. Williams from the Department of Biological Sciences have developed two new ‘super’-vitamin compounds • The scope of the research work undertaken at the that could potentially reduce the risk of heart disease and University is shown by the fact that, over a 12-month dementia. Early outcomes were so successful that one period, members of staff were involved in the authorship of the vitamin B12 derivatives has now been licensed, of 535 books, book chapters and journal articles, with a view to conducting further tests and possible and some 329 refereed presentations were made at full-scale clinical trials. It is hoped that this could lead conferences. More than 100 students were completing to the development of prescriptive or over-the-counter doctorates at the University and completion rates are medication within the next five years. Each institution amongst the best in the country. Through the Research holds a 50% share of the patents.

1 PhD student Servel Miller, with a hazard map. 2 Mortuary Archaeology expert, Dr Howard Williams. 3 Dr Catherine Birch and Professor John Williams, developing ‘super’- vitamin compounds.

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an essential part of her ongoing research in postcolonial • Popular perceptions of Anglo-Saxon burial rites focus on Francophone studies, the first supported by the Humanities rare cases of rich graves beneath large burial mounds, such Research Fund. She examined the condition and expression as at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia. However, investigations of women in West African and West Indian cultures, carried out by Dr Howard Williams, Senior Lecturer in concentrating on the trans-Atlantic movement of tales and History and Archaeology, suggest that more modest items, traditions. Meanwhile, the work of Dr Debbie Wagener, such as combs, tweezers and razors, were particularly Senior Lecturer in German, traced the experience of important to the pagan Anglo-Saxons of the 5th and 6th women in East Germany and led to the online publication centuries when commemorating their dead. Some objects of her Identity, Dissatisfaction and Political Activity: The were miniatures made for the funeral, and many were Experience of East German Women Since Unification. deliberately broken, with only a portion being interred in the cinerary urns. The rest were possibly kept by the living • Hazard mapping, using a Geographical Information as mementos. He has presented the results of research to System (GIS) devised by PhD student Servel Miller, could representatives of the British Museum. Dr Williams’ finds help save lives and prevent significant infrastructural at a Scandinavian dig indicate that the Viking aristocracy damage across North East Wales. With the support of was far more widespread across Sweden than originally three local authorities, he analysed aerial photography, believed. Working in partnership with his Swedish satellite imagery and archive material to discover 430 counterpart, he excavated a boat-grave dating back to landslides had occurred to date across that region, the ninth-century AD at Skamby, unique to that part of double what was previously thought. The most Southern Sweden, which uncovered 23 rare amber gaming susceptible areas were those where the ground had pieces. The set, now incorporated into the new permanent been disturbed by major building and road construction exhibition at the County Museum in Linköping, illustrates schemes and by climate change. His new hazard maps the wealth and lifestyle of the family buried at the site, as will influence future development and emergency well as their pagan beliefs about the afterlife. planning and his thesis was referred to the Higher Education Subject Centre for Geography, Earth and • Observing and recording female story-tellers and singers, Environmental Sciences, after being described by his while learning the local language (Wolof) were important external assessor as ‘best practice’. aspects of two fieldwork visits to Senegal, undertaken by Dr Brenda Garvey, Senior Lecturer in French. Both were

Annual Review 2008 | 27 IN PRINT

Developing and expanding the literary heritage by sharing fresh insights into their special subject is a key part of an academic’s role, with a sample of their work below, but this year the University’s own interests have also been reflected in new titles .

1 Jane Hutt AM, Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, with Gill Miller, Programme Leader. 2 Publications from the English Department.

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• Every Welsh secondary school has received a copy of the • Prolific members of the English Department have Atlas for Wales, edited by Gill Miller, Programme Leader for published 11 books, both creative and critical. These International Development Studies and published bilingually included a novel (Sylvie’s Riddle) and two poetic volumes by the Oxford University Press. As definitive GCSE and A (Gilgamesh and Alexander Pope at Twickenham), by Level reference material, this was commissioned jointly by Professor Alan Wall and two anthologies of new writing the Welsh Assembly Government’s Department for Children, by local authors (Peter Blair’s Elements and Dr Ashley Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills and the Welsh Joint Chantler’s An Anatomy of Chester). Dr Chantler is also editor Examination Board. In addition to maps, diagrams and images of Continuum’s Character Studies series, the latest being cover climate, environmental challenges, national parks, his own study of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and population, the economy and local authority boundaries. those by colleagues, including Graham Atkin’s exploration of Twelfth Night and Melissa Fegan’s of Wuthering Heights. • From Biological Sciences came two volumes, co-edited by Meanwhile, William Stephenson was the author of Fowles’s Professor Cynthia Burek and published by the Geological ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’, Sally West published Society, The Role of Women in the History of Geology and The Coleridge and Shelley and Elizabeth Boyle was co-editor of History of Geoconservation, as well as the second edition of the collection Reading America. John Cartwright’s Evolution and Human Behaviour. • Anecdotes from past students and staff at the Warrington • Krakow: Around the Dragon’s Den by Tony Pickford campus were captured by The Padgate Story 1946-2006, from the Faculty of Education has been informing and compiled by Elsie Newton, Secretary of Padgate Old entertaining schoolchildren, while the works of Tim Daly Students’ Association, and chronicling 60 years of higher (Fine Art) include Creating Exhibition Quality Digital Prints. education from the site’s origins in 1946 as an emergency training college for demobbed servicemen aspiring to • A team from the Faculty of Health and Social Care become teachers. (Professor Elizabeth Mason-Whitehead, Dr Annette McIntosh, Ann Bryan and Professor Tom Mason) compiled • A second edition of the institution’s history, The Bright Key Concepts in Nursing, while colleague Professor Aidan Star in the Present Prospect, has been published, to Worsley produced Learning and Teaching in Social Work. encompass the University’s launch and attainment of Research Degree Awarding Powers. • Professor Peter Gaunt (History and Archaeology) edited The Correspondence of Henry Cromwell, 1655-59 and Dr Peter Cox (Social and Communication Studies) was co-editor of Cycling and Society, while Professor Celia Deane-Drummond and Dr Wayne Morris of Theology and Religious Studies have respectively published Eco- theology and Theology without Words.

