Praise from students and the 'Sunday Times ... - University of Kent

University of Kent 

Newsletter Vol 30 No 1 

October 2008 

Newsletter 

Praise from students and the ‘Sunday Times 

University Guide’ is good news for Kent 

Students have once again voted the University of 

Kent among the UK’s top ten universities, and the 

Sunday Times University Guide has reported on the 

high starting salaries Kent graduates can expect. 

Kent claimed a top ten place in the National Student 

Survey (NSS), and for the second year running is 

the top university in London and the south-east. The 

survey also reveals that 90% of final year full-time 

undergraduates at Kent are overwhelmingly 

satisfied with the quality of their courses. Other 

universities in the top ten include Oxford, 

Cambridge, St Andrews and Exeter. 

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor David Nightingale 

said: ‘Once again, the results of the National 

Student Survey show our students rank us among 

the best in the UK. The feedback shows more than 

ever that students feel they have made the right 

choice in coming to Kent.’ 

This year has seen a national increase in the 

number of students responding to the NSS. 

Nearly 220,000 students completed the 2008 

survey. This annual survey is organised by the 

Higher Education Funding Council for England 

(HEFCE) in partnership with the government and 

the National Union of Students. 

In addition to Kent’s high ranking in the NSS, the 

University was also praised in the latest Sunday 

Times University Guide, which states that 

graduates from the University earn some of the 

highest starting salaries in the UK. The Guide, 

which ranks Kent in the top 20 for high starting 

salaries, also points out that Kent is ‘consistently 

among the best performing in the UK in the 

National Student Survey’. 

The University is also described as being ‘equally at 

home in Brussels, Lille and Canterbury’, a result of 

recent European developments including the 

expanding Brussels campus and its involvement as 

one of five partners (and the only non-French one) 

in the bilingual University of the Transmanche. 

Kent’s strong regional presence is also recognised 

by the Guide which describes its good relationship 

with the local community as being one of the ‘deal 

clinchers’ for prospective students, and it flags up 

the new accommodation shortly coming on line at 

the University’s Medway campus. 

Subject areas rated excellent are: anthropology; 

archaeology; classics and ancient history; computer 

science; drama, dance and cinematics; economics; 

history of art, architecture and design; molecular 

biosciences; organismal biosciences; philosophy; 

and social policy and administration.



October 2008 

In brief 

Right 

Student volunteers ready to welcome new students 

to Kent 

Leukaemia Research at Kent 

University scientists hosted an open evening to 

show Leukaemia Research fundraisers and other 

charitable organisations exactly how their money 

is contributing towards more effective treatments. 

Using a series of scientific presentations and 

laboratory demonstrations, Dr Peter Nicholls and 

Dr Dan Lloyd, from the Department of Biosciences, 

described the research they have been conducting 

in collaboration with Professor Philip Blower at 

King’s College, London. 

The research, into which Leukaemia Research has 

invested over £400,000, focuses on ways of making 

radiotherapy less harmful to leukaemia patients by 

delivering radioactivity into the bone marrow to kill 

leukaemia cells, whilst sparing healthy blood cells 

from being damaged. 

The evening also featured a formal presentation by 

representatives of the Freemasons’ Grand Charity 

and members of the Province of East Kent Lodge 

of Freemasons, who donated £56,500 to Leukaemia 

Research to support this research at the University. 

Dr Nicholls said: ‘The evening was a great success, 

and we were delighted to demonstrate the exciting 

work that we’re doing to all the people who have 

helped fund it. With our recent award of a new 

grant from Leukaemia , we will be able to test our 

new approach and improve treatments for patients 

with acute leukaemia within the next few years.’ 

Government boost for university 

fundraising 

During August the UK Government launched a new 

£200m government scheme to match the funding 

universities raise in endowments over the next three 

years. The aim of the programme is to encourage 

gifts from alumni and others to support English 

higher education institutions, including the 

University of Kent. 

Karen Doyle, Director of Communications and 

Development, said: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity 

for Kent. We have identified three areas of focus 

– capital funding projects, scholarships and the 

student experience – within which we will launch 

a number of fundraising initiatives over the coming 

months. We believe this will enable us to truly 

maximise the impact of the gifts we receive from 

now until 2011. It really is a case of watch this 

space!’ 

The impact of the scheme will be considerable. 

For example, a gift of £520 from a UK donor can, 

with Matched Funding and Gift Aid, be worth an 

incredible £1000. 

Under Matched Funding, gifts from overseas 

donors will also see a substantial increase of 

potentially a third of the value of the original 

amount – and possibly even more. 

To find out more about Matched Funding and how 

the University is planning to make the most of this 

fundraising opportunity, please contact Karen 

Doyle, Director of Communications & Development, 

at K.M.Doyle@kent.ac.uk or Dr Anthony Medhurst, 

Head of Development, at A.Medhurst@kent.ac.uk 

Welcome Week 

New students who arrived at Kent on Saturday 22 

September were met by 400 student volunteers, all 

dressed in green and ready to show students to 

their rooms. The gang of Fabulous Advice Bureau 

(FAB) volunteers, organised by Kent Union, made 

sure every new student had the opportunity to get 

involved in campus tours, theme nights, scavenger 

hunts and sports days and ensured that were 

welcomed to Kent in style. 

International students enjoyed a trip to a traditional 

English pub and a Global Music Party at the Venue; 

while postgrads enjoyed tours of Canterbury, 

comedy and tapas. 

This year saw the first Festi-Hill which included 

music from our student-led community fm radio 

station CSR, bands, Laser Quest and a BBQ. 

A great afternoon was had – despite the rain. 

Students also had a chance to take part in the 

biggest recorded gathering of ‘Where’s Wally’ 

and the biggest game of musical statues Kent has 

witnessed! Over £500 was raised by RAG over the 

week for Kent Miles for Smiles, who help sick and 

disabled children across Kent. 

The week ended with 2,203 new and old students 

dancing to The Holloways, Coolio, Take This and 

lots of other amazing bands and DJs at the 

Welcome Ball. 

Tonic Creative Business Project 

gives a taste of university life 

The Tonic: Creative Business Project is an innovative 

programme of free courses running through the 

autumn and next spring. 

2

Right 

Woolf College accommodation opens for students 

A partnership between the University for the 

Creative Arts (UCA) and the universities of Kent 

and Canterbury Christ Church, the 12-month 

scheme offers students a choice of nine modules, 

with successful completion granting students up to 

15 credits towards a university degree. 

The modules are drawn from various foundation, 

BA and masters programmes delivered at the three 

institutions, with an emphasis on teaching both 

business and creative skills. Modules include event 

design – part of Kent’s Creative Events degree 

course at Medway – as well as enterprise and 

innovation, entrepreneurship for creatives, 

marketing, creative thinking, visual presentations 

and project management. 

The project is one of the largest schemes to date 

to be funded by the Kent and Medway Lifelong 

Learning Network (LLN) and is being taught mainly 

in Medway and Folkestone. 

Louise Tucker, the LLN’s Sector Co-ordinator for 

Kent, is project managing the scheme, alongside 

Liz Millar from UCA and Jude Sach, the LLN’s 

Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator. Ms Sach said the 

scheme would offer people who may not have 

considered higher education a taste of university 

life. ‘It’s a “try before you buy” scheme, so people 

can come along, start learning some new skills and 

see higher education in action, without needing to 

commit themselves to a three-year degree,’ she 

said. 

