QM News 67 (pdf 24347KB) - Queen Margaret University

Stop Press News
New York, New York…
University Chancellor, Sir Tom
Farmer, and Vice Principal,
Rosalyn Marshall, recently
visited the USA to strengthen
ties with American supporters
and to forge new relationships
for the University.
In New York the Chancellor and
Rosalyn met with the Chairman
of life insurance giant, Mutual of
America, who was heavily
involved with the Ireland Fund.
Tom Moran was able to give
excellent advice in how QMU
can promote inself to a new
audience on the other side of
the Atlantic.
A number of senior business
people with Scottish roots met
with Sir Tom and Rosalyn during
their stay and all were very
keen to hear the QMU story.
Rosalyn went on to give a
presentation on Scotland’s
newest University at the annual
North American Leadership
Conference which was
organised by the St Andrew’s
Society of Illinois.
And even though they were
thousands of miles away, they
still managed to run into one of
our graduates! Jordan Young
was starring in the New York
premiere of Black Watch, which
Sir Tom and Rosalyn were
invited to by Sir Sean Connery’s
Friends of Scotland
organisation.
The show was an absolute
triumph and although the
accents had allegedly been
toned down for the American
audience, they still sounded
extremely Scottish!
Sir Tom managed to find time to
have a quick chat with Jordan
and some of the other cast
members before they were
whisked off for photocalls.
The magazine for alumni and friends
of Queen Margaret University
ISSUE 67, MAY 2008
OPEN DAYS AT NEW
CAMPUS
Since arriving at its new
campus, QMU has organised a
number of tours and open days
to allow people to view its the
impressive facilities.
QMU GRADUATES ARE TOP OF THE CLASS
Scottish BAFTA for graduate
Jane McCarry, a QMU alumni, won a Scottish BAFTA for Best
Actress in Television. She plays Isa Drennan, the busybody
neighbour in Still Game, and was up against Michelle Gomez, who
stars in Wedding Belles and The Green Wing.
The undergraduate open days
in October 07 attracted well
over double the usual amount
of visitors, with over 1900
people travelling from
throughout the UK.
A series of small tours as well
as community open days has
showcased the new campus
facilities to East Lothian
residents, alumni and friends
of the University.
If you are keen to visit the new
campus, please contact:
Susan Woodman
T: 0131 474 0000 or
E:swoodman@qmu.ac.uk
QMU Graduate Stars in Emmerdale
A recent QMU graduate has been quick to land himself a role on
prime-time TV.
Darren Kuppan, who graduated in acting in 2006, starred in six
episodes of Emmerdale.
Darren, who played Sean Bywater, was Debbie Dingle’s (the
mechanic) new love interest.
CONTACT:
Development and Alumni Office
Queen Margaret University
Craighall, Edinburgh, EH21 6UU
Tel: 0131 474 0000 Fax: 0131 474 0001
Email: alumni@qmu.ac.uk
Marketing and Communications Office
Queen Margaret University
Craighall, Edinburgh, EH21 6UU
Tel: 0131 474 0000 Fax: 0131 474 0001
Email: marketing@qmu.ac.uk
JORDAN YOUNG ON TOUR WITH BLACK WATCH
BULLYING RESEARCH IMPACTS ON POLICE POLICY
JOURNEY THROUGH THEATRE WITH JOYCE MCMILLAN
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh is a registered Charity No. SC002750
This publication is printed on Revive Silk 75 (a recycled paper containing a minimum of 75% post consumer collected waste).
Free to all former students of Queen Margaret University and its predecessor institutions

CONTENTS
03 News
04 - 05 Bullying research impacts on teachers, parents and
police policy
06 Spotlight on Occupational Therapy
07 Human interaction gets everyone involved
08 – 09 Theatre critic, Joyce McMillan, takes us out of the
shadows and in from the cold
10 Sign language becomes integral part of Audiology course
11 Making music
12 Funding update
13 Making a will… making a difference
14 Research and consultancy news
15 Times, they are a changing
16 Postcard from Helen Doherty
17 Postcard from Alan McCaskill
18 - 19 Jordan steps up to the mark in Black Watch
20 QMU Graduates’ Association & reunions
21 QMU’s alumni services enter the virtual age
22 Alumni benefits & discounts
23 Classnotes
24 News
06
14
08-09
18-19
Note from the Principal
Following on from our relocation to
Craighall, this issue of the QM News
sees QMU once again focus attention
on our main priorities – teaching,
research, inspiring our students and
ultimately improving people’s lives.
As pioneers in the area of healthcare,
we are well known for pushing the
boundaries and equipping our
students to become multi-skilled
practitioners in the workforce. I am
therefore delighted that our audiology
students will be the first in the UK
equipped to use British Sign
Language when they come into the
profession. This is a positive step
forward for the profession, the NHS
and also for the deaf community.
Our collaborative research is also
having an powerful impact on the work
of the Police. The outcome of the
research into bullying is helping to
shape police policy and has provided
the Force with the evidence it required
to relaunch its Remote Reporting
Scheme which allows people to report
hate crimes through a third party.
We always aim to inspire out students,
and political commentator and theatre
critic, Joyce McMillan, certainly did
that when she addressed a packed
house at her recent professorial
lecture at the Traverse Theatre. She
discussed the importance of the
National Theatre for Scotland (NTS) in
our national life and highlighted many
of its cutting edge productions
including Black Watch. This ties in
nicely with our feature article on page
18 and 19 which focuses on QMU
acting graduate, Jordon Young, and
his appearance in the critically
acclaimed Black Watch, an NTS
production which has recently
completed a tour of the US.
For QMU graduates, I’d also like to
draw your attention to our new Online
Community. The new interactive area
of our website will allow you to contact
former classmates and also find out
about a wide range of job
opportunities. Please take this
opportunity to keep in touch with
friends and with the ongoing work of
the university.
Professor Anthony Cohen FRSE
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
NEWS IN BRIEF
A TASTE OF BUSINESS
As part of a programme of
community engagement, QMU is
giving local people a taste of the
business world by offering a
range of individual business
modules.
The School of Business,
Enterprise and Management is
offering a range of short business
taster modules for people who
want to learn something new but
may not feel able to commit to a
full degree course.
Taster sessions include
introductory courses in consumer
behaviour; markets and
customers; tourism; events;
hospitality and food; and the
business environment. Other
tasters are also available in
consumer society, management,
tourism, hospitality and retail
business.
For further details contact:
Carol Brennan on email:
cbrennan@qmu.ac.uk
DEAN TO CHAMPION
EQUALITIES ISSUES IN
SCOTLAND
A dean from QMU has recently
been appointed to the Scotland
Committee of the new
Commission for Equalities and
Human Rights.
Christine Cnossen, Dean of the
School of Social Sciences, Media
and Communication and chair of
QMU’s Equal Opportunities
Committee, will assist the new
Scotland Commission in
championing equality and human
rights issues and eliminating
discrimination.
The new Commission takes on
the functions of the Commission
for Racial Equality (CRE),
Disability Rights Commission
(DRC) and Equal Opportunities
Commission (EOC), and will have
new responsibilities for sexual
orientation, age, religion and
belief, and reserved human rights
in Scotland.
INTERNATIONALLY
ACCLAIMED EVENTS’ GURU
JOINS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Dr Joe Goldblatt
Dr Joe Goldblatt, an events
management guru from the USA,
has joined QMU’s School of
Business, Enterprise and
Management as a lecturer.
Previously Senior Lecturer in
Tourism and Hospitality
Management at Temple University
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Goldblatt has an international
reputation for event management
and has produced hundreds of
events for luminaries including
two USA presidents and the
opening of the Donald Trump Taj
Mahal Resort.