Annual Review 2008 | 29 STRENGTHENING LINKS

Relationships with other educational institutions continue to expand and flourish, giving the University scope to expand its portfolio of work, and reach more new and potential students .

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• Experience in delivering bespoke programmes, which • The University announced its intention to become the respond to the needs of specific organisations, has led Lead Sponsor, alongside the Diocese of Chester and the to a prestigious contract with the Pensions, Disability local authority, of Cheshire’s first proposed Academy, and Carers’ Service, an agency of the Government’s uniting Cheshire Oaks High School and Ellesmere Port Department for Work and Pensions. The Department Specialist School of Performing Arts. This project would for Work-Related Studies was commended by Hugh build on the academic strengths of those schools and Tollyfield, the Higher Education Funding Council for enhance the learning opportunities for, and standards England’s Special Advisor on Employer Engagement, achieved by, their students, developing new approaches for its continuing professional development work with to teaching and learning in buildings with high quality decision makers determining customers’ entitlement to facilities and equipment. benefits such as the Disability Living Allowance.

1 Professor Wynne Jones, Principal of Harper Adams University College; Professor Tim Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor; and Meredydd David. Principal of Reaseheath College. 2 Maria Skinner, Mentor Co-ordinator (right) with Salford pupils. 3 Hugh Tollyfield, HEFCE’s Special Advisor on Employer Engagement (front left) with Pauline Thompson MBE, Head of Professionalism in Decision-Making and Appeals at the Pensions, Disability and Carers’ Service (front right) with the Vice-Chancellor and senior colleagues from the Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Department of Business Development.

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• Containing more than 20,000 printed books and 220 • In anticipation of the planned move to MediaCityUK in journal titles, the McArdle Library, is a new, purpose-built, Salford Quays during 2011, the University has signed a shared facility for students from the Faculty of Health and partnership agreement with the BBC, which is intended Social Care and medical and nursing staff. It is funded to open up pathways into employment in the media jointly by the University, Wirral University Teaching industry and nurture new talent within the region. The Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and the North West BBC will work with the University on a range of projects, Health Care Libraries Unit, and provides 24-hour access to including the development of content alongside BBC its collection on the Wirral. Radio Five Live and Radio Merseyside, which may present targeted opportunities to students from the Warrington • Educational ties in Cheshire have been reinforced by both campus’s Media Department. Reaseheath College, near Nantwich, and West Cheshire College in Chester and Ellesmere Port being granted • The Theology and Religious Studies Department Associate College status. This enables them to work more welcomed a new partner in Luther King House, closely with the University on the joint planning and Manchester, which provides training to the free delivery of courses; in Reaseheath’s case by delivering churches. The outcome of another affiliation - with the courses in Animal Management, Animal Behaviour and newly formed Christian ecumenical Southern North Welfare, and Adventure Sports Management, while West Training partnership, comprising three Anglican collaborating on a Foundation Degree in Food Chain Dioceses, Methodists, Baptists and the United Reformed Technology. Meanwhile, programmes in Accountancy Church – is the launch of a ministerial education and with Management; ICT; Interactive Media; Early Years and training programme. Teaching Assistants; Fitness and Health; and Community Arts were being developed at West Cheshire College.

• Encouraging students with potential, who may be missing out by not applying to university, to consider higher education as an option was the aim of a two day visit from teenagers from Salford schools, which offered a preview of campus life. Workshops covered Performing Arts, Sport, and Health and Social Care and there was also advice on how to manage on a student budget.

Annual Review 2008 | 31 THE BIGGER PICTURE

Social responsibility is a commitment which underpins all staff and student activities, as demonstrated by the commitment to addressing the immediate and impending threats to the environment .

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1 Father Ian Delinger, Warrington Campus Chaplain; student, Ric Slatter; and Chaplaincy Assistant, Alison Upton on Earth Day. 2 Dr Peter Cox, an expert in sustainable transport. 3 Dr Katherine Hanna, linking growing carbon footprints with obesity.