‘We’re offering existing modules in a variety of 

new ways, including options for online learning, 

off-campus venues, distance learning and evening 

and weekend classes, all of which should make it 

an attractive proposition for working people,’ she 

said. ‘Information, advice and guidance will be 

offered to any participants who feel they might 

want to progress into higher education.’ 

For more details, call the Creative Business 

Project team on 01634 888791 or email 

info@creativebusinessproject.com 

New accommodation opens for 

Kent’s students 

This month, postgraduate students at Kent are 

moving into sustainable accommodation that has 

just been completed at the University’s new Woolf 

College in Canterbury. 

The 544 rooms have been provided by University 

Partnerships Programme (UPP) and built by 

Mansell Construction Services Limited. UPP will 

also manage the residence, while the University 

will liaise with students regarding accommodation 

allocation, room licences and all pastoral matters. 

The accommodation has been built to UPP’s unique 

Eco Residence template. It consists of study 

bedrooms arranged in flats of six to eight rooms, 

plus enhanced bedrooms, self-contained studios 

and disabled access rooms. 

The superstructure of the residence was built using 

highly insulated, airtight timber panels sourced from 

sustainable, managed forests, producing a 

significantly better carbon footprint than the norm. 

The timber frames were manufactured offsite in 

order to minimise waste. 

Many energy-saving systems have also been 

installed inside the building, helping students to 

live in a more sustainable manner. These range from 

recycling initiatives to devices that allow students to 

monitor their energy consumption. 

As well as the residential accommodation, 

UPP and Mansell are providing a state-of-the-art, 

500-seat lecture theatre, which is due to open in 

the new year. 

Vice-Chancellor Professor Julia Goodfellow said: 

‘The new accommodation is an important part of 

our new approach to postgraduate teaching and 

research. It is fantastic to see this important group 

of students benefit from the very best in 

accommodation. We are looking forward to 

unveiling the academic part of the building 

next year.’ 

Sean O’Shea, chief executive of UPP, said: ‘Today’s 

higher education arena is extremely competitive, so 

it is vital for UK universities to provide top-quality 

facilities for their current and future students. Our 

Eco Residence model is proving a great success 

across the country and allows students to really 

understand how sustainable living works.’ 

Café Scientifique begins new season 

Café Scientifique, an informal gathering where 

everyone is welcome to explore and debate the 

latest ideas in science and technology, has begun 

its new season. All talks are held at the Olde 

Beverlie (St. Stephens Green, Canterbury) and 

begin at 7pm. 

Forthcoming talks include ‘How do we regulate 

the awareness of our own mortality?’ by Dr Arnaud 

Wisman, Lecturer in Psychology at the University 

of Kent (Tuesday 14 October) and ‘Genesis 

Machines’ by Dr Martyn Amos, Senior Lecturer 

in the Department of Computing and Mathematics 

at Manchester Metropolitan University (Tuesday 

11 November). 

Continued overleaf 

3



October 2008 

Research round-up 

National Teaching 

Fellowship award 

to senior lecturer 

in computing 

Sally Fincher, Senior Lecturer in the Computing 

Laboratory, (pictured right) has been awarded 

£200,000 from the project strand of the National 

Teaching Fellowship Scheme (Higher Education 

Academy) to undertake the project ‘To See 

Ourselves as Others See Us: Sharing and 

Representing Disciplinary Classroom Practice’. 

The project, undertaken in collaboration with 

colleagues from Leeds Metropolitan University, the 

Open University, Glasgow Caledonian University 

and the University of Washington, Tacoma will: 

• develop a community model of sharing teaching 

practice piloted in her previous Disciplinary 

Commons project; 

• create and evaluate different representations of 

practice (from rich, complex documents such as 

course portfolios, through to more abstracted 

and sparse forms such as guidelines and 

patterns); 

• undertake a small-scale longitudinal study of 

educators, paying particular attention to their 

decision-making points, and to what materials 

and information influence them to make change. 

The three-year project starts in August 2008 and 

will involve a range of activities from interviews 

and focus groups to peer observation and direct 

observation by the project team of teaching activity. 

Earlier this year Sally Fincher was awarded the title 

of Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 

(HEA). This is the first time that Senior Fellows have 

been chosen by the HEA and Sally was one of just 

14 academics across the country recognised as 

providing outstanding leadership in teaching and 

support in Higher Education. 

£1.7 million for 

Professor of 

Biochemistry 

Specifically, Professor Geeves’ research will be on 

the correlation between the cellular functions of the 

myosin family of molecular motors and their 

biochemical and structural properties. He 

explained: 

‘There are more than 20 different types of myosin 

involved in a range of cellular movements from the 

very fast wing beat of insects to the slow crawling 

of individual amoeboid cells such as white blood 

cells. Other myosins move organelles around inside 

cells, and yet others don’t produce movement at all 

but generate forces inside cells and detect 

movements such as the response of the very 

fine stereocillia in our ear to sound waves. 

‘While we have a clear idea of how the myosin in 

muscle does its job, we do not know how the same 

basic motor protein is adapted for such a wide 

range of behaviours. This is what we plan to find 

out using methods that allow us to follow the 

fundamental molecular events that myosin goes 

through on a timescale of less than 1/1000th of 

a second.’ 

The five-year project will start in January 2009. 

It will be conducted in Professor Geeves’ laboratory. 

Sandford Bernstein, Professor of Biology at San 

Diego State University, USA, will collaborate with 

Professor Geeves on the project. 

News this issue 

Leukaemia Research at Kent (p2); Government 

boost for university fundraising (p2); Risky drinking 

in over 55s becomes the focus of new research 

(p9); University conference examines the role of 

forgetting in cultural memory (p12); US researcher 

collaborates with Kent on memory management 

(p12); Medical imaging experts meet at Kent (p13); 

Conservationists at the University celebrate double 

achievement (p16). 

Some recent 

research awards 

Dr Andrew King (Computing Laboratory) £112,237 

from the Royal Society for ‘Reverse engineering 

productivity tools for ethical hackers’. 

Dr Nathan Gomes (Department of Electronics) 

£50,231 from the National Radio Astronomy 

Observatory for ‘ALMA Back End 1st Lo Photonioc 

Reference’. 

Simon Coulton (SSPSSR) £65,164 from the 

Department of Health for ‘Screening and brief 

intervention pilots’.. 

Professor Mike Calnan (SSPSSR) £168,469 from 

the Department for Health for ‘The impact and 

implications of new technologies on workforce 

reconfiguration and the educational and training 

needs of managers and professionals’. 

Professor Michael Fischer (Department of 

Anthropology) £28,500 from the ESRC for ‘An 

investigation of social learning and local decisionmaking 

in change adaptation to water scarcity 

using climate envelopes and knowledge elicitation.’ 

CASE Award. 

Dr Alex Stevens, Linda Pizani Williams (SSPSSR), 

£67,878 from London Probation for ‘Offender 

management community scoping of London gang 

demographics’. 

Mike Geeves, Professor of Physical Biochemistry 

and Head of the Department of Biosciences at the 

University, has been awarded £1,728,990 by the 

Wellcome Trust for research that will enhance our 

understanding of the nature of diverse biological 

processes such as heart muscle function, cell 

division and hearing. 

4

Right 

Dr Suzanne Franks, the new Director of Research 

with the Centre for Journalism and the Department 

of Politics and International Relations 

KBS lecturer attends international 

conference in Romania 

Dr Dan Petrovici was invited to act as Raporteur at 

the International Conference on ‘Food Security and 

Safety in the World: Key Issues and Trends’ 

organised by the Romanian Prime Minister Office 

in partnership with the Romanian Academy of 

Science. 