QMU HAS FIRSTS WITH
COMMUNITY HEALTH
NURSING
At a recent graduation ceremony,
Nursing lecturers were delighted
to witness the very first students
in Scotland to graduate as
Specialist Community Public
Health Nurses.
PAGE 03
Dolly McCann, Programme
Leader, said: “Nurses can now
come to QMU to specialise in
Community Health Nursing at
either BSc (Hons) or
Postgraduate Certificate level.
These options are available to
nurses who wish to become
public health or district nurses.”
STRATHCLYDE POLICE
SERVICE QUALITY AWARDS
Strathclyde Police recently staged
their annual Service Quality
Awards event at Hampden Park –
Scotland’s national football
stadium. Professor Mike
Donnelly, Dean of the QMU
School of Business, Enterprise
and Management, was invited by
the Chief Constable to judge the
Customer Focus category and to
present the award to the winners
at the ceremony late last year.
The award winners were from K-
Division for an innovative project
which continues to engage young
people in musical and other arts
activities in the Renfrewshire
area.
Professor Donnelly (far right) is seen with
the winning officers and Kay Adam
(middle) of Loose Women who compered
the event.

PAGE 04
PAGE 05
BULLYING RESEARCH IMPACTS ON TEACHERS,
PARENTS AND POLICE POLICY
Professor Iain Rivers
Bullying – we seem to hear
about it all the time, these
days. Sadly it seems to be an
escalating problem, and in our
increasingly high-tech society,
young people have found new
ways of targeting members of
their peer group.
Cyber bullying is the latest trend
in bullying tactics used by young
people. With our younger
generation glued to their mobile
phones and the increasing use of
social networking sites, cyber
bullying has created a whole new
form of personal harassment,
particularly for girls.
However, it’s not only cyber
bullying that creates misery for
people. Plain old fashioned
assaults still form the bulk of
Police Force activity. A recent
report shows that bullying and
harassment against gay members
of the community is much worse
than crime statistics show.
Research conducted over a year
showed that out of a sample of
210 lesbians and gay men, 26%
had experienced harassment in
the proceeding 12 months with
15% reporting having been the
victim of a violent crime.
Concerning, is the fact that many
attacks still go unreported.
With so much victimisation
around, what can be done to curb
this increasingly aggressive
behaviour in our communities?
With specific reference to the
growing trend of cyber bullying,
Ian Rivers, QMU’s Professor of
Community and Applied
Psychology, makes a case for a
new etiquette in mobile phone
use amongst young people.
He said: “Our research has
shown that the main problem
facing schools in tackling email
and text aggression is that
children are not taught
responsible use of their phones or
indeed ‘netiquette’.”
His study of 15,000 children also
identified worrying gender
differences, specifically that girls
are 50% more likely to harass
their peers using text and email
than boys.
Professor Rivers, who has been
researching the phenomenon of
bullying for 15 years, is focussing
his current work in identifying the
nature and correlates of bullying
within schools and the wider
community.
His latest book, which pulls on
research conducted in several
countries, provides an insight into
the immediate and long-term
impact bullying can have upon the
lives of students, their families,
and teachers who work within US
schools.
‘Bullying: A Handbook for
Educators and Parents’ also
offers parents useful tips for
working proactively with school
administrators to resolve bullying
issues, and provides teachers
with materials that facilitate a
better understanding of the social
dynamics of the classroom and
playground.
Professor Rivers explained: “The
book provides guidance on ways
As a result of the research the Police have re-launched
the Remote Reporting Scheme which allows people from
minorities to report crimes against themselves through
third parties...
in which parents can engage
proactively with schools to ensure
that their child is supported in
finding a way out.”
In addition to providing guidance
to parents and educators,
Professor Rivers’s work is also
having an effect on the work of
the Police.
As a Diversity Adviser for Lothian
and Borders Police, Professor
Rivers works with the Force to
help them develop better working
methods in dealing with different
groups within the community.
Along with two QMU psychology
students, Professor Rivers’ recent
study looks at the safety of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) community
within Edinburgh. The focus of the
research was to determine the
rates of anti-LGBT incidents in the
city, the number of reports made
to the Police, and the locations
where LGBT people felt least safe
in the city. The research also
highlights safety issues relating to
the LGBT community who now
have to stand outside pubs and
clubs when smoking.
The report identifies the need for
better systems to be put in place
so that minorities are
encouraged to report crimes
knowing that they will be dealt
with by police officers in an
appropriate and sensitive way.
As a result of the research
findings the Police have
recently re-launched the
Remote Reporting Scheme
which allows people from
minorities to report crimes
against themselves through
third parties such as community
groups. Police are now more
aware of certain locations
within the city that require
heavier policing.
Chief Superintendent, Colin
Campbell, of Lothian and
Borders Police, said: “I am
delighted that the research
carried out by QMU has led to
the production of a DVD which
outlines a number of issues
concerning our LGBT
community and tells everyone
about the great amount of work
being undertaken by the police
in this area.
“Under reporting of crime is a
major Police concern. Remote
reporting helps to address
some of the problems faced by
the wide communities we
serve, offering a safe and
alternative method for reporting
hate crimes.”
Professor Rivers concluded: “It
is great testimony to the
Lothian and Borders Force that
they have listened to, and
taken on board, the findings of
the report. I am very proud that
his Force has acknowledge that
there is a lot more still to be
done in terms of how they reengage
with the LGBT
community and that they have
started to redefine a campaign
to address the issues. The relaunching
of the Remote
Reporting Scheme is a very
positive step in the right
direction.”
‘BULLYING: A HANDBOOK FOR
EDUCATORS AND PARENTS’ IS
PUBLISHED BY GREENWOOD
PRAEGER AND COSTS $49.99.

PAGE 06
PAGE 07
SPOTLIGHT ON OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
HUMAN INTERACTION GETS EVERYONE INVOLVED
In each edition ‘Spotlight’ will
focus on a different element of
the fantastic work going on at
QMU. In this edition we will
begin with Occupational
Therapy which has long been
an integral part of Health
Sciences at Queen Margaret.
Specialists in Occupational
Therapy at QMU have much to
celebrate with a string of firsts
and over 70 years at the cutting
edge of the profession, often
representing both the university
and the profession at national and
international level. Doctor Maggie
Nicol, who is a Professor in
Occupational Therapy at QMU,
recently travelled to Buckingham
Palace to meet Princess Anne at
the launch of the UK
Occupational Therapy Research
Foundation. Maggie, who is a
member of the Foundation’s
Steering Group, was delighted to
represent QMU when she met the
Princess Royal, who is also
patron of the Foundation which
promotes occupational therapy
research.
Occupational Therapy in Scotland
first began at the Astley Ainslie
Hospital in 1937 where diplomas
were awarded. In 1979 under the
stewardship of Mary Cunningham
and then her successor Mary
Loggie it transferred to Queen
Margaret College. This paved the
way for the validation of the firstdegree
course in the UK and in
1986, Queen Margaret College,
along with the University of Ulster,
became the first institutions to
offer BScOT and BScOT (Hons)
respectively.
Professor Averil Stewart with Mabel McRae, one of the first Occupational
Therapists at Astley Ainslie Hospital (AAH) planting a Dawn Redwood at the AAH
The 80s and 90s were a time of
enormous change for
occupational therapy education,
and QM continued to boast a
string of firsts. Graduate intake
numbers increased dramatically
and students had the option of
honours degree programmes; a
conversion course for diplomates;
a fast-track graduate entry
Postgraduate Diploma, an
MScOT and PhD studies. Links
were established with schools
abroad, through student
exchanges, ERASMUS,
membership of the European
Network of Occupational Therapy
Educators, and accreditation
awarded by the American
Association of Occupational
Therapists.