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• Through the Department of Geography and Development jobs also heightens the risk of weight gain. Similarly, Studies, the Going Carbon Neutral mission at the village of processed foods, as well as being less healthy than home- Ashton Hayes continues to be an international trailblazer prepared meals, also require transportation, resulting for grassroots action on climate change. It is quoted as in more toxins being pumped into the atmosphere. an outstanding example of citizen engagement in the The solution? To prepare meals using locally-produced, White Paper, Communities in Control: real people, real environmentally sustainable foods, such as bread, cereals, power, issued by the Secretary of State for Communities fruit and vegetables, and in doing so, expending energy. and Local Government in July 2008. Entering its third year, the project has been honoured by a Community Initiative • Literally carrying the weight of the world on their Award from the Energy Institute and an International shoulders (a giant, inflatable globe), staff and students Visual Communication Association (IVCA) Clarion Award on the Warrington campus marked Earth Day (April 22) for Climate Change Communications for its promotional with its theme of climate change and its effects. The DVD. The results of a feasibility study, backed by an event was first observed in the United States in 1970 and £86,558 grant from Carbon Connections UK, could see Warrington Chaplain Father Ian Delinger, originally from villagers adopt a new ‘microgrid’ approach for generating Santa Barbara, California, hopes it will gain prominence and distributing electricity within the community, using on this side of the Atlantic. solar, wind and biomass renewable sources. • Senior conservationists converged on the University • The busy streets of Barcelona, Rome and Berlin could for a workshop to discuss the potential for establishing become less congested and polluted, thanks to the Britain’s first-ever National Geodiversity Action Plan (GAP), intervention of Dr Peter Cox, a Senior Lecturer from Social largely inspired by Professor of Geoconservation, Cynthia and Communication Studies. He was commissioned by Burek. She was instrumental in developing the country’s the Sustainable Planning and Innovation for Bicycles first dedicated Local Geodiversity Action Plan (LGAP) (Spicycles) programme, to look at embedding cycling in Cheshire and was approached by Natural England – within European transport planning policies. formerly English Nature – to work towards securing legal protection for the country’s rocks, minerals and landforms. • Global warming can be partially blamed on obesity, according to Dr Katherine Hanna, formerly Programme • Amid wintry conditions in March, Warrington campus Leader in Nutrition and Dietetics. She argued that an staff and student volunteers swapped beach bags for

increased dependency on the car leads to rising CO2 refuse sacks, as they embarked on their annual seaside output, while the trend for less physically demanding clean-up, this year along the Fylde coastline.

Annual Review 2008 | 33 THINKING GLOBALLY

The influence of the University of Chester is increasingly felt internationally, in terms of joint educational and cultural projects and development initiatives in the Third World, as students literally broaden their horizons and staff exchange best practice with colleagues .

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1 One Water’s Duncan Goose (centre), with Ian White, Director of Catering 4 Students raising funds to deliver drama workshops in Romania. Services (left) and David Turney, from Peros, an independent company 5 Professor Kevin Sykes, opening the Centre for Excellence in Interventional supporting the campaign for Third World water. Cardiology in India. 2 Law student, Sheron Wilkie (front), helps Phil Hunter, Senior Lecturer in 6 Professor Chris Walsh, Dean of Humanities, and Sue Beigel Senior Lecturer in Law, (left) and Project Manager, Robert Moss (right) pack legal books for French, with a group of the students receiving British Council certificates. distribution to Sierra Leone. 7 Professor David Cracknell, with a member of staff from the De Wildt Wildlife 3 A performance by the Taichi-Kikaku theatre company. and Conservation Centre, and Byron, the Ambassador Cheetah.

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• The University’ Catering Services Department health issues among young people. While working for joined actor David Tennant in supporting the One the Christian charity, Just Care, she produced a range of Water organisation’s scheme to provide PlayPump® innovative resources, such as an imaginative board game watersystems in some of the world’s most drought- and word puzzles for younger children. ridden areas. Through sales of natural mineral water in catering outlets, the University aims to be named as a • The British Council has recognised the work of Modern sponsor of the scheme by funding its own PlayPump® at a Languages students on one year English Language cost of £7,500. Assistant placements at schools in Austria, France, Germany and Spain by awarding certificates. As part • Law students have helped rebuild Sierra Leone’s legal of their assessment, students submitted a Personal system by cataloguing and packing more than 3,500 Development Portfolio, which is officially recognised by volumes, donated by law firms across England and Wales, both the University and the Council. for distribution to the country’s solicitors. During the civil war, which ended in 2002, many collections had been • Visits to Geneva’s Palais des Nations are now an integral destroyed, leaving solicitors with no point of reference. part of the International Development Studies degree programme. Students have the opportunity to question • Learning materials, written during her stay at the diplomats about their specialist fields and gain insight Wellspring Children’s Medical Centre in Kamutuuza, into development processes from the perspectives Uganda, by Tracey Jones, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of donors and international organisations, writing a of Health and Social Care, are now raising awareness of reflective evaluation of the agencies’ work on their return.

Annual Review 2008 | 35 3 4

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• Japanese theatre company Taichi-Kikaku, which by locally-based tutors. Consequently, Professor Kevin Sykes, specialises in Shintaishi, or ‘body poetry’, brought its Director of the Centre for Exercise and Nutrition Science, was production Golden Fish to the UK, co-directed by Naomi invited to inaugurate the new Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre Green and the University’s Professor Allan Owens as part at the Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital. This Centre of Excellence of an Intercultural Arts project, funded by the Japanese for Interventional Cardiology treats patients from across government. The work was performed at the Kingsway India and beyond. Buildings; The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts; The Lowry, Salford; and the University of Warwick. • Performing Arts students have delivered drama workshops in towns and villages across Romania’s Resita • The post-graduate certificate in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation district, as part of the University’s ongoing partnership is now taught at the Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai, as with the Romanian Educational Drama Association. The well as in Chester, helping to meet the need for specialist fourth such visit prompted a request from the Romanian intervention to tackle India’s high incidence of heart attacks Ministry of Education and Research to take part in its 17th in younger people. University staff fly out regularly to deliver international seminar – Didactica Internationale – on the three-day modules to clinicians, to complement sessions run theme of curricular diversity and interculturality.