The workshop took place at the Institute of Food 

Bioresources in Bucharest in September. Key 

themes of the conference included the latest trends 

in the development of functional foods, nutrition and 

food safety, and major EU funded research projects 

related to food, agriculture and biotechnology. 

Dr Petrovici also delivered a keynote presentation 

on ‘Lifestyles, Food Consumer Behaviour and Public 

Health: Key Issues and Trends’. The event received 

coverage on Romania’s national radio station. 

CAPS Astronomical Observatory 

commissioned at West Oast 

Dr Kaz Krynicki, honorary adjunct fellow in the 

Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science 

(CAPS), has just successfully commissioned an 

Astronomical Observatory for CAPS sited at West 

Oast on the University campus. The dome was 

moved to the West Oast site from the Hothe Court 

site three years ago, but unfortunately the observing 

equipment had been neglected until it was needed 

for the summer Space School in 2007. Dr Krynicki 

helped the School organisers, but it soon became 

clear that a great deal of work needed to be carried 

out, much of it too complex and technical to be 

described here in detail. 

The main objective was to repair, install, balance 

and align our 12-inch Newtonian-Cassegrain 

telescope brought from the previous Physics roof 

observatory. There was also some renovation work 

needed on our two portable telescopes: 5-inch 

Vixen refractor and 8-inch Meade reflector; the 

2.8m Dome itself needed considerable attention, in 

particular its entrance door, safety locks and, finally, 

it was necessary to find moveable furniture suitable 

for a narrow space. 

The commissioned Observatory will have both 

teaching and public uses. Final-year undergraduate 

projects can be offered which involve 

spectroscopic and modern photographic 

techniques for stellar and planetary objects. CAPS 

wish to make a contribution to the 2009 International 

Year of Astronomy by launching several public 

lectures followed by observing sessions. The 

Observatory will also be used during school visits, 

interviewing days for Physics and Astrophysics 

candidates and their parents, and Open Days. 

Author and TV producer joins Kent 

Dr Suzanne Franks, a distinguished television 

producer, author, journalist and broadcaster, has 

joined the University. Dr Franks is taking up a 

position as Director of Research with the Centre 

for Journalism – based at its Medway campus – 

and also with the Department of Politics and 

International Relations. 

Part of her remit is to help develop the Centre for 

Journalism’s portfolio of programmes and courses, 

particularly for postgraduate students, as well as 

lecturing and organising conferences and events. 

Dr Franks spent the first decade of her career 

as a producer for BBC Television, working on 

programmes including Newsnight, Watchdog 

and Panorama. She also ran her own TV production 

company, Sevenday Productions, for more than 14 

years, producing a series of news and political 

programmes and documentaries for major 

broadcasters including Sky News, Channel Four, 

ITV and BBC Radio Four. 

Dr Franks’s books include Dished: The Rise and Fall 

of BSB – nominated for a British Film Institute book 

prize – and Writing’s On The Wall: A radical and 

social anthology, jointly written with former Labour 

MP Tony Benn. 

A former student at both Oxford and Harvard 

universities, her most recent research project, 

part-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research 

Council (AHRC), has seen her helping to write an 

official history of the BBC. 

Dr Franks has also written numerous articles for 

publications ranging from The Times and The 

Guardian to Cosmopolitan and the New Statesman, 

and has made regular live appearances on radio 

shows including the BBC’s Woman’s Hour and Start 

The Week. 


5



October 2008 

In brief 

Left to right 

Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy will be performing at 

the Gulbenkian Theatre, and ‘The Pope’s Toilet’ will 

be screened at the Gulbenkian Cinema as part of 

the Canterbury Festival 

University hosts Earthworks 

Keynes College on the University’s Canterbury 

campus provided the setting for a special event in 

which English subject specialists from across Kent 

and Medway came together to celebrate the launch 

of Earthworks, a local English subject forum, 

established as part of an Aimhigher Kent and 

Medway (AHKM) initiative to establish local subjectspecific 

forums. 

Over 90 conference guests attended, including 

teachers, lecturers, librarians, writers, performers 

and specialists from the primary, secondary, further, 

higher and adult education sectors, as well as 

people from the prison service and charitable 

organisations, publishing and community writing 

groups. These included representatives from the 

National Association of Teachers of English (NATE), 

English Subject Centre (ESC) and The Creative 

Way. Practitioners were joined by sixth-form 

students of English from some of Kent & Medway’s 

schools and colleges. 

Dr Felicity Dunworth, Director of AHKM welcomed 

guests to the conference before handing over to 

Patricia Debney, Canterbury Poet Laureate, who 

set the tone for the event with an exploration of 

the potential of Earthworks as a new and significant 

connection across boundaries. 

Guest speakers included Val Hennessy, chief 

literary critic for the Daily Mail, who related stories 

from her long experience in Fleet Street. Danny 

Rhodes, author of Asboville and a local English 

teacher, spoke on English teaching challenging 

guests to consider the value of taking English into 

the environment. Trevor Millum, poet and English 

adviser, concluded the session with an often 

hilarious demonstration of the value of poetry. 

The event continued with an exhibition of English 

in Kent & Medway in which a diverse group of local 

practitioners and performers from within the 

education sector and the wider community 

displayed and discussed their work. Guests were 

also invited by Maggie Smith and Allia Wilson to 

walk an outdoor labyrinth, specially constructed 

for the conference. 

A question time session followed in which a panel 

of three subject specialists, chaired by Professor 

Rod Edmond, Head of School of English at the 

University, responded to questions from the 

audience. Paul Skinner, PGCE Secondary/7–14 

Head of English Education at Canterbury Christ 

Church University, Rachel Gough, Lead Consultant 

for English with Advisory Service Kent, and Lindsay 

Prestage, Family and Lifelong Learning Manager 

with Kent County Council Libraries and Archive led 

the discussion over a range of topics from the role 

of poetry in the present education system to the 

qualities needed for embarking on an academic 

career in the Humanities. 

In the evening, guests enjoyed a performance by 

John Agard, playwright and poet, followed by a 

vibrant open-mic session organised by CornerStone 

Writers, an umbrella group of local writing groups 

from across Kent and Medway. 

The aim of the conference was to connect a 

community of practitioners for whom language 

and words are magical and for whom the English 

subject is special. The generous spirit of friendship 

and trust displayed by conference guests and 

speakers alike launched Earthworks in the most 

valuable and welcome manner possible. 

The event was photographed by Thanet College 

student, Scott Brooks, one of the winners of AHKM 

Inspire to Aimhigher Art Competition 2008. 

Canterbury Festival at the 

Gulbenkian 

Many of the highlights of this year’s Canterbury 

Festival are being hosted by the Gulbenkian. 

Beginning on Saturday 11th October with a 

theatrical fairytale treat for children aged 5 and 

above from The Puppet Lab who bring their original 

take on the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale 

to the Gulbenkian. Combining traditional 

marionettes and live puppetry with modern 

technology and on screen animation, there is 

also a chance to drop in on a fairytale mask 

creative workshop before the show. 

On Monday 13th, the internationally renowned and 

critically acclaimed Scottish comedian, Danny Bhoy 

will perform his eighth solo show, a show described 

in The Sunday Mail as ‘a show you could see time 

and time again. Exceptional.’ The following evening 

sees urban tales from Kno Love Productions in a 

double bill entitled Cool Rules & Fams, directed by 

Jonzi D and Benji Reid. 