QM led the sector, and amongst
other things, in 1992 appointed
the country’s first Professor of
Occupational Therapy, Averil
Stewart, who was then head of
the department. This was at a
time when the department was
growing in prominence, nationally
and internationally, through its
research activity. Maggie Nicol
herself gained the first doctorate
in 1994.
Today, the subject area currently
manages around £1.75 million of
research grants. QMU is
currently educating around 290
students who are working
towards qualification as
Occupational Therapists.
When asked to describe some of
the highlights of recent years,
Professor Nicol said: “Professor
Stewart’s appointment was a
major step in advancing the
status of QM and of Occupational
Therapy within the allied health
professions.”
Multidisciplinary working was
definitely at the centre of a new
group specifically set up to
look at the way humans
interact.
QMU’s Centre for Integrated
Healthcare Research (IIHD)
brought together a wide range of
researchers, academics and
practitioners from all over
Scotland who all work within the
field of person-to-person
interaction at various stages
across the lifespan.
The group, which has now held
two seminars with experts in
speech and language therapy,
sociology, psychology, music,
drama, art therapy; audiology and
pre-school education, discussed
subjects such as verbal and non
verbal communication between
parents and infants, and between
older people with dementia and
their carers.
When asked to describe some
ideas which emerged from the
group, Melanie Gunning,
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
from IIHD, explained:
“Psychologists initiated a
discussion about the importance
that early parent-baby interaction
has on the development of the
child in later years. They also
highlighted the communication
difficulties that can arise between
babies and parents with post
natal mental illness. Sociologists,
psychologists and drama
specialists were also able to help
us understand how to help people
with dementia communicate
effectively in care homes.”
Melanie stated: “The discussions
highlighted the need to integrate
what we know of speech, posture,
touch, intonation and musicality if
we are to better understand
human interaction.”
She continued: “The key to our
future work is that techniques
developed by one group of
specialists may, in fact, be used
by other specialist groups to
enhance communication. For
example, we can investigate
whether the communication
techniques adopted between
mother and baby can be used to
help people communicate better
with those suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease and vice
versa.”
Individuals in the group were able
to bring different approaches and
working methods to the table.The
group shared examples of novel
forms of communication with
people with advanced dementia,
who initially were believed not to
communicate at all. They saw
video data from one case in
which an elderly patient, whom
staff had believed beyond
communication for the past three
years, smiled and laughed at the
end of a session with a specialist.
They also saw how using an
imitation based therapy could
elicit more communication from
people with autism.
Professor James Law, IIHD
Director, explained: “For a long
time professionals have been
interested in the way that we
interact with one another and the
effect that this has on our quality
of life. We could go as far as to
say that our interactions play a
huge part in our understanding of
what it is to be a person."
He concluded: "The quality of
interaction can also make a real
difference to the way we respond
to care workers or health
professionals. We are more likely
to get better if those that we visit
for advice interact with us
effectively. But researchers
looking at interaction often focus
on one group of people such as
mothers with their babies, doctors
and patients, elderly people in
care homes and their carers. The
aim of the Human Interaction
Group is to draw together what
we know about interaction across
the lifespan and share it with
different groups of people. It has
proved to be a fantastic forum for
practitioners, researchers and
academics to learn from each
other. "
Further seminars will now act as
a springboard for future
multidisciplinary work within the
area of human interaction.

PAGE 08
PAGE 09
THEATRE CRITIC, JOYCE MCMILLAN, TAKES US
OUT OF THE SHADOWS AND IN FROM THE COLD
The inauguration of the National
Theatre for Scotland, just two
years ago this month, took the
form of a number of site-specific
performances across Scotland. At
a public lecture marking her
appointment as a Visiting
Professor in the School of Drama
and the Creative Industries, Joyce
McMillan recounted how she
made it her job to conduct a
whistle-stop tour of Scotland to
see as many of these inaugural
performances as possible - a
story which encapsulates her
place at the heart of Scottish
theatre over the past 30 years.
Given Professor McMillan's
wealth of experience and insight
as a political commentator and
theatre critic, it was no wonder
that there was a full house at the
Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh
when she gave her lecture in
January - entitled 'Out of the
Shadows, in from the Cold:
Theatre in Scotland's National
Life since 1970'.
Placing the formation of the
National Theatre of Scotland
(NTS) in context, she took her
audience on a journey through
the recent history of Scottish
theatre and gave her perspective
on the place of the arts in our
national life today.
Taking the opportunity to set out
how theatre can revitalise
Scottish cultural life and society
as a whole, Professor McMillan
enthused about the contribution
that NTS has made, with
challenging productions such as
Black Watch which has toured as
far as Sydney and New York.
She said: "Now is a time of
extraordinary achievement, with
NTS attaining a fantastic level of
global interest. Already, in just
two years, it has produced 59
productions in 69 locations with
audience numbers totalling
250,000. The place of NTS in our
national life was highlighted when
the First Minister invited the
company to stage a performance
of Black Watch at the opening of
the Scottish Parliament in 2007."
She attributes much of the
success of NTS to its structure -
commissioning and co-producing
shows instead of running as a
stand-alone company. This has
enabled it to stage shows of all
types from site-specific
performances to small workshop
productions and large-scale
modern adaptations of classical
texts such as The Bacchae.
A number of QMU graduates
have enjoyed success with the
National Theatre. Both Jordan
Young and Paul Rattray played
alongside each other in the award
winning production of Black
Watch and Johnathon Holt is
currently in the cast for Black
Watch's UK and world tour.
Professor McMillan's aim, though,
was to show how the work of the
NTS is based on a generation of
growing achievement in Scottish
theatre, and on the radical and
exciting theatre culture that has
emerged in Scotland since the
1970s, based on the
achievements of well-loved
theatre companies including
7:84, Communicado, the
Traverse, the Lyceum and the
Citizen's.
She described the work of a
"mouthy", "noisy" generation of
theatre professionals in the 70s
and 80s who challenged images
of Scottish society and culture,
and established new ideas of
theatre, responding to the
dramatic changes in society and
the economy at that time.
She said: “Productions such as
the Great Northern Welly Boot
Show and The Cheviot, The Stag
and the Black, Black Oil help
create new concepts of
Scottishness, and of what was
possible in Scottish culture. The
70s and 80s also saw new
Scottish perspectives developing
in theatre - including female
voices, and powerful nee
international connections.
Together, these developments
provided a classic example of an
art-form helping to inspire and
support a nation's reinvention of
itself."
She explained how theatre in the
1980s and 1990s "helped smash
old stereotypes and transform
Scotland's sense of nationhood"
in the run-up to devolution,
mentioning the work of companies
including Suspect Culture and
Grid Iron.
She told us that, today, NTS
spearheads efforts to engage
people of all backgrounds with
live performance and places
theatre at the centre of our
national life. She praises
NTS's work in reaching remote
audiences through their
extensive touring programme
across the Scottish mainland
and islands.
In the early 90s, Professor
McMillan had the opportunity to
engage with debates on the
role of theatre in countries
emerging from the postcommunist
era. Her
experience of recent theatre in
Scotland gave her an insight
into how the art-form could help
shape nations whilst avoiding
narrow nationalism and conflict.
She explained: "Theatre is
important, not just for cultural
life and for middle class people,
but is a great way for everyone
to confront and debate the
issues of the time in an nonviolent
way."