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• A partnership agreement with the highly-esteemed Bahrain • Working part-time, alongside studying Counselling and Training Centre, which has 4,000 students, could result in a Criminology, enabled Jane Strand to fund the flights, wide range of jointly-run programmes, including running accommodation, volunteer fees and vaccinations a part-time MBA in the Middle East and the possible required for her to provide three months of voluntary accreditation of an MA in Sustainable Development. support at Hope House, an orphanage in Nairobi and Orphan Cry, a school in Ghana. • Close encounters with wildlife, including escaped cheetahs and charging elephants, enlivened a fact-finding visit • Thirty-four overseas students enrolled on the MBA undertaken by Professor Allan Owens and Professor programme alone, representing the United States, David Cracknell to establish links between the Faculty of Canada, India and Georgia, and setting a new recruitment Education and Children’s Services and the University of record. Pretoria. One possible outcome of their discussions is the development of a collaborative Masters level international module in Drama Education.

Annual Review 2008 | 37 PUTTING SOMETHING BACK

As the University enters its 170th year, the original students, who established the honourable tradition of public-spiritedness, would no doubt be heartened to know that the foundations which they laid remain an integral part of the mission today .

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• Having devoted hundreds of hours in their free time to listed for the Student Volunteering Award for creating a make educational and aesthetic contributions to the sensory garden at Chester’s Dee Banks Special School. community, Bryan Lipscombe and Bill Sheppard had This later won him The Santander Award for Community their selfless activities acknowledged by the Higher Service and he donated his prize cheque to the School, to Education Volunteering Awards 2007. PhD student fund further improvements to its surroundings. Bryan received the Outstanding Project Award for his Sticky Exhibits project, which promotes environmental • Representatives from a number of organisations awareness through interactive displays and props. He benefiting from the University’s commitment was also presented with £1,500 from the Government’s to volunteering, including the Cheshire Special Community Champions Fund to transform the trailer Constabulary, Save the Family and Chester Aid to the used to transport these resources into an exhibit itself Homeless, attended a Celebration Evening to thank their – a ‘Power Pod’, complete with solar panels and a wind supporters. More than 50 of the student volunteers, turbine. Second-year Archaeology student Bill was short- who had undertaken more than 20,000 hours of unpaid

1 PhD student Bryan Lipscombe, being presented with a Certificate of Achievement from Cheshire County Council’s Alan Reay. 2 Students Daniel Richardson and Lucy Rushton, in training to become Special Police Constables. 3 Student Bill Sheppard, handing over his Santander Award for Community Service prize cheque to Dee Banks Special School.

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work over the previous six months, were presented with with study and organisational skills in the lead up to certificates by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of GCSEs. The mentors first attended an approved training Chester and the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, to mark course, provided as part of the AimHigher National their achievements in helping others locally, nationally, Mentoring Scheme. They could opt for face-to-face and internationally. weekly sessions at the schools across Cheshire and Warrington, or a combination of that and regular contact • Over just seven days, six students completed more than on a secure email system. Mentors’ achievements were 100 hours of voluntary work, prompting special awards shared with those of their mentees at a celebration from Chester Volunteer Centre at a ceremony in Chester evening. Town Hall. Kerry Bowers, Jodie Dixon, Alexandra Hartley,

Sean Mooney, Francis Morris and Jo Walter, all helped • ‘H20 Nights’ at venues across Chester and running the deliver the University’s Summer School project, which Flora London Marathon despite a knee injury were just gives 13- to 16-year-olds from backgrounds where there two of the fund-raising methods employed by Sports and is no tradition of going into higher education the chance Psychology student Dan Lee to help provide a much- to experience university life during a residential course. needed water pumping facility for an Ethiopian village. The idea came from discussions with the Theology • Obtaining a University Bursary enabled Fine Art and student sharing his accommodation, also an Ethopian Performance and New Media student Chloe Hynes to Church Minister, and Dan won a Santander Award for deliver art classes to homeless, vulnerable and socially Community Service for his efforts. excluded people of all ages at the Openingdoors hostel in Warrington. Her Ede and Ravenscroft Award also took • David Twyman used his experience in front of and behind into account her overseas voluntary work and formation the camera as a Media (Television Production) student of the University’s first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and and expanded his own knowledge by becoming involved Transgender group. in community projects such as the Big Idea and the Warrington Internet Channel, earning him a DEVA Award • After completing a selection process, involving both written from the University’s Department of Student Support and and fitness tests, Daniel Richardson, studying Media, and Guidance. Lucy Rushton, Film Studies and Media Production, were accepted as Special Police Constables. The 16-week training • Another recipient of both DEVA and Santander programme culminated in an Attestation Ceremony at Awards, Shantelle Gaston-Hird, also studying Media Cheshire Police Headquarters in Winsford. (Television Production), helped to restore waterways and operate a bulldozer as part of her work for the • Almost 30 student volunteers spent part of the academic national conservation charity Canal Camps. She uses her year building a rapport with more than 130 pupils from enthusiasm to recruit new volunteers on the Warrington schools and supporting them in fulfilling their potential campus, and is completing her Duke of Edinburgh Gold by raising aspirations, building confidence, and helping Award.