For world music, there is the chance to hear 

the Shomyo Buddhist Monks from Japan on 

Wednesday 15th, and on Friday 17th roots/round/ 

about present the 21st Century Afro Sounds tour 

featuring Kasai Masai who bring the sound of 

Congo villages with a fresh twist, and Atongo Zimba 

who creates a unique afro fusion sound from the 

savannahs of Ghana. 

Music is also featured from The Ian McMillan 

Orchestra on Thursday 23rd. Poet, broadcaster and 

comedian Ian McMillan dances with composer and 

accordionist Luke Carver Goss of Zapora in this 

sizzling work of words and music. 

The Festival ends on Saturday 25th, with a second 

show from Comedy favourite Ed Byrne. This special 

show will begin at 10.30pm and features his 

6

New faces in Communications 

& Development 

The Communications & Development Office (C&DO) has recently made two new senior appointments. 

Dr Anthony Medhurst is the new Head of Development and Zarina Hawkins the new Publications 

Manager. Anthony and Zarina report directly to Karen Doyle, Director of Communications & 

Development, she said: ‘I am really pleased that both Anthony and Zarina have joined us during 

a very busy period of change at the University. They will help strengthen the team at a time when 

communications, marketing and fundraising are becoming increasingly important for Kent.’ 

C&DO covers the key areas of congregations and events; media, marketing and communications; 

publications; web content and editorial; and alumni. It is responsible for planning and implementing 

many of the University’s external relations and internal communications activities. 

thoughts on marriage, class, the youth of today 

and anything else that strikes him as humorous. 

(The 7.45pm show has sold out). 

The Gulbenkian Cinema will be screening a whole 

range of films during the Canterbury Festival, from 

sumptuous dramas including Brideshead Revisited 

and The Duchess, to comedies The Pope’s Toilet 

and A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, 

to a 1929 black-and-white film with live piano 

accompaniment, A Cottage on Dartmoor, truly 

a festival of film. 

Don’t forget, December features a special 

Christmas programme full of festivities including the 

opportunity to be wined, dined and entertained by 

having a fun Christmas Party at the Gulbenkian with 

your colleagues and friends. See 

www.gulbenkiantheatre.co.uk/christmas for further 

details. You can reach the booking office on 01227 

769075 or go to www.gulbenkiantheatre.co.uk for 

online bookings. 

Kent Innovation and Enterprise 

Strategy 

The last edition of Newsletter reported that Kent 

Innovation & Enterprise had recently submitted 

the University’s Innovation & Enterprise strategy to 

HEFCE. I am delighted to report that the University 

has received positive feedback from HEFCE and 

been praised for its move towards a market-led 

approach to the provision of cross-disciplinary 

knowledge and technology transfer services. 

HEFCE singled out a number of initiatives that, 

in their view, provided a strong framework for 

enhancing our knowledge transfer engagement – 

these included the proposal to establish a Student 

Innovation Zone, focusing on supporting and 

exploiting student IP rather than staff-generated IP. 


Dr Anthony Medhurst joined Kent earlier this year 

as its new Head of Development. Before coming 

to Kent, Anthony was Director of Marketing and 

Income Generation for Havens Hospices in 

Essex. He has a longstanding association with 

the charity sector, and brings with him a wealth 

of experience. 

Anthony is looking forward to his new role: ‘I think 

we’re very lucky in the development work we do 

here at Kent, because the difference that we can 

make to people’s lives is astonishing. For 

example, Sam Godfrey, the current Alumni 

Postgraduate Scholar, is carrying out potentially 

life-saving research into leukaemia. By giving him 

that scholarship, we are helping him to conduct 

research that could have a real impact on the 

treatment of the disease and, in turn, on the lives 

of those who are suffering from it. That’s what 

makes the sort of work we do so important.’ 

Anthony plans to raise awareness across the 

whole University community about the difference 

that fundraising can make to research, teaching 

and students. ‘I’m excited to be joining Kent as it 

approaches its 50th anniversary in 2015 and very 

much looking forward to meeting and getting to 

know the University’s alumni and friends all over 

the world,’ he said. 

Zarina Hawkins is Kent’s new Publications Manager. 

She brings with her a great deal of expertise in 

publishing, having spent 11 years working in the 

industry. She has also worked in higher education, 

as Head of Publications and Web for Queen Mary, 

University of London. 

On arrival at Kent, Zarina restructured the 

publications section to allow for more flexible 

working to increase capacity and to create a 

stronger publications team: ‘There is a great deal of 

experience within the team; we are all professionals 

who can ensure that the marketing materials 

produced by Kent are of the highest standard. In 

fact, the whole team within C&DO are experts in 

their fields and it’s very exciting to see how we all 

work together to raise the profile of the University.’ 

The publications team produces the major 

publications for the University from the 

undergraduate prospectus to the annual report 

and many things in between. It ensures that key 

messages are communicated effectively and that 

each publication is factually correct and consistent. 

If you are thinking about producing any form of 

publication, whether it’s aimed at the recruitment 

market or a corporate one, the publications team 

should be your first port of call. To contact Zarina 

to discuss any form of printed marketing materials, 

email Z.Hawkins@kent.ac.uk 

7



October 2008 

Staff Development awards ceremony 

The annual Staff Development Awards Ceremony 

took place in June in the Darwin Conference Suite. 

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Julia Goodfellow 

presented the awards which ranged across a 

wide spectrum, from postgraduate degrees and 

accredited professional qualifications to the IOSH 

Health & Safety awards, the European Computer 

Driving Licence, the University award in Equality 

and Diversity practice and a variety of staff 

development achievements. 

The recipients were congratulated on their 

achievements and celebrated over a buffet 

lunch with friends and colleagues. 

Group 1 successfully completed a variety of 

qualifications and awards including: OCR Level 1 

Certificate in Adult LIteracy; LITS Ltd One Day 

Course – Safe Release of Trapped Lift Passengers; 

Kent Certificate in Staff Volunteering; CIPD 

Certificate in Personnel Practice; Introduction to 

Counselling Skills; and, Sign Language Taster 

Classes 

Left to right 

Professor Louis Passfield with Tour of Britain rider 

Simon Richardson at the Centre for Sports Studies; 

one of Rutherford College’s murals, painted by Kent 

lecturer Christopher Hunt 

Group 2 successfully completed the Equality and 

Diversity Award 

Group 4 successfully completed either the 

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education 

(PGCHE) or the Associate Teacher Accreditation 

Programme 

Group 3 successfully completed the Chartered 

Institute of Environmental Health Level 2 Award 

in Health and Safety in the workplace and the 

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health 

(IOSH) Managing Safely 

It was felt that the encouragement of students to 

pursue a start up during their placement year was 

notable and if the Student Zone proved to be 

successful, its dissemination to the wider HE 

sector would be of great value. 

The University’s Innovation and Enterprise strategy 

sets out to fulfil four key aims: 

• to generate significant economic, social and 

cultural benefits for Kent, the south-east and 

beyond 

• to reinforce the University’s reputation as 

an innovative and high quality provider of 

knowledge transfer services 

• to invest in our staff and students by creating 

an environment that will nurture and support 

an innovative culture 

• to develop and exploit Kent’s expertise for the 

direct benefit of the University. 

During Enterprise Week (17-23 November 2008) 

Kent Innovation and Enterprise will announce two 

internal funding opportunities, the ‘Innovation Fund’ 

and ‘Time Out for Reach Out’. Enterprise Week is a 

national celebration of enterprise where thousands 

of activities are run by organisations across the UK 

to encourage people to unlock their enterprising 

talent. Further information can be found at 

www.enterpriseweek.org.uk/. 