Looking to the future, she sees
risks as well as opportunities
for Scottish theatre: “With the
normative influence of
globalisation, and the growing
dominance of voices from a few
great global media centres,
there's a danger that we lose
our distinctly national voice, in
theatre as elsewhere." And her
involvement with QMU has
crystallised her views on the
importance of funding and
training to the future success of
Scottish theatre: "It's no
surprise that the flourishing of
Scottish theatre in the last 30
years followed the development
of a substantial funding public
funding system for the arts in
the postwar period. So far as
education and training is
concerned, I think it is crazy that
there is so much penny-pinching at
a time of such immense energy and
potential in Scotland's cultural life.
If the Scottish Government is
serious about our creative future, it
must ensure that there is proper
funding for the intensive
'conservatoire' training that
prepares actors and other theatre
professionals for their future
careers, and enables them to
maintain and develop their skills
throughout their working lives."
And Professor McMillan is not just
a commentator from the sidelines.
For years she has been involved in
the political life of Scotland. In
addition to her campaigning work
on democracy and human rights,
she is currently Chair of the
Hansard Society Working Group
in Scotland, and was a member
the Consultative Steering Group
on procedures for the new
Scottish Parliament. Her political
commentary has played an
important role in stimulating civic
debate.
Joyce McMillan is certainly a
great asset to QMU and an
inspirational lecturer for our
students. There is no doubt that
she will provide new ways for
staff and students at the
university to engage with the
issues facing society today.

PAGE 10
PAGE 11
SIGN LANGUAGE BECOMES INTEGRAL PART OF
AUDIOLOGY COURSE
MAKING MUSIC
QMU is helping to fulfil an
important need within the NHS by
ensuring that audiology graduates
are able to use British Sign
Language.
It is thought that QMU is the only
institution in the UK which has
British Sign Language training as
an integral part of its Audiology
degree.
QMU’s forward thinking audiology
specialists believe that the move
will fulfil an urgent need within the
NHS and the deaf community.
Dr Ben Matthews, linguist within
the Speech and Hearing Sciences
department, stated:
“Approximately 62,000 people in
the UK use Sign Language as
their first or preferred language.
This is the UK’s fourth indigenous
language, with its own syntax and
vocabulary, fully capable of
expressing all of the same things
that can be expressed in any
spoken language.
“The people who use this
language can be seen as a
distinct linguistic and cultural
group, but few allied health
professionals are culturally aware
or linguistically able to function in
this ‘foreign’ environment.”
Many within the deaf community
experience alienation when
involved with the health services.
More often than not, practitioners
have to communicate with deaf
individuals by pushing written
notes back and forth across the
table. This is not only time
consuming and impersonal for
both parties, but often results in
miscommunication. In addition,
often the deaf community is not
given the opportunity to access
information via their first language
- British Sign Language.
QMU has therefore taken the bold
step to ensure that more
practitioners within the NHS are
better equipped to understand the
nature of communication with
deaf people.
Dr Matthews continued: “Deaf
people have, for centuries, been
sidelined in making decisions
about their community’s health
and education. The introduction
of deaf awareness training helps
QMU address a critical need and
also helps to bridge the
communication gap between
audiologists and the deaf
community.”
The audiology team at QMU is
working in partnership with
voluntary group, Deaf Action, and
the students will learn from a
visiting lecturer whose first
language is British Sign
Language.
The university is proud to be
Brian Marshall of Deaf Action.
leading the way in this type of
training and fulfilling a gap within
society which will ultimately
improve people’s lives.
Dr Matthews concluded: “It would
be a huge plus if our students
continued to develop their sign
language skills once in the NHS.
Bilingual practitioners would be a
great asset to the NHS, the
audiology profession and the deaf
community.”
... practitioners have to communicate with deaf
individuals by pushing written notes back and forth
across the table.
Kevin Geddes, Social Enterprise
Manager said, “We are pleased to
be involved in this pioneering
training for Audiology
undergraduates and feel that the
introduction of deaf awareness
and British Sign Language
training is essential to future
users of audiology services.”
Anyone who is interested in music
at QMU has been extremely lucky
over the last year to have
benefited from the skills of one
very accomplished musician.
Described by the Herald
newspaper as “a true champion of
Scottish music”, Rob MacKillop,
QMU’s Musician in Residence, is
making sweet music with staff
and students across the
institution.
A man with wide ranging musical
talents, and promoted by Celtic
World as one of Scotland’s finest
musicians, Rob brings a wealth of
expertise to the job. He’s
recorded seven CDs of historical
music, three of which reached the
number one position in the
Scottish Classic Music Chart; he’s
toured all over the world with
various bands, and can even lay
claim to a stint in a punk band
which had a record banned by
Radio 1 DJ John Peel! He has
also performed with traditional
musicians in Istanbul, Sami
musicians in the Arctic Circle, and
classical Japanese theatre
players in Tokyo.
Now settled with a family, Rob
has given up life on the road to
take up a more steady and
secure job at QMU.
His talents are enviable. He
seems to be able to play nearly
any instrument and is able to
accompany all of QMU’s solo
artists and groups.
As Musician in Residence, he has
formed QMusic, an initiative
which has seen him not only set
up a wide range of musical
groups but organise a number of
impressive concerts. QMusic has
brought together staff and
students from nearly every part of
the institution and has created the
Jazz-Blues Big Band, the
Accoustic Music Group, a
Renaissance/Medieval Ensemble,
a new Recorder Consort, a
Baroque ensemble, and a World
Music Group, to name but a few.
There seems to be no end to
Rob’s musical talents, his breadth
of musicality and his ability to
encourage even the shyest of
budding musicians to inch their
way out of their comfort zone.
Rob explained: “No matter what
people perceive their level to be,
there will always be a place for
them in one of our groups. We
even have complete beginners
playing alongside people who
haven’t done anything musically
for over 20 years!
“QMusic now hosts two main
concerts each year. These are a
great way to showcase the
ensembles. It’s wonderful to see
students side by side with staff in
these groups.
“Getting involved with QMusic is
not only a great way to relax and
get involved in something outside
work and study, it’s proving to be
a wonderful way to socialise with
people from different parts of the
institution,” said Rob.
However, since moving to the
new campus, Rob is now on a
mission to involve people from
the local community in QMusic.
“We intend to put on monthly
concerts with visiting performers.
It has always been our intention
to be a university at the heart of
our new community and we are
keen to encourage local residents
to take part in our groups. We
also really need volunteers who
can assist with front of house,
ticket collection, ushering, poster
design, behind the scene
organisation and finance.”
FIND OUT MORE:
www.qmusiconline.co.uk
• QMusic
Bloghttp://qmusicblog.blogspot.
com /index.html
• Contact: Rob MacKillop at
music@qmu.ac.uk
• Rob's own website:
www.rmguitar.info

PAGE 12 PAGE 13
FUNDING UPDATE
APEX SCHOLAR 2007/08
The recipient of the 2007 Apex
scholarship is Chris Panaro.
There are now two Apex scholars
studying at QMU with Chris
joining last year’s recipient, Kerry
Johnston. Kerry has been
delighted with the opportunities
that Apex hotels kindly offer QMU
students and is enjoying the work
experience granted to
scholarships.
She said: "Winning the Apex
Bursary has allowed me to
concentrate more on my
hospitality studies without
worrying so much about the
financial strain that being a
student can bring. I completed a
sixteen week placement with
Apex and found the experience
very valuable for my future
career."
GRANT MANAGEMENT
Grant Management created a little
bit of history in November 2007
by becoming the first official
sponsors on QMU’s new campus.
Grant Management’s business
became carbon neutral in January
2007, and as QMU has built the
UK’s most sustainable campus
the relationship was a natural
development for both parties.