Annual Review 2008 | 39 STUDENT AND GRADUATE LEADING LIGHTS

Accomplished students gain fulfilment in many forms: through academic excellence; pursuing personal goals; or seeing enterprising ideas taking shape . As the alumni community expands and flourishes, the University is also taking an active interest in former students, as they make their way in the world and motivate those following in their footsteps .

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1 Rugby league player Jon Clarke in action (centre). 6 Radio and Television Production student Kelly-Jo Coney, already on-air. 2 Aiming high for 2012, student Amy Sims. 7 Student Tom Holder with his promotional DVD for Dr Jan Shaylor, choir 3 Netball international, graduate Tracey Neville. members Jane White and Lisa Roberts and Musical Director, Matt Baker, 4 Former student Aimee Ann ‘Duffy’, making her name in the music business. taking part in the BBC Last Choir Standing competition. 5 Laughology advocate Stephanie Davies.

40 | University of Chester 2 3

• To many, a brain haemorrhage would be a considerable • One of England’s most decorated female sportswomen, setback, but after losing the use of his right side, Tracey Neville, graduated in Nutrition and Sports Science, erstwhile electrical engineer Kerry Walker completed a after spending three years combining her studies with BSc in Computer Science at the University, graduating a key role in the national netball team. She has been with First Class Honours. During his course, he spent six capped more than 80 times and taken part in both World weeks in Uganda and Kenya on the Global Perspectives Championships and Commonwealth Games, with bronze programme and was seeking work as a software engineer medals to reward her performance in Goal Attack. or database developer and administrator. • Professional rugby league player Jon Clarke, who divides • Anglo-Scottish relations in the build up to the establishment his time between Warrington Wolves and a part-time of Great Britain with the Acts of Union in 1706 and 1707, as Sports and Exercise Sciences degree, helped Great Britain seen through the eyes of towns in both countries, was the secure its first series victory in 14 years – by 44-0) when topic which won Melanie Harrington, not only a First Class he made his international debut for the Lions as Hooker. Honours degree in History, but also the inaugural History Scotland/Royal Historical Society Dissertation Prize. She • A team, led by English graduate Alex Williamson, was the subscribed to the theory that the Union was more pragmatic first to beat the world-renowned Eggheads in the taxing and consensual than originally believed. television general knowledge quiz.

• Trampolining Law student Amy Sims has set her • Specialising in capoeira, a Brazilian art form fusing sights on competing in the London 2012 Olympics elements of martial art with dance and music, Jane after representing Great Britain in the Under-19 World McLean has secured a place at Laban in London, one of Championships in Quebec and finishing twelfth. A Sports the world’s leading contemporary dance conservatoires, Scholarship enables her to combine her studies with after graduating with a First Class Honours degree in training five times a week for up to six hours a day and she Dance with Nutrition. has been ranked fourth in the country in her age group. • Budding film director Bryan Lomax was awarded Best • Another Olympic hopeful is Film and Media Studies Documentary by Total Film magazine for Far from Home, student Jessica Fletcher, who has already represented his 10 minute profile of Warrington’s first Polish bus driver, Great Britain in the European Championships for which hoped to dispel some of the sterotypes associated synchronised swimming. with Eastern European immigrants. After gaining his first degree with the University, Bryan continued his studies, with a Masters in Television Production.

Annual Review 2008 | 41 4 • Control, the critically-acclaimed biopic about the late Ian Curtis, lead singer of the ill-fated band Joy Division, won 1995 Warrington graduate Matt Greenhalgh The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their Feature Film and a nomination for Best British Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) for his writing.

• Aimee Ann Duffy, now better known by only her surname, launched her debut album, Rockferry, was lauded by broadcasters and critics in the BBC Sound of 2008 list, in which she came second, and had her single Warwick Avenue nominated for the 2008 MTV Video Awards. The former Drama and Theatre Studies with Arts/Cultural Management student then embarked on a worldwide tour, attracting further industry and public acclaim.

• The University had the largest presence of any institution at the 4th International Equitation Science Conference in Dublin, reflecting the broad scope of the research undertaken by the Department of Biological Sciences’s Anthrozoology Research Unit, headed by Dr Emma Creighton. As well as delivering a paper herself, she supervised three undergraduate students (Annaliese Durant, Kiri Jones and Helen Messer) and three post- graduates (Rachel Flentje, Joanna Hockenhull and Tamsin Hughes) who presented papers and posters.

• The first graduates of the University’s Law School passed their final examinations in summer 2008, with two, Jennifer 5 Dumencic and Victoria Jones, being awarded First Class Honours. Jennifer was also the first to be offered a graduate traineeship with Chester solicitors’ firm Storrar Cowdry, after studying on the Legal Practice course at the Chester branch of the College of Law. Another graduate, Louise Wright, secured a coveted Inns of Court scholarship, to assist in the funding of her Bar Vocational Course studies.