With world-class expertise and state-of-the-art 

facilities at our fingertips, the University is perfectly 

positioned to provide innovative solutions to the 

business community and our Innovation and 

Enterprise strategy clearly sets out a framework 

for delivering this support. The full Strategy can be 

found on the Kent Innovation and Enterprise Intranet 

www.kent.ac.uk/enterprise-local/ 

Group 5 successfully completed the ECDL, Advanced ECDL Word and CLAiT Units 1, 2 and 8 

8

University helps top rider get into 

gear for Tour of Britain 

A Tour of Britain cyclist dropped in to the University 

for a special training session ahead of the gruelling 

eight-day event in September. Simon Richardson, a 

member of the Plowman Craven racing team, was 

put through his paces by the University’s sports 

chief, Professor Louis Passfield, who wrote a 

personal training programme for the rider and 

devised a series of tests to measure his fitness 

and endurance. 

Mr Richardson was full of praise for the University’s 

Centre for Sports Studies. ‘The fitness rooms were 

impressive and a pleasure to use, and Professor 

Passfield’s training programme was a hugely 

valuable part of my run-up to the big event,’ he 

said. 

Professor Passfield said his work with professional 

riders would enhance the University’s reputation for 

excellence in teaching. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to 

work with some of the best riders in the world, 

which gives me a golden opportunity to apply 

theoretical knowledge to the real demands of elite 

athletes,’ he said. ‘It’s my goal that the insights and 

skills I gain from this kind of experience are passed 

directly on to our students.’ 

Risky drinking in over 55s becomes 

the focus of new research 

A new study led by Simon Coulton, Professor of 

Health Services Research at the Centre for Health 

Services Studies, aims to improve services for over 

55s caught up in ‘risky drinking’. 

Traditionally, risky drinking in young men and 

women receives most attention, but the ageing 

process means that older people experience 

alcohol-related problems at lower consumption 

levels. It is now estimated that 60% of older people 

coming into hospital because of repeated falls, 

confusion, chest infections and heart failure have 

undiagnosed alcohol problems. 

Professor Coulton’s study, which is funded by the 

NHS National Institute for Health Research Health 

Technology Assessment Programme, aims to 

determine whether screening by GPs followed by 

brief psychosocial interventions, which are stepped 

up in intensity, can help. 

He explained: ‘After identifying those who need 

help, the first step is behavioural counselling. If 

further help is required then the client is offered 

three sessions of motivational therapy. The third 

step is referral to specialist services.’ 

Professor Coulton also states that the existing 

evidence appears to show that, if offered treatment, 

older people are more likely to benefit from it. 

However, this is currently an under-researched area 

and, with the older population in the UK growing 

fast, one of increasing urgency. 

The study, which will be conducted in association 

with the University of York, will compare a large 

group of people who receive the stepped treatment 

programme with a similar group who only receive 

minimal help. It will also investigate the economic 

benefits of the stepped approach. 

Rutherford College unveils murals of 

staff and students 

Artist and University of Kent lecturer Christopher 

Hunt presented the College with two life-size murals 

depicting aspects of College life at a sparkling 

event recently. The murals hang in Rutherford Great 

Hall and include staff, students and honorary senior 

members. Chris is happy to paint commissioned 

portraits. Please contact him on 

chrishunt9@hotmail.com 

UMSA receives Investors in People 

award 

The Universities at Medway Students’ Association 

(UMSA) is celebrating after receiving recognition for 

its staff communication, training and development 

programmes. Three years after UMSA was founded 

by the students’ unions of the universities of Kent, 

Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church, the 

Association has been accredited with Investors 

in People (IIP) status. 

IIP accreditation is the third major quality award that 

UMSA has gained in the past six months. In April, it 

won the National Union of Students (NUS) Best Bar 

None award for outstanding operational and safety 

standards in its bars. 


9



October 2008 

Right 

Students at Kent’s 2008 Summer School 

The Association also achieved accreditation from 

the NUS Services Sound Impact scheme, which 

rewards good environmental practice. 

UMSA, which is part of Kent Union, provides 

activities and services for all Medway-based 

students at Kent, Greenwich and Canterbury Christ 

Church universities, plus those at Mid-Kent College. 

Rutherford Grass Roots Lecture 

warns of water insurgence! 

Cllr Dr Stuart Anderson warned that ‘strong action 

is necessary and urgent’ if we are to avoid the risk 

and experience of coastal flooding. As sea levels 

rise, the relationships between coastal and fluvial 

flooding risks are set to become much more 

complex and fraught. Using experiences from 

North Wales, Stuart discussed how the UK’s 

strategic direction should turn towards marriage 

of her coastal defence and renewable energy 

agendas. He advocated the use of schemes built 

primarily for electricity generation which could have 

usage codes allowing emergency prioritisation of 

flood defence. 

The lecture was well attended by staff, students and 

the local community. If anyone would like a copy of 

this lecture, please contact the Master, Rachel 

Forrester-Jones R.V.E.Forrester-Jones@kent.ac.uk 

Rutherford Grass Roots lectures are aimed at 

bringing real-life experiences to inform theory and 

knowledge learnt in lectures, and for students and 

staff to discuss these informally over drinks after the 

talk. They are held every term in Rutherford Lecture 

Theatre One followed by refreshments. The 

Lectures are free and open to all. 

Partner Schools’ Summer School 

The University’s residential Partner Schools’ 

Summer School which ran from 4th – 10th August 

was a resounding success. Attended by more than 

50 students from partner schools, the week was 

designed to give them a taste of university life, from 

both an academic and social perspective. Summer 

school students were allocated a mentor for the 

week, all current Kent students, who shared 

corridors with them and provided them with help 

and encouragement throughout. Members of staff 

from the Partnership Development Office joined 

forces with 12 student mentors to complete the 

summer school team, headed up by Summer 

School Co-ordinator Becky Spink. 

The University works with a number of partner 

schools across the county, aiming to give students 

at these schools a better understanding of the 

benefits of higher education. The schools 

themselves are usually in areas where the number 

of students progressing to university after leaving 

school is low. University staff work closely with 

students in the classroom, delivering a wide range 

of modules and activities available exclusively to 

partner schools. 

In order to demonstrate the incredibly wide range of 

subjects available to study at university, the students 

attended taster days based around each of the 

three faculties: Humanities, Sciences and Social 

Sciences. Sessions incorporated a variety of fun 

and challenging activities, from debating the rights 

and wrongs of animal testing, to setting up a new 

political party, to having a go at stand-up comedy. 

In the evenings, an exciting timetable of social 

activities gave the students a chance to try their 

hands at karaoke, circus skills, bowling and putting 

together a performance piece for an end-of-week 

variety show. 

On the final night of the week, students and staff 

attended a formal dinner and disco where students 

were awarded certificates, presented to them by 

Director of Kent Hospitality, Simon Westerman. The 

night was the perfect way to celebrate a memorable 

week, and one that was summed up perfectly by 

one student on her evaluation form: ‘Summer School 

was wicked. I would recommend it to people; it’s 

the best experience you could ask for.’ 

Lecturer chairs Labour Conference 

fringe debate 

Sarah Lonsdale, a lecturer for Centre for Journalism, 

chaired a fringe debate about the environment at 

last month’s Labour Party Conference in 

Manchester. The debate, called Zero Carbon 

Homes: Future or Fantasy, covered the topic of 

reducing carbon emissions from the nation’s homes, 

in the face of mounting concern over climate 

change, and asked whether the controversial 

‘eco towns’ plans are achievable. 