In honour of Grant Management’s
generous gift, QMU has named
one of the internet cafés in the
new academic building after
Grant Management as well as
featuring the Grant Management
brand logo on the information
system that displays bus times to
students, staff and visitors.
Grant Management has also
funded a mural competition for
QMU students on the theme of
carbon neutral living. The winning
design is to be mounted in the
internet café and will have a
prominent position within the new
campus.
THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
SCHOLARSHIP
Good news for students in the
School of Drama and Creative
Industries. The Edinburgh
Playhouse has kindly agreed to
offer an annual scholarship to the
top performing student in first
year.
Each year The Playhouse will
award a scholarship to support a
student for the duration of their
degree. We are enormously
grateful to the Playhouse for this
support.
Students today often leave higher
education with debts of over
£14,000. A scholarship of £1,000
per annum throughout the
duration of a degree course will
make a significant impact on a
student’s financial situation when
leaving university.
PRINCIPAL LEACH
SCHOLARSHIP
Donna Griffin, a 3rd year Acting
and Performance student, has
scooped the Principal Leach
Scholarship for 2007. Donna’s
award was made in recognition of
her display of intelligence, talent
and diligence over her two years
at QMU.
Robin Wilson, Head of Acting, at
QMU said: “Donna has a great
deal of potential as an actor and
is doing all the right things in
order to achieve her ambitions.
She is genuinely creative,
talented and versatile. Her all
round vibrancy and imaginative
attention to detail lift her out of the
ordinary.”
Congratulations to Donna who is
the second QMU student to
benefit from Professor Leach’s
generosity.
FIRST SCOTTISH UNIVERSITY
TO BENEFIT FROM
SANTANDER UNIVERSITIES
Professor Anthony Cohen (left) and Louis
Juste, UK Santander Universities
Director.
QMU has become the first
Scottish university to team up with
Santander Group, through its UK
subsidiary Abbey, on the
internationally renowned
Santander Universities
programme.
Santander gives more support to
the university community than any
other bank in the world. Since
1996, Santander Universities
Global Division has given over
400 million euros through cooperation
agreements with 575
universities in Spain, America,
Portugal, Russia and the United
Kingdom.
The agreement with QMU is
focused on the Institute for
International Health and
Development (IIHD) and will
provide scholarships for
international students, fund
research and provide community
service awards for QMU students.
THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN
COLLABORATION PRIZE 2007
Winner of The Indian
Collaboration Prize 2007,
Awinash Kumar, has sent QMU
an update on how he spent his
award money.
Awinash gifted the award to his
parents to thank them for sending
him to QMU. Awinash’s parents
visited the holy places of the
Hindu religion including Vaishnao
Devi, one of the most revered
shrines in Kashmir, Jammu, the
historic temple City of Mathura in
Uttar Pradesh, and the ancient
city of Ayodhya, which is the old
capital of Awadh in India.
He said that his parents were
most honoured to be able to take
this trip in October. Awinash has
now graduated from QMU and is
currently working as a Banquet
Supervisor at Murrayfield Stadium
in Edinburgh.
MAKING A WILL...
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
THE QMU LEGACY
At first there weren’t any
classrooms. Christian Guthrie
Wright and her fellow lecturers at
the Edinburgh School of Cookery
packed up pots, pans and gas
burners and hit the road from
Shetland to the Channel Islands.
Their mission was simple: to bring
nutritional knowledge to the
masses, thereby improving the
health of the nation. Their
scientific understanding and down
to earth instruction had enormous
influence on the nation’s health.
It was very much in Miss Guthrie
Wright’s character that she would
not leave the future to chance.
She ensured that this work would
continue after her death by
making a bequest to support the
endeavours of the students and
staff that followed her.
From those early days, through
the Atholl Crescent years to the
present day, Queen Margaret
University has continued the
tradition of taking practical
knowledge into the community.
Today, across an ever increasing
range of subjects, QMU’s
graduates and research have an
immediate, practical and lasting
impact on the quality of people’s
lives.
You can help carry that
inheritance into the future by
leaving a legacy to QMU in your
will.
As a solicitor will tell you, making
a will is extremely important -
without an up-to-date will, you
cannot guarantee that your estate
will be divided up according to
your wishes.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE
FUTURE
Every legacy gifted to QMU,
regardless of the amount, is
immensely valuable. Whether
alone or along with other gifts
from graduates and friends, it
could, for example:
• provide a scholarship to enable
a student to pursue a course of
study at QMU;
• provide a grant to enable a
student to undertake an
exceptional project or
placement;
• be the catalyst to pioneering,
practical research or
• help create the very best
facilities at our new campus.
A legacy can be used in a
particular way, for a specific
subject area or in memory of a
loved one. If you have a
particular subject you wish to
benefit, an area of research close
to your heart, or would like to
help ensure QMU’s continued
success for future generations,
then you can make a difference
by leaving a gift in your will.
In addition, it is important to note
that bequests made to charity
offer an opportunity to reduce the
inheritance tax liability on your
estate – as an educational
institution, the University is an
exempt charity.
If you would like more information
on leaving a bequest to QMU,
please contact the Development
& Alumni Office on
T: 0131 474 0000.

PAGE 14
PAGE 15
RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY NEWS
TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING
Environmental activist’s
research helps survivors of
Bhopal disaster
A leading environmental
campaigner and lecturer at QMU
is currently carrying out research
which will impact on the survivors
of the 1984 disaster in Bhopal,
India.
Eurig Scandrett, lecturer on
QMU’s Environmental Justice
course, is working with people
affected by the1984 Methyl
Isocyanate gas leak at the Union
Carbide pesticide factory in
Bhopal.
The gas leak was the world’s
biggest industrial environmental
disaster and 22 years later,
reparations and compensation
claims are still disputed.
Surprisingly, considering the
significance of the disaster, QMU
learned that there has been very
little sociological research
conducted into the campaign and
the social impact on the survivors.
Eurig Sandrett, said: “Even
though many survivors of the
disaster were living in poverty and
in poor health, it is quite
incredible that 22 years on, many
have been able to sustain their
campaign for justice.”
The research aims to document
the experiences of people
affected by the Methyl Isocyanate
leak since the disaster, including
the social impact of the gas leak
and the ongoing campaign.
Eurig Scandrett explained: “In a
situation of immense scientific,
medical and legal complexity, the
research will explore the
reflections of survivors – many of
whom are non-literate or without
high levels of education - on their
own learning and knowledge.
“Over the years the survivors
have faced repeated legal
disappointments, and our
research is keen to show what
strategies have been used to
sustain their resilience in their
ongoing fight for justice.
“Most importantly,” Eurig
concluded: “we hope that the
findings of our research will
provide information which will
support the Bhopal survivors with
their ongoing campaign.”
Alcohol research - establishing
the facts
Alcohol issues are rarely out of
the headlines. In line with our
strategy of encouraging multidisciplinary
research to enhance
people’s lives, QMU has
facilitated the Alcohol Research
Group, bringing together
researchers from a variety of
backgrounds to tackle significant
areas of alcohol research.
Staff from QMU’s nursing,
dietetics, psychology and
occupational therapy departments
are preparing research bids and
carrying out collaborative
research work with academics
from other institutions, healthcare
professionals and Alcohol Focus
Scotland, in order to tackle some
of the alcohol issues which most
affect our society.
For example, recently published
work explored an intervention
method which aimed to promote
responsible drinking among the
general population by practical
illustration of UK health
guidelines. It was carried out
among staff at a large Edinburgh
financial institution, and staff and
students within QMU. Further
work intends to build on this
intervention and explore its use
with older members of the
population, a current government
target group. Another project, to
which members of the group have
contributed, is being run by Leeds
University. It is assessing the
effectiveness of delivering a lowcost
and brief intervention to
decrease alcohol consumption
using web-based feedback.