• Briefing ministers on policy is all in a day’s work for David Stokes, a Senior Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Justice, who became the first graduate of the Foundation Degree in Government, designed especially for civil servants. He studied through a work-based learning programme and found the content of the course highly relevant to his job.

• Shortly after starting her course in Radio and Television Production at Warrington, Kelly-Jo Coney became a familiar voice over the airwaves. She was recruited by GMG

42 | University of Chester Radio’s Century Radio, training as a part-time Technical 6 Operative, and, while continuing with her studies. Presented her own show, The Morning-After Show with Kelly-Jo, on the University’s radio station, The Cat 1251. She has also worked with Smooth Radio’s promotions team, commentating over the tannoy and interviewing participants at the Race For Life in Tatton Park.

• Chester-based female vocalists Handbag of Harmonies have a Multimedia Technologies team to thank for securing a place in the fiercely competitive BBC Last Choir Standing contest. First-year student Tom Holder was among a group from the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems to film and edit the promotional DVD, which secured the choir’s audition, via the Harlequin project. This uses digital media to help local musical and theatrical groups to publicise their work.

• Following a ‘live’ brief, Advertising students Claire Armstrong, Katie Hogan, Nicole Montague and Kerry O’Dwyer designed a website to showcase the Curve Gallery’s contemporary exhibits, philosophy and brand, which coincided with its activities associated with 7 Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008. Meanwhile, the Liverpool celebrations inspired Kerry McCoy, a first-year Public Relations student, to launch her own entertainments company, Fierce PR. She obtained both professional sponsorship and endorsement for her company and staged her first event, Four to the Floor, in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.

• Professional grounding provided by the Tourism and Marketing course, which she applied to running her family business, the historic Ye Olde King’s Head in Chester, resulted in student Claire Testi being awarded the Most Promising Tourism Student and Apprentice accolade by Visit Chester and Cheshire.

• Studying is a joke to be taken seriously for stand-up comedian Stephanie Davies, completing an MA through a Work Based Integrative Studies (WBIS) programme. As a practitioner of Laughology, she applies humour to • In the final year of his Diploma in Higher Education in every area of life, to allow people to think and act in new Learning Disability Nursing, Pete Martin was selected ways. These techniques, based on cognitive behavioural as one of five students from the UK and Ireland, whose therapies, can reduce stress in the work environment essays were shortlisted at the National Network for and, in a medical context, help rehabilitate patients. Learning Disability Nurses Conference in Dublin. His Stephanie has already been asked to discuss her work at particular focus was a vision for the training of those conferences in the United States and Israel. supporting people with learning disabilities.

Annual Review 2008 | 43 STAFF MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Although this section cannot hope to capture all the many and varied fields, through which individuals from both academic and support departments continue to achieve distinction and provide benefit for the University and wider community, a sample roll of honour is detailed below .

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1 Chester Coach of the Year Stuart Field, Sports Performance Co-ordinator. 5 Bill Shankly, inspiration behind a drama co-created by Brian Machin, Senior 2 Authority on diabetes, Professor Helen Cooper. Lecturer in Television Production. 3 Marathon runner Briah Andrews. 6 Dr Mark Bendall (right) raises a martini glass to students who attended 4 The exploration of Halkyn Mountain by Archaeology students. his James Bond-themed lecture, which was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award.

44 | University of Chester • At the forefront of stroke education Janet Barton 2 and Vicky Ridgway, Senior Lecturers in the Faculty of Health and Social Care, displayed their initial research findings on the extent of knowledge among health care professionals to HRH The Duke of Kent, President of the Stroke Association, when he visited the Warrington campus to open the Broomhead Library. Both Janet and Vicky have undertaken PhD research and received invitations to speak at national conferences on the subject. They are now completing a national study on how stroke education is delivered within nursing, midwifery and allied health care programmes, and hope this will have a major influence on policy for pre- registration curricula.

• An expert in the field of diabetes self-management from the perspectives of an active clinician and academic and as someone diagnosed with the condition as an eight-year-old, Professor Helen Cooper joined the Faculty of Health and Social Care and will be involved in developing its research capability. Awarded the Diabetes 3 UK Educational Award in 2007, her current work relates to the education of adolescents living with diabetes and new computer-based systems that empower them to evaluate their own health needs.

• Dr John Buckley, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Exercise and Nutrition Science, was elected President-Elect of the British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation and appointed Honorary Consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust, to develop clinical links in this discipline.

• In giving the opening address at the Royal College of Nursing 12th European Mental Health Nursing Conference in Chester, Tom Mason, Professor of Mental Health and Learning Disability, took the opportunity to assess the future of the profession through the ongoing debate concerning the relative worth of mental health specialists and generic nursing in meeting clients’ needs.

• Briah Andrews, a Porter and Security Guard at Chester campus, capped his previous success at the Chester Half Marathon by completing his first Flora London Marathon. This was particularly poignant, as he was running to raise money for the charity Macmillan Cancer Support, as a ‘thankyou’ for the care given to his late father, John Andrews, who lost his battle with the disease in 2001.