The debate was staged by the Institute for Public 

Policy Research (IPPR), one of the country’s 

leading independent think-tanks, with Housing 

Minister Caroline Flint being among the speakers. 

Sarah said that, in the face of rising fuel bills and 

fuel poverty, being ‘green’ should become a national 

campaign on the scale of the war effort in the 

1940s. ‘This is an issue that is becoming 

increasingly urgent both for the future of the 

planet and our own immediate financial needs,’ 

she added. 

10

Staffing news 

New Deputy Vice-Chancellor 

Denise Everitt (pictured, first right) has been 

appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, joining David 

Nightingale (Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor) and 

Keith Mander. A Chartered Accountant, Denise 

spent 11 years in the accountancy profession in a 

variety of roles before joining Cranfield University in 

1989 and becoming Financial Controller. In 1995 

she took up the post of Director of Finance at Kent 

and, in recent years, her role has been expanded to 

include Commercial Services and Enterprise 

activities. She is also a Governor of a local 

Academy School. 

New Humanities Faculty Director of 

Research 

Professor Murray Smith (Film Studies) has 

succeeded Mark Connelly as Humanities Faculty 

Director of Research. Murray is an interdisciplinary 

scholar with strong links across the University, 

notably with Natural Sciences, so is well placed 

to help drive forward cross-disciplinary research 

themes. 

Masters’ appointments 

Dr Anthony Ward has been appointed Senior 

College Master and also Master of Keynes College 

in succession to Mr David Reason. Dr Ward moves 

from Darwin College to Keynes College in the new 

role of Senior Master so as to assist in the 

coordination of the Masters’ functions with other 

sections of Student Services, located at or close 

Keynes. Mrs Nancy Gaffield, (pictured second right) 

currently Head of the English Language Unit, has 

been appointed Master of Darwin College with 

responsibility for Woolf College. College Masters 

are charged by the University primarily with the 

management of student conduct and assisting 

with student support and welfare. 

Heads of department 

Department of Anthropology: Dr Douglas 

Macmillan, Reader in Resource Economics 

Kent Law School: Professor Joanne Conaghan, 

Professor of Law 

In addition, Professor Roger Vickerman (Economics) 

will be undertaking a second period of appointment 

from 1/8/2008 to 31/7/2011 and Professor Simon 

Thompson (Computing) will be undertaking a 

further one-year term from 1/8/2008 to 31/7/2009. 

Academic and Research Staff 

Promotions 2008 

Promotion to Chair 

Dr Michael Kölling, Computing Laboratory 

Dr Thomas Saalfeld, Department of Politics and 

International Relations 

John Fitzpatrick, Kent Law School 

Dr Jon Williamson, School of European Culture and 

Languages 

Dr Jeremy Carrette, School of European Culture 

and Languages 

Dr Janet Montefiore, School of English 

Promotion to Reader 

Dr Alex Freitas, Computing Laboratory 

Dr Nathan Gomes, Department of Electronics 

Clio Barnard, School of Drama, Film and Visual Arts 

Dr Alastair Bailey, Kent Business School 

Dr Caroline Rooney, School of English 

Promotion to Senior Lecturer 

Dr James Groombridge, Department of 

Anthropology 

Dr Richard Williamson, Department of Biosciences 

Dr Gareth Howells, Department of Electronics 

Dr Stefan Rossbach, Department of Politics and 

International Relations 

Dr Theresa Gannon, Department of Psychology 

Dr Tendayi Viki, Department of Psychology 

Sarah Turner, School of Drama, Film and Visual Arts 

Dr Alison Dean, Kent Business School 

Dr Anneli Albi, Kent Law School 

Catherine Carpenter, Kent Law School 

Lorna Collopy, Kent Law School 

Alan Thomson, Kent Law School 

Dr Simon Kirchin, School of European Culture and 

Languages 

Scarlett Thomas, School of English 

Dr Barbara Bombi, School of History 

Dr Stefan Goebel, School of History 

Dr Lynn Cooke, School of Social Policy, Sociology 

and Social Reseach 

Promotion to Senior Research Fellow 

Alex Stevens, European Institute of Social Services 

(SSPSSR) 

In addition to the above, the following promotions 

have been approved outside the main round of 

meetings and take effect from the dates indicated 

below: 

Promotion to Chair 

Simon Coulton, Centre for Health Services Studies 

(SSPSSR), with effect from 1 July 2008 

Dr Andrew Fearne, Kent Business School, with 

effect from 1 March 2008 

Promotion to Reader 

Peter Aspinall, Centre for Health Services Studies 

(SSPSSR), with retrospective effect from 1 October 

2007 

Dr Derek Kirton, School of Social Policy, Sociology 

and Social Research 

Promotion to Senior Lecturer 

Dr Sarah Moss, School of English, with effect from 1 

October 2008 

Dr Eleni Hatzidimitriadou, Tizard Centre (SSPSSR), 

with effect from 1 February 2008 

With thanks to Personnel for their help in compiling 

this list. 

11



October 2008 

In brief 

Right 

Poets Gary Studley, Luigi Marchini and Christopher 

Hobday reading from their published collection in 

Rutherford Staff Common Room 

University of Kent conference 

examines the role of forgetting 

in cultural memory 

A recent conference at the University addressed 

the question of whether forgetting is a necessary 

process which societies must undergo in order to 

progress. 

The conference, titled Cultural Memory: Forgetting 

to Remember/Remembering to Forget, took place 

at the Canterbury campus 10-13 September. 

Keynote speakers were: Joseph Massad, Associate 

Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual 

History, Columbia University, USA; Mary Anne 

Doane, Professor of Modern Culture and Media, 

Brown University, USA; and Jay Winter, Professor 

of History, Yale University, USA. 

A further 160 speakers, representing disciplines 

such as anthropology, architecture, art history, 

English, European and world literature, film, fine art, 

history, philosophy, politics, sociology and theology, 

attended the conference. 

Themes covered included: empire and memory; 

fiction of memory/memory’s fictions; myth and 

memory; performance and memory; place and 

memory; religion and collective memory; terror 

and memory; testimony and memory; and war 

and memory. 

The conference also considered whether forgetting 

is a necessary part of functioning under the 

demands of contemporary modern life, how 

architects, filmmakers, video artists, fine artists, 

photographers, musicians and writers contribute to 

the process of inventing, forgetting and reinventing 

elements of national and cultural identity, and 

whether the social order is allowed to veil memories 

in order that society may survive by forgetting. 

Dr Ana de Medeiros, Senior Lecturer in French at 

the University and the conference organiser, said: 

‘KIASH’s major international conference on Cultural 

Memory:Forgetting to Remember/Remembering to 

Forget was a was attended by nearly 200 people 

from over 20 countries representing the various 

disciplines offered by the Faculty. The 

interdisciplinary nature of the conference was 

praised by all the delegates and the conference 

organizers are working with three publishers who 

have indicated their interest in publishing essays 

resulting from the talks given at the conference.’ 