Members of the group have also
collaborated with researchers at
Paisley University by gathering
feedback from students on heavy
episodes of alcohol consumption.
Findings support existing
evidence showing that students in
the UK tend to overestimate
levels of heavy drinking amongst
their peer group, which
contributes to normative pressure
on the individual to drink heavily
themselves.
It is hoped that the work of this
group will continue to generate
research ideas, proposals and
funding which will ultimately help
to highlight and tackle some of
the social, cultural and behaviour
problems associated with
problematic alcohol consumption
in the UK.
With 37 years of teaching
under his belt, Senior Lecturer
in Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, Jock
Anderson is QMU’s longest
serving member of academic
staff.
On his introduction to teaching
in Atholl Crescent Jock was
made at home quite quickly. He
said: “There was very much a
members club atmosphere, you
would relax between teaching
by reading papers and
magazines, reclining in old
leather chairs while staff were
served five course meals by
students every day.”
Not to say that teachers had it
easy at Atholl Crescent. Jock
cites incredibly dedicated and
hard-working tutors. Many of
the predominantly female staff
also cared for elderly parents at
home.
Curfews were also in place for
students and if they were late in
returning from a night out,
parents were informed.
When QM relocated to
Corstorphine in 1970 the move
was met with some resistance.
Nevertheless, QM moved in,
started offering degree level
courses and the college took
on a more modern approach to
education.
Remarking on QMU’s recent
move to Musselburgh, Jock is
quite relaxed: “I think for such a
massive undertaking the move
has gone pretty smoothly. The
‘Tidy Fridays’ were a great
opportunity for me to throw out
my University notes from the
sixties!”
Despite cultural changes over
the years he feels students
have remained more or less the
same. “Of course, there is an
age gap and some of my
references are met with blank
stares, but the same attitudes
and characteristics are still
there.
“Students don’t read
newspapers as much as they
used to but with advancements
in technology students are
becoming increasingly selftaught.
Chalk and talk methods
have gone but the amount of
Curfews were also in place for students and if they were
late in returning from a night out, parents were informed.
resources available makes
going to university today a
greater opportunity than ever.”
He considers the introduction of
Web CT, an e-learning tool that
allows students to access
tutorials, lecture notes and live
discussions, to be the best
thing that has happened to staff
and students alike.
As can be expected from a
business professional, Jock has
gained most satisfaction from
meeting up with students whom
he has helped start up their
Jock Anderson
own successful businesses. In
clearing out his office at
Clermiston he disposed of over
one thousand business plans
completed by students over the
years.
According to Jock there are
plenty of more budding
entrepreneurs within his current
student group that should keep
Scotland and QMU’s reputation
in good hands for the future.

PAGE 16
PAGE 17
POSTCARD FROM HELEN DOHERTY
Producer of award winning children’s programmes ‘Balamory’ and ‘Me Too!’
POSTCARD FROM ALAN MCCASKILL
Publishing Director, Editions Publishing Ltd
What course did you study?
It was a three year diploma
course in Stage Management and
Theatre Production, 1990-93.
What was your motivation for
studying at QM?
I wanted to work in TV so it was
suggested I took a Drama course.
I loved Edinburgh and thought
QM would be a great place to
study. It had an excellent
reputation.
What was your experience of
studying at QM?
The course was fantastic and
there was a great mixture of
people studying at the College.
One of my high points was
working with a third year US
student on a production called,
All My Sons. It was very fulfilling
as well as challenging. It was a
fantastic set and wonderful show
and our lecturer was very
impressed.
It was an enjoyable three year
course. Our lecturer, George
Innes, told us, “You will only
remember the good times when
you leave.” It’s very true.
Any memorable lecturers or
moments from your time at
QM?
Clive Perry was a formidable guy.
John Stone, Head of Drama, and
Rickie and Scottie who helped
make the sets, were fantastic.
There were many guest lecturers
and directors including George
Innes, Lecturer in Design, and
George Tarbuck, Lecturer in
Lighting and Sound Design, who
added to our learning and general
experience of college and work.
How do you think your QM
education has contributed to
your success?
QM contributed enormously to my
successes. It was character
building and made me the person
I am. The course was intensive
which made me feel dedicated
and passionate about the work. It
also allowed me to work closely
with older students which helped
me gain further experience and
respect for others.
How did you get into
producing?
During my third year I did a
placement in an edit suite at STV.
Following graduation, I moved
from the BBC to STV while
working as an Assistant Floor
Manager on shows like Take the
High Road and Rab C Nesbitt.
After working on Rab C, I was
promoted to Production Manager
on Chewing the Fat.
I’ve also worked for Granada as a
Runner on Coronation Street and
Cold Feet. Whilst on Cold Feet, I
vividly remember having to
frantically scribble down the song
lyrics for James Nesbitt so that he
was able to quickly learn the
words to I’ve got you under my
skin. This was during the scene
when James sang to Helen
Baxendale while standing naked
in the street with a rose up his
bum!
I then returned to the BBC
becoming Production Manager for
the award winning children’s
programme, Balamory. I went on
to become the Producer for the
third and fourth series.
In 2005, I co-founded the
production company, Tattiemoon,
with my business partner, Brian
Jamieson, whom I worked with on
Balamory. We also produce Me
Too!, a programme for pre-school
children and currently showing on
CBeebies and BBC2.
What has been the highlight of
your career?
Working on Balamory was great.
The crew and cast were fantastic.
We also had a good rapport with
the villagers of Tobermory which
really helped with the filming.
Receiving lots of letters and
phone calls from parents and
children has been very touching
and emphasises how great it is to
work in this industry.
Founding Tattiemoon, with Brian,
has been another major
achievement.
Balamory has received three
BAFTA nominations and one
BAFTA award for the Best Pre
School Live Action programme. It
also received a BAFTA Scotland
award and a Broadcast Award for
the Best Children’s Show and the
RTS Award for Best Children’s
Programme.
How long was your course?
It was a four year course
although I went straight into
second year as a direct entry
student from Fife College (now
Adam Smith College). I graduated
in 1998 with a 2:1 in
Communication Studies.
What was your motivation for
studying at QM?
It was well known that QM had
the highest ratio of females to
males which may have had a
slight appeal!
QM had a really good reputation
and the course was just what I
was looking for. I was fairly
undecided in what I wanted to do
as a career, so an interesting
course that offered a broad
subject range was a priority.
What has been your career
path since leaving QM?
During my third and fourth years
at QM I did some work
experience with the Scotsman
and Scotland on Sunday on the
news and features desks. After
graduation, I didn’t know if
journalism was for me so I
applied and was accepted into
The Metropolitan Police, London.
I realised London wasn’t for me
so I got a job in PR, working for
August One and then Greenwood
Tighe PR. However, after about
six months I realised PR wasn’t
for me either, so I joined the Oban
Times as Trainee Reporter. They
have a publishing division in
Edinburgh and I worked through
the ranks on their Business to
Business titles. I also edited a
seafood magazine for which I
travelled extensively around
Europe, including Norway,
Iceland, Ireland and the continent.
After four years, I joined Carter
Rae Communications as an
Editor. I was promoted to Senior
Editor with responsibility for all the
contract publishing work out of
the Edinburgh office. After five
great years I was headhunted by
another agency, Editions.
As Publishing Director at Editions
I look after the accounts for key
clients in the banking and
financial sectors. I still keep my
hand in with journalism, and
continue to write for Flight
International at air shows around
the world.
What was your experience of
studying at QM?
It was really enjoyable. I also met
my wife, Christine, on the
Communication Studies course.