Annual Review 2008 | 45 • Dr Charles Margerison, a respected consultant in business • Forming part of the programme for Liverpool’s European psychology to major organisations around the globe, took Capital of Culture Year, the Liverpool Olympia was the up a Visiting Professorship within the Faculty of Lifelong venue for the premiere of The Shankly Show, a multimedia Learning. His work concentrates on Work-Based Learning, documentary theatre piece, co-created by Brian Machin, aiding the development of executives and professionals in Senior Lecturer in Television Production at the Warrington commerce and public service, and he has developed a short campus, and Theatre Director Andrew Sherlock. The video about the links between action learning education, show, commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company, business and the University. He is the co-founder of both celebrated the work of the Liverpool FC manager Bill Team Management Systems and Emerald, the world’s Shankly. An actor portraying Shankly performed with leading publisher of management journals and databases digital recording technology, slides, pictures and banners and was previously a Professor of Management at both on giant projection screens. Cranfield University and the University of Queensland. • Under the direction of Dr Meggen Gondek, Programme • As the new Head of Chester Business School, Chris Leader for Archeology, students completed the first stage Pyke expressed his priority to work more closely with of an intensive survey of the mining landscape at Halkyn employers, to ensure that the School’s programmes Mountain, an area that has been exploited since the produce graduates who meet their needs and Bronze Age, although it was worked most intensively from expectations. A professionally qualified accountant, he is the late 17th to the 19th-century. Although the landscape a specialist in corporate financial - and strategic business had already undergone extensive scrutiny, this detailed -management. He has published widely on change topographic survey located previously unrecorded linear management, management accounting, and financial quarries and the remains of associated structures. accounting issues, and has also presented numerous papers at national and international conferences. • Maxine Bristow, Lecturer in Fine Art, was invited to present at a two-day international conference and week-long annual • Wendy Owen, Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching and a programme of master classes at the St Petersburg School of former England international football player, gave expert Folk Arts, which involved consultation about the possible co- evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee delivery of a PG Cert/Continuing Professional Development for Culture, Media and Sport on the state of women’s qualification. She was also closely involved in the exhibitions football. One result of this enquiry is that the Football Unbound at Leigh’s Turnpike Gallery and Cloth and Culture Association has now agreed to a trial of a new policy, NOW at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich. Her allowing girls to play alongside boys until the age of colleague Dr Cian Quayle had a solo exhibition, Interzone, at 14, rather than the previous limit of 11. Campaigners the Dagmar de Pooter Gallery, Antwerp. argued that this was hindering the development of the most talented players, as they believe that young people • Alan Wall, Professor of Writing and Literature, was should be matched for weight, height and ability, with appointed a Member of the Welsh Academi, which players and coaches deciding themselves whether an represents the interests of the country’s authors, and his individual should be playing mixed football. most recent novel Sylvie’s Riddle was listed as one of the Welsh Arts Council Books of the Year. • Stuart Field, Sports Performance Co-ordinator, won the 2007 Chester Coach of the Year award for his work with • Under the Marketing Initiative of the Year category, Dr Mark local primary schools, and followed up this success by Bendall, Senior Lecturer in Communications and Criminology, being appointed to two new roles by the Welsh Hockey was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award in 2007 Union. He is now Regional Academy Coach for North for his interactive lecture We’ve Been Expecting You. This East Wales and Assistant Coach of the country’s under-18 exploration of the character and culture surrounding 007 women’s team. Stuart also took charge of Chester Hockey films coincided with the launch of Casino Royale. In addition Club’s women’s team and the University’s men’s side, to attracting sponsorship from high profile companies, such which reached the quarter-finals of the national British as M&S and Odeon Cinemas, which provided James Bond- Universities Sports Association (BUSA) competition. related merchandise and music, he invited students and members of the public to attend in fancy dress.

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Annual Review 2008 | 47 STIMULATING ENVIRONMENTS

Settings for both teaching and recreational activities play a major part in the experience of those using them, so the newest additions to the University estate are both fit-for-purpose to meet current requirements and with future students and staff in mind .

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1 Chester Students’ Union Building. 2 Kingsway Buildings. 3 HRH The Duke of Kent, with Brian Fitzpatrick, Director of Learning and Information Services and Ann Vickers, Counter Supervisor, demonstrating new technology in the Broomhead Library.

48 | University of Chester 2 3

Chester Students’ Union (CSU) Building students and staff have a broad spectrum of resources at The outstanding quality of construction work on the Chester their disposal, including a year-round, Ofsted-inspected Students’ Union Building was rewarded by an industry nursery and a stylish catering outlet. accolade, the Cheshire Built-In Quality Awards. Broomhead Library After being nominated by Chester City Council for its A century and a half after the country’s first public rate- involvement with the £2 million, energy-efficient scheme, supported library opened in the town, the Warrington Wynne Construction, the principal contractor, won the campus was honoured by a visit by His Royal Highness The Commercial Sector within Chester category. Duke of Kent, to launch the Broomhead Library.