For further details, go to: www.kent.ac.uk/kiash/ 

events/culturalmemory/papers.html 

Rutherford poets say thank you to 

the University of Kent 

Rutherford College played host to the launch of a 

book of poetry entitled Stubborn Mule Orchestra by 

Luigi Marchini (Winner of Canterbury Writers Poetry 

Prize 2006), Christopher Hobday, and Gary Studley 

(Winner of University of Kent T.S.Eliot Poetry Prize 

2007). The 76-page volume features more than 50 

poems on a variety of subjects in a multitude of 

styles, with free verse and regular metre. The only 

male collection of its kind, honest confessions rub 

shoulders with flights of fancy. This collection, 

endorsed by Susan Wicks, marks a plateau for the 

poets, and features their best work of the past few 

years. 

All graduates of Kent’s School of English, the three 

poets read from their collected works in between 

taking questions from the audience. Luigi said: ‘the 

collection is a testament to the quality of teaching at 

Kent… we received most of our education in the 

college’s seminar rooms’. 

Master of Rutherford College, Dr Rachel Forrester- 

Jones, said: ‘This was a wonderful event attended 

by staff, students, honorary senior members and 

locals and demonstrated the rich talent our students 

develop whilst at the University’. 

For more information, and to see samples of their 

work, visit www.canterburypoets.bravehost.com 

Staff Christmas Party 

As a thank you from Hospitality for your forbearance 

during this year’s exceptionally busy conference 

season, we wanted to let you know in good time 

that this year the University is holding a Christmas 

party for all staff on the evening of Monday 22 

December. The band Hullabaloo will be playing 

(further details at http://hullabaloo-uk.com/). More 

information about the event will follow in due course 

but, for now, just note the date in your diary. 

US researcher collaborates with 

Kent on memory management 

Richard Jones, a Senior Lecturer in the Computing 

Laboratory, has been awarded £26,456 funding 

from the Engineering and Physical Sciences 

Research Council (EPSRC) for a visiting researcher, 

Dr Tony Hosking, between May and October 2008. 

Dr Hosking is Associate Professor of Computer 

Science at Purdue University, Indiana, USA. 

He has worked in the area of programming 

language design and implementation since 

1986 and is internationally recognised as a leading 

researcher. He has a unique combination of 

expertise in garbage collection (GC), a technique 

for automatically recycling memory no longer used 

12

Right 

Kent’s Canterbury campus hosted the Lambeth 

Conference from July 16 to August 3. Held every ten 

years, the Conference is attended by Anglican 

archbishops, bishops, assistant and suffragan 

bishops, aswell as bishops from other churches ‘in 

communion’ with the Anglican Communion, and a 

number of ecumenical guests 

by a computer program, and transactional memory 

and concurrency, a technology that offers one of 

the most promising solutions for the construction 

of correct, yet efficient, concurrent programs. 

Most processors today use multicore or 

multiprocessor architectures, and programs are 

increasingly multithreaded. The need for efficient, 

correct and concurrent garbage collection is 

urgent. During his visit to Kent, Dr Hosking will take 

part in an open seminar series in the Computing 

Laboratory aimed at educating and training 

researchers in transactional memory techniques. 

In addition, Dr Hosking will take his expertise in 

transactional memory to other higher education 

institutions in the UK by making a series of short 

visits to hold seminars and give lectures. Dr 

Hosking’s visit will also provide the opportunity for 

him to collaborate with Richard Jones in writing the 

long-overdue successor to Richard Jones’ 1996 

book on garbage collection – one focus will be 

concurrent garbage collection. 

It is anticipated that Dr Hosking’s visit will create 

a great deal of interest within the UK computing 

science research community, and amongst GC 

researchers in particular. Details of all the events 

marking Dr Hosking’s visit will be widely advertised 

within the University nearer the time – all will be 

welcome. 

Medical imaging experts meet at the 


Experts in non-invasive optical imaging gathered 

at the University’s Canterbury campus for an 

international workshop and ‘school’ in September. 

The workshop was chaired by Professor Adrian 

Podoleanu, Head of the Applied Optics Group at 

the University’s School of Physical Sciences, and 

focussed on advancing the frontier of knowledge in 

optical coherence tomography (OCT) and adaptive 

optics (AO) beyond the ‘natural’ limits imposed by 

current technology. Both OCT, of which the 

University has been at the forefront for many 

years, and AO have an important role in medicine, 

microscopy and ophthalmology. 

The workshop and ‘school’ also facilitated a 

significant exchange of ideas, with leading 

specialists in the fields of OCT and AO presenting 

tutorials and lectures on a variety of topics. 

Demonstrations of new equipment by the event’s 

sponsors were also held, and delegates were given 

the opportunity to visit the Applied Optics Group in 

the University’s Photonics Centre. 

Speakers and participants came from Australia, 

Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Denmark, India, 

Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, 

Russia, Finland, Turkey, Sweden, USA and the UK. 

Professor Podoleanu, a pioneering figure in OCT, 

said: ‘This meeting took place at an important 

moment in the evolution of OCT, after a few years of 

tremendous progress which resulted in the increase 

in the acquisition speed of more than 100 times. We 

will assess how best to make use of the high-speed 

performance in imaging embryos and moving 

organs such as the eye, as well as how best to 

combine OCT with other assistive technologies 

such as AO.’ 

For further information on the workshop, go to: 

www.kent.ac.uk/physical-sciences/oct-ao/index.htm 


Obituary 

Stanley Rogers 1915-2008 

Stanley Rogers was Rutherford College’s first 

domestic bursar (late renamed College Manager). 

Stanley joined the University after being 

headhunted in 1966, and, prior to this, had 

worked as a Domestic Bursar at Nuffield College 

in Oxford and later St Catherine College in Oxford. 

During the war years, Stanley served in the army 

and was stationed in South Africa. After the war, 

Stanley went into private service and became a 

Butler. He worked in many prestigious households 

including those of the late Earl Spencer and Lord 

Blandford. 

Stanley was the first member of the College 

staff to be appointed in 1966 and became a 

well respected member of staff. When Stanley’s 

service as College Manager ended in 1980 and 

his transfer to the Colleges Central Office was 

announced at College Committee, the College 

archives record this tribute by the Master: ‘…the 

success which Rutherford enjoyed was largely 

due to Stanley Rogers’ unceasing devotion to the 

interests of the community which he had started 

from nothing...’ 

Much loved father, grandfather and great 

grandfather, a hard-working and fun-loving 

man, Stanley will always be remembered. 

Lord Bruce-Lockhart 1942-2008 

The University also notes with sadness the death 

of Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, who was awarded 

an honorary degree in 2006. 

13



October 2008 

In brief 

Right 

Clearing 2008 

Kent in the News 

The University’s Clearing campaign attracted a 

high level of press, broadcast and online coverage 

during August. The Independent and the Evening 

Standard were among national titles to feature 

student case studies at Kent, both in print and on 

their websites. Times Online broke new ground by 

running an interactive question and answer session 

for several days over the Clearing period, featuring 

an expert panel answering readers’ questions. The 

University’s Steve Holdcroft, Head of Information, 

Recruitment and Admissions, was part of the 

exclusive five-person panel, posting numerous 

replies to anxious students on Times Online and 

reassuring them about their chances of entering 

higher education! 

Among other Clearing highlights, BBC Radio Kent 

ran live interviews from the Clearing Hotline on A- 

level results day, while Invicta FM and KM-FM both 

attended the special Hotline Preview and spoke to 

staff and students. There was also strong regional 

press coverage of Clearing case studies and 

related features in titles including Kent on Sunday, 

Medway Messenger, Medway Standard, Kentish 

Gazette, Your Kent series and Kentish Saturday 

Observer. 