So that was a high point! The
course had a broad range of
subjects to choose from which
were fairly academic and that was
what I was looking for, along with
a sociable campus.
How do you think an education
at QM has contributed to your
success?
The course was beneficial to the
career path I’ve taken. The
lecturers were very strong. As a
journalist you need to be able to
write about any subject, so the
broad syllabus really helped.
What certainly helped was
ensuring I added some suitable
work experience. Journalism is
incredibly competitive and I was
fortunate to get a job quickly after
graduation.
Any memorable lecturers or
moments from your time at
QM?
My dissertation supervisor,
Margarita Melin-higgins, was
extremely helpful and supportive,
as was Senior Lecturer,
Andrew Tolson.
Any words of wisdom for
prospective students?
Make the most of your experience
at University, especially those
long summers! Don’t panic if you
don’t know what you want to do
after graduation but make sure
you get the best grade you can.
Gaining work experience while at
University will also help you sell
yourself to prospective employers.
It could be the only thing that sets
you apart from the crowd.
What has been the highlight of
your career?
There’s been highs and lows, but
if I had to choose it would be
some of the awards for the
magazines I’ve edited. It was
great to win a Periodical
Publishing Association (PPA)
award three years running – for
two different magazines. I’ve also
been fortunate to have travelled a
lot through work. I still hope I
haven’t experienced the highlight
of my career. It would be nice to
think the best is yet to come.

PAGE 18
PAGE 19
JORDAN STEPS UP TO THE MARK IN BLACK WATCH
Jordan Young’s performance in
a critically acclaimed, ground
breaking production has
catapulted him into the
limelight, after only seven
years since graduating from
QMU.
Staff from the Development Office
took the opportunity to catch up
with Jordan after watching him
perform in the National Theatre
Scotland’s production of Black
Watch* in New York, last year,
whilst it toured the US.
Sir Sean Connery and Brian Cox,
who is a recent honorary
graduate of QMU, also came to
see the performance in New York.
Black Watch has been winning
plaudits from critics, whilst leaving
audiences speechless in this
controversial production about the
legendary Scottish regiment’s
deployment in Iraq. New York
Times theatre critic, Ben Brantley,
called it a “river of sensation”, and
confessed it moved him to tears.
Black Watch was written by
playwright, Gregory Burke, based
on interviews with former soldiers
who served in Iraq. It was
debuted at the 2006 Edinburgh
Festival, meeting with universal
critical acclaim. It has since been
performed throughout Scotland
and has also toured theatres in
London, New York and Los
Angeles.
Jordan explained that Black
Watch is a powerful piece of
theatre that was devised to tell
the soldiers’ side of the story, to
give them a voice rather than just
portraying the war in Iraq. Jordan
played the character, Granty
during the two month US leg of
the tour and the character,
Rossco in the original production
in Edinburgh.
Jordan’s grandfather served in the
Black Watch which makes it all
the more close to home. The work
also shows how the army has
been a significant part of families
lives for many generations. Burke
has created a set of utterly
believable characters which allow
the actors to develop their
characters to enlist the audience’s
sympathy.
After the US tour of Black Watch,
Jordan went onto something a bit
more light hearted, playing
Aladdin at the Aberdeen
Playhouse for six weeks
alongside ‘Neighbours’ actor
Stefan Dennis and Alan McHugh
(Take the High Road, Taggart).
... Black Watch is a powerful piece of theatre that was
devised to tell the soldiers’ side of the story, to give
them a voice rather than just portraying the war in Iraq.
Jordan emphasises that as an
actor you want to try everything
from comedy to drama
productions and that he is always
open to new things.
He has also starred recently in
the brand new comedy series
Legit on BBC One Scotland.
Jordan stars as the lovable rogue,
Danny who works alongside his
best friend, Fox, selling dodgy
pirate software. Every day brings
a new scam, a new dilemma, or a
new situation that Fox
approaches with a sigh of
foreboding, and Danny with
gusto, certain of that big pay off.
They are currently waiting to hear
if there will be a new series. The
pilot episode was nominated for a
prestigious Rose D’Or award.
Jordan said he really enjoyed
making Legit. He also had a part
in the Third Series of Still Game
and sheepishly admits he played
a character called Kevin who
bullied Winston.
Whilst he was at Queen Margaret
University Jordan started his
acting career when he was signed
by an agent in third year. He got
his first job acting in two
Shakespearean plays at the
Lyceum and then continued with
another Shakespearean
production at the Brunton
Theatre, Musselburgh.
Reflecting on his experience at
Queen Margaret University,
Jordan said he had a fantastic
Jordan Young in Black Watch
time and that the training he was
given has certainly taught him to
perform better.
Jordan spent a year at Dundee
College studying Theatre Arts
before he came to QMU. He said,
“I was taught the reality of the
acting industry at Dundee College
which I was keen to pursue
further and was very impressed
with what I saw at QMU during
the auditions.”
One of Jordan’s most memorable
moments came when his whole
year group was given the
opportunity to be the first year to
perform a ‘Showcase’ of their
talents in London. “We had a
great couple of days in London
and when it came to an end we
were all very nostalgic. We had
worked with each other
intensively for three years and
knowing that this would be our
final production together made it
all the more emotional.”
Jordan is really enthusiastic about
his time at QMU and believes the
Drama department had a fantastic
The cast of Black Watch
Cast members Jordan Young (left) and Paul Rattray (second right) with Susan
Feldman and Brian Cox (right) at the Black Watch reception in New York, October
2007
team. Lynn Bain, who was Head
of Drama was very passionate
and dedicated to her students,
and Jordan also has great
respect for Bert Bracewell, Jo
Clifford and Tony Ellis, who he
thought were all excellent at
training students in Drama.
His advice to prospective and
current students at QMU is,
“Don’t feel you have to take
everything in, take what works
for you and what is relevant.
Also try and make as many
contacts as you can whilst at
University as this will help you to
secure work when you graduate.
Work hard and enjoy it! I had a
fantastic three years and made
many friends that I’m still in touch
with.”
When asked about future plans
and possible international success
in the US he modestly responds,
“I’m just happy acting and getting
a varied amount of roles to
perform. I love being an actor and
being able to perform to the best
of my abilities.”
Further details about the
production visit
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com
Click ‘What’s On’

PAGE 20
PAGE 21
QMU GRADUATES ASSOCIATION & REUNIONS
QMU’S ALUMNI SERVICES ENTER THE VIRTUAL AGE
QMUGA NEWSLETTER
by Graduates’ Association
President, Mary Cursiter
President’s report
Times change and we change
with them – and this includes our
great historic symbol, the
President’s Chain of Office! The
chain has now been brought
completely up-to-date by altering
the ‘QMC’ section to form ‘QMU.’
My first duty as President was to
attend the University graduation
ceremonies in November, a most
enjoyable day.
Madras Lodge
A new online users group has
been set up to provide a much
more efficient way of keeping in
touch. Group members can
access a wide range of
information, including availability
and booking forms. The users
group is open to all GA members
who are interested - to join please
e-mail Colin Thomson on
cthomson@qmu.ac.uk.
Following the continuing success
of the garden development
project, the ML committee is now
planning a staged programme of
refurbishment to upgrade the
amenity of the house and loft for
members in the future. To date,
bookings for 2008 have been
brisk. Grateful thanks are due to
all the ML committee for their
immense amount of hard work,
especially to Bookings Secretary,
Margaret Wyatt.
Social Programme
Our regular networking lunches
and visits to places of interest
continue to be very well
supported. The key date for your
diary is Saturday 7th June, a
special day out to visit the new
campus at Craighall.