Replacing the 1960s De Bunsen Centre, whose capacity As well as meeting members of staff and students from had been outgrown by expanding student numbers, the a range of disciplines, representing some of the most two-storey structure was completed in just nine months and distinctive work at Warrington, His Royal Highness toured accommodates all the CSU services under one roof, together the state-of-the-art building and watched demonstrations with an extension to the bar. of some of its special features. These include a self-service system, using Radio Frequency Identification, which enables Supporting sales from the Building’s shop, the CSU also users to borrow and return books without having to queue opened a second retail unit, allowing more space to display at a counter, and a portable Digital Library Assistant, used by official University clothing and memorabilia, which is Library staff to identify missing or misplaced books. proving very welcome for students. In the latest phase of the £12 million re-development of Kingsway Buildings the site, the £2.35 million, facility has re-defined learning A £5 million investment provided self-contained premises resources, with quiet and social spaces, for individual study for the Faculty of Arts and Media, with the first 800 students and group activity and discussion. moving into the former Kingsway High School in Newton, Chester during the Autumn Term. The Library’s enhanced technology facilities have attracted international interest. It has already been the focus of a fact- The flagship facility is a 136-seater multi-purpose finding visit by a group of senior French librarians, including performance space, of which community use will be the directors of library services at Lyon, Montpellier and encouraged. In addition to their academic amenities, Poitiers.

Annual Review 2008 | 49 Senior Staff

Senior Management Deans of Support Departments

Vice-Chancellor and Principal: Dean of Academic Quality and Standards: Canon Professor Timothy Wheeler, DL, BA, PhD (Wales), Professor Graeme White, MA, PhD (Cambridge), FRHistS, FSA FE Teachers’ Cert, CPsychol, CSci, AFPBsS, FSS, FRSA, MIPR, Dean of Corporate Planning and Development: (to MIOSH, MIIRSM 31/5/2008): Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Dr Chris Haslam, BSc (Newcastle), PhD (Southampton) Dr Dorothy Marriss, BEd (Huddersfield), MA (Lancaster), Dean of Learning and Teaching: PhD (Salford), FCMI, ONC, RN, RCNT, RNT, DN, Cert Ed Professor Jethro Newton, BSc (Bradford); MSc (Salford), Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research): (to 31/09/2008) PhD (Wales); Grad Cert Ed; FHEA. Professor David Cotterrell, BSc (Sheffield), PhD (Leicester) Dean of Student Guidance and Support: Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic): Dr Lesley Cooke, Cert Ed, BEd (Cambridge), MA, PhD (Leeds), Dr Malcolm Rhodes, BA (CNAA), MA (Keele), EdD (Durham) AFBPsS, FHEA Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Affairs and Corporate Development): (from 01/06/2008) Members of the University Council 2007/08 Dr Chris Haslam, BSc (Newcastle), PhD (Southampton) University Secretary and Bursar: President: The Right Reverend Dr Peter Forster, Mr David Stevens, BA (CNAA), ACIS the Lord Bishop of Chester

Deans of Faculties Deputy President: Mr Jeff Turnbull

Applied Science and Health: The Reverend Dr Ruth Ackroyd - Staff Professor Sarah Andrew, BSc (London), PhD (Nottingham) Mr Henry Blackman (resigned 2/3/08) - Staff Arts and Media: The Right Reverend Alan Chesters CBE Dr Peter Harrop, BEd PhD (Leeds), FHEA Mr Howard Cooper Business, Management and Law: Mr Colin Daniels Professor Des Hickie, BSc (Econ) (Wales), MSc, PhD (London), His Honour Judge Elgan Edwards DL Cert Ed Mr John Evans Education: Professor John Fisher Ms Anna Sutton, Cert Ed, BEd, MEd (Wales) Miss Christine Gaskell (appointed 1/12/07) Health and Social Care: Professor Michael Hoey Professor Michael Thomas, PhD (Nottingham), MA (Law), Mr Dennis Holman – Staff BNurs (Manchester), RMN, RNT, Cert Ed, The Very Reverend Professor Gordon McPhate ENB655 (Professional Qualification in Psychotherapy), Mrs Cathy Maddaford (appointed 1/12/07) FHEA, MBPsS Dr Dorothy Marriss, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Humanities Mrs Marion Needham Professor Chris Walsh, BA (Lancaster), DPhil (Oxford), FHEA Mr David Pickering DL Lifelong Learning: Mr Stephen Povey (appointed 1/6/08) – Staff Dr David Major, Cert Ed, BEd (East Anglia), MA (Birmingham), Mr Peter Roberts MEd (Liverpool), MA, DProf (Middlesex), FHEA Councillor Sandra Rudd Social Science: Mrs Margaret Steward Mr David Balsamo, BA (Middlesex), MSc (London), Mr Jeremy Taylor MSc (Oxford), CQSW Mrs Hilary Tucker Chester Students’ Union President Mr Steve Westgarth (resigned 31/7/08) Professor Timothy Wheeler DL, Vice-Chancellor

Secretary: Mr David Stevens

50 | University of Chester Financial Results for the year ended 31s t July 2008

Income 2007/2008 £

Funding Council Grants 31,504,650

Tuition Fees & Support Grants 19,524,333

Research Grants & Contracts 331,893

Other Operating Income 15,266,484

Interest Receivable 461,858

Total Income 67,089,218

Expenditure 2007/2008 £

Sta Costs 39,402,728

Other Operating Expenses 20,117,714

Depreciation 1,878,264

Interest Payable 371,152

Total Expenditure 61,769,858

Credits Design: Gary Martin (Media Services). Editorial Team: Jayne Dodgson, Peter Williams (Corporate Communications). Photographs: Mark English, Angharad Armson, Louisa Scarre (Media Services). Printed by Design2Print. © University of Chester 2009.

Annual Review 2008 | 51 University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester CH1 4BJ Tel: 01244 511000 Fax: 01244 511300 Email: [email protected] Web: www.chester.ac.uk/annualreport