In addition to Clearing, Kent people and stories 

in the media recently include Professor Marion 

FitzGerald on BBC National News and BBC Radio 

4; Professor Mike Fairhurst, and Professor Glynis 

Murphy also on BBC Radio 4; Professor Frank 

Furedi on Capital Radio and in the Times and 

Dr Sarah Moss in the Observer. 

Wendy Iredale and Professor Mark Van Vugt 

publication ‘Showing off in Humans: Male 

Generosity as a Mating Signal’ received attracted 

significant attraction. The story was covered by the 

Sunday Telegraph and the online editions of the 

Daily Telegraph, Professional Fundraising, Britain 

News, News Track India and One India. 

Other recent stories in the media include Jenny 

Billings (CHSS) discussing a teenage pregnancy 

study, Professor Mike Geeves (Biochemistry) 

£1.7m research award and Professor Nigel 

Leader-Williams (DICE) praising alumnus, Edwin’s 

Sabuhoro’s successful programme in Rwanda that 

has helped turn poachers into ecotourism guides 

Also represented in the media were Dr Dan Lloyd 

(Biosciences), Dr Alex Stevens (SSPSSR), Professor 

Peter Taylor-Goody (SSPSSR), Professor Francis 

Green (Economics), Professor Peter Welch 

(Computing), Professor Jagjit Chadha (Economics), 

Dr George Conyne (History), Professor Paul Phillips 

(KBS) and Dr Alex Magaisa (KLS). 

The research by Dr Mark Hampton, Director of 

CENTICA – the Centre for Tourism in Islands and 

Coastal Areas – into the economic and social 

impacts of scuba dive tourism achieved 

international coverage, including the Innovations 

Report website, as well as strong regional press 

interest. Dr Hampton also appeared on national 

Korean television (KBS) on 29 August, while 

speaking in Jeju Island at an international 

conference on small islands. The piece 

appeared on the national evening news. 

Tim Luckhurst, Professor of Journalism, has 

contributed a range of articles and columns for 

the national media, including the Independent, the 

Independent on Sunday, the Guardian, Guardian 

Unlimited, the Times, Times Online and Daily Mail. 

His broadcast appearances include spots on Radio 

Five Live, as part of a debate about the role of 

newspapers and the news media in a democracy, 

and on BBC Radio Kent following the Max Mosley 

privacy trial. Professor Luckhurst also recorded an 

interview about ‘libel tourism’ for the Listening Post 

programme on Al-Jazeera TV. 

14

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Ian Reeves, Senior Lecturer for the 

Centre for Journalism, wrote a piece 

for the front of the Guardian’s media 

pages on 11 August, on the demise 

of journalism trade paper Press 

Gazette. 

Gavin Carver, Course Director for 

the Creative Events degree, was 

interviewed on KM-FM after the story 

broke that one of his students had the 

opportunity to work on the closing 

ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. 

The story also featured on Invicta FM 

and in the Medway Messenger and 

Medway News. 

Law student Janie Clement-Walker’s 

prestigious Queen Mother’s 

Scholarship featured in the Kentish 

Saturday Observer, Kent on Sunday 

and Medway Messenger. 

This is just some of the coverage 

gained by the University. For more 

details, contact the Media Office at 

MediaOffice@kent.ac.uk. 

Equality and Diversity 

column 

The Equality and Diversity column 

will return in the December issue 

of Newsletter. 

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15



October 2008 

Conservationists at the University 

celebrate double achievement 

The Editor can be contacted at C&DO, 

The Registry, University of Kent, 

Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ 

T: 01227 764000, ext 3100/3581 

E: kentnewsletter@kent.ac.uk 

Newsletter welcomes all articles, 

letters and photographs. Copy 

can be submitted by email to 

kentnewsletter@kent.ac.uk 

Small adverts are also welcome. 

They are free for University staff, 

otherwise the cost is £10 per ad 

(up to 30 words). 

Next issue: Deadline for the next 

issue is 10 November 2008, with 

a publication date of 28 November 

2008. 

Photographs: Spencer Scott; Karen 

Baxter; Nick Ellwood 

Newsletter is published by C&DO. 

Newsletter is also available on the 

web at www.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/ 

newsletter/index.html 

Poaching of gorillas in Rwanda has fallen by 60% thanks to an initiative by DICE alumnus Edwin Sabuhoro 

Conservationists at the Durrell 

Institute of Conservation and 

Ecology (DICE) are celebrating a 

double achievement – the success 

of a conservation programme in 

Rwanda that has helped turn gorilla 

poachers into ecotourism guides, 

and a major international award for 

the programme’s founder, alumnus 

Edwin Sabuhoro. 

Mr Sabuhoro, a Rwandan national, 

completed his one-year MSc in 

Conservation and Tourism at DICE 

in 2006 with a dissertation titled 

Ecotourism As a Potential 

Conservation Incentive for Local 

Communities around Rwanda’s Parc 

National des Volcans. A dedicated 

‘adventurer, naturalist, educator, 

guide, tracker, ranger and 

conservationist’, Mr Sabuhoro then 

put his research findings into action 

by founding the Iby’Iwacu Cultural 

Village in Northern Rwanda, a 

community-based ecotourism 

initiative that was designed to 

develop incentives for local 

people to protect gorilla habitats. 

Already, the outcomes of his project 

are astonishing: local people own 

100% of the project; the cultural 

village has increased ecotourism 

by 40%, generating a sustainable 

income base from it; and, most 

significantly, the poaching of gorillas 

has been reduced by 60% as the 

revenue from ecotourism has 

encouraged local people to 

protect them. 

It is for this reason that Mr Sabuhoro 

has just been named Young 

Conservationist of the Year by the 

International Union for Conservation 

of Nature (IUCN), the world’s oldest 

and largest global environmental 

network. 

Nigel Leader-Williams, Professor of 

Biodiversity Management, Director 

of DICE and supervisor of Mr 

Sabuhoro’s dissertation, was among 

the first to offer congratulations. ‘This 

is a richly deserved award,’ he said. 

‘Edwin and his family made quite 

exceptional financial sacrifices to 

complete his MSc. His dedication 

has paid real dividends for gorillas 

and people in Rwanda by providing 

tangible benefits from conservation.’ 

A sentiment that was reflected by 

Dr Helen Newing, Convenor of the 

MSc in Conservation and Tourism, 

who expressed her delight on 

hearing the news of Mr Sabuhoro’s 

award: ‘The MSc programme is 

designed to provide conservation 

professionals not only with a sound 

theoretical training but also with the 

technical skills and understanding 

to address practical issues on the 

ground. Edwin’s achievement is an 

outstanding example of the kind of 

practice the programme aims to 

promote.’ 

Deanne Adams, Acting President of 

the International Ranger Foundation 

said: ‘What impresses me most 

about Edwin Sabuhoro is that he 

found a local solution for a serious 

protected area problem. He 

established a way to provide 

a new economy for local 

communities that also provides new 

protection for threatened animals in 

the area – and this is a source of 

inspiration for other communities.’ 

David Sheppard, Head of IUCN’s 

Programme on Protected Areas, 

added: ‘Edwin’s outstanding work 

has benefited gorillas and local 

people in Rwanda. It has shown that 

the involvement of local people with 

wildlife conservation can result in 

win-win outcomes.’ 

Founded in 1989, DICE has trained 

some 475 postgraduate students 

from over 80 countries, with many 

going on to make significant 

international contributions to 

conserving flagship species 

or biodiversity in general. 

For further information on Edwin 

Sabuhoro and Rwanda Eco-tours, 

go to: www.rwandaecotours.com

Praise from students and the 'Sunday Times ... - University of Kent

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