The AGM of the Association will
be held in the morning, followed
by lunch, followed by a campus
tour in the afternoon. Details of
our social events are sent every
month by e-mail. Please contact
Mary Cursiter to register on our e-
mailing list or if you would like to
receive this information by post.
Membership
All graduates of a short or fulltime
course are eligible for life
membership (40 years) of the
Graduates’ Association, as are all
current and former staff. Members
benefit from the exclusive use of
Madras Lodge at modest rates.
Cost: £35 in graduation year, £45
for others.
QMUGA DIARY
DATES & CONTACTS
Website: www.qmuga.org.uk
Networking lunches
Last Saturday of the month
September 2008 to April 2009
Contact: Dorothy McLauchlan
E:dorothymclauchlan@yahoo.co.uk
To help on the committee
Please contact:
Mary Cursiter
President
14 William Street
Edinburgh, EH3 7NH
T: 0131 226 3534
E: m.cursiter@btinternet.com
QMU Graduates’ Association
(QMUGA) Memberships
Contact: Dorothy McLauchlan
Membership Secretary,
Caberfeidh, Hollybush Crescent,
Crieff, PH7 3AQ
T: 01764 65 26 88
E: dorothymclauchlan@yahoo.co.uk
Madras Lodge
Contact: Margaret Wyatt
Bookings Secretary
11 Langton View
East Calder, Livingston
West Lothian, EH53 0LE
T: 01506 494483
E: Margaret10@blueyonder.co.uk
INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT
1958-60/61
Pauline James (née Noble),
Louise Muirhead (née Oliver),
Penny Forster, Moira Fletcher (née
Holiday) and Mary Le-Gresley
(née Graham) are seeking fellow
classmates to join them in a
reunion for the three year
Institutional Management course
that started in September 1958
with 2 years in College at Atholl
Crescent and a 3rd practical year
in employment.
Please contact Pauline James on
01665 572246.
REUNION FOR DIPLOMA IN
INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT
1960-62
I would like to organise a Reunion
for all the men who enjoyed the
two years at Atholl Crescent and
day release students. If you would
like to help in tracing fellow
students please email me on
ngm3@compuserve.com
See you soon, Norman Murray.
REUNION FOR
POSTGRADUATE HOTEL,
CATERING AND INSTITUTIONAL
MANAGEMENT 1985
Carole Paterson, Liz Logie and
Lesley Stephen PG Hotel,
Catering and Institutional
Management 1985 would like to
hear from our classmates with a
view to organising a reunion.
Contact us by e-mail on
carole.paterson@blueyonder.co.uk
.
As of this month a range of
special features will be
available exclusively to QMU
graduates through our Online
Community, which will be
accessible by registering and
logging into the Alumni &
Friends area of the website.
Some of the services that will be
available immediately include:
❒ Creating and Updating Your
Profile – keep your personal
details up-to-date;
❒ Class Notes – keep friends and
classmates up-to-date by
posting & sharing news;
❒ Share Your Photos - post and
share your pictures;
❒ Alumni Directory - find
classmates that you have lost
touch with;
❒ Benefits & Discounts - take
advantage of some great offers;
❒ Jobs Page - access graduate
employment and training
opportunities;
❒ Polls & Surveys - input your
views and see results charts
and
❒ Online Donations - make
credit/debit card gifts to support
today’s students.
This new interactive area of the
website will allow you to update
address details and share news
with former classmates. You will
even be able to share
photographs of momentous
occasions… or reminisce by
posting photos from days at QM!
Importantly, when you register,
you will be able to decide what
information you want to be
available to other members, so if
you want former classmates to be
able to contact you directly, they
can. A bit like Friends
Re-united, this will allow you to
keep in touch with, or rediscover,
old friends from your days at QM.
As many graduates go on to have
successful careers, the jobs page
will be a valuable way of ensuring
that opportunities, that might be of
interest to you, can be made
available. Often we get
approaches from health boards or
companies to ask if we have a
means of making job
opportunities available to QM
graduates… well, now we do!
It is important to us that we get
your feedback too. We want to
create a vibrant and interesting
online community, so we will have
regular polls and surveys to get
your views on a range of topics.
We really do want to hear what
you think, so if you have anything
really pressing you need to tell
us, you can still email us at
alumni@qmu.ac.uk
We have also just launched the
Queen Margaret Fund, which
allows all our graduates, friends
and supporters to make a gift to
help QMU students have the best
possible experience during their
time with us.
This is not the end of our plans.
There is lots more to come. We
know that many of our graduates
have reached the pinnacle of their
careers and we want to enable
those of you that have achieved
great success, to help younger
graduates get their careers off to
a flying start. We will be launching
a mentoring page so that
graduates can offer their services,
or can seek a mentor to help
them with their career
development. We know you have
a lot to offer!
Networking events, reunions, e-
newsletters about your subject
areas – all these are
developments that we have in the
pipeline and we look forward to
updating you as these come
online.
In addition to all of these new
services, the Alumni & Friends
area of the site will still have lots
of interesting information about
the work of the Development &
Alumni Office. We will keep you
up-to-date with progress on the
Queen Margaret University Fund
and will keep you posted with
details about new Friends &
Supporters.
So, please do visit us at
www.qmu.ac.uk and follow the
link to Alumni & Friends to sign up
as a member of our online
community.
We look forward to welcoming
you!
Often we get approaches from health boards or companies to
ask if we have a means of making job opportunities available to
QM graduates… well, now we do!

PAGE 22
PAGE 23
ALUMNI BENEFITS & DISCOUNTS
CLASSNOTES
BENEFITS & SERVICES TO
ALUMNI
The Development Office has been
building partnerships with a range
of companies and is delighted to
announce the following range of
benefits and services that have
been kindly offered to QMU
alumni. Please do take advantage
of the following offers:
QMU has teamed up with
Cottages 4you to offer alumni
members 10% discount.
Simply visit: www.cottages-4-
you.co.uk/queen to search for
over 13,000 properties throughout
the UK, France, Ireland, Spain,
Portugal and Italy where your
discount will automatically be
applied. Alternatively call:
T: 0870 192 1797 and quote
QMU10.
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS
GROUP
InterContinental Hotels Group has
kindly offered the following offers
to QMU alumni.
Enjoy 25% off weekend leisure
breaks at over 400 participating
Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn &
Express by Holiday Inn hotels
Across the UK, Ireland, Europe
and the Middle East.
This offer is available over Friday,
Saturday and Sunday nights until
31st December 2008 so go ahead
and treat yourself to a weekend
break.
To book from UK:
T: 0870 400 8135
Please quote ‘Exclusive Rate’.
To book from the Republic of
Ireland:
T: 1-800 55 31 55
To take advantage of other great
offers during the year, visit
www.ichotels.com/exclusive
SEAFRANCE
Terms & Conditions apply
SeaFrance is offering 10%
discount on both Day Trip and 24
Hour Return Fares and 10%
Discount on promotional, early
booking, excursion & each way
fares. Reservations can be made
National Car Rental is offering
exclusive competitive car hire
rates to QMU alumni.
The Affinity Leisure Programme
enables you to benefit from great
deals when hiring cars and vans
in the UK and abroad in over 80
countries worldwide including all
major holiday destinations.
Members can enjoy the luxury of
the Guy Salmon fleet in the UK -
from a Mercedes to the power of
a Porsche - at surprisingly
affordable prices.
For a National car or van
quotation or to make a booking
call:
on T: 08705 711 711 and quoting
code: QUEENDAY for all Day Trip
24 Hour Return Fares and code:
QUEEN for promotional, early
booking, excursion and each way
fares or alternatively from their
web-site www.seafrance.com
using the same codes above.
SAVE UP TO 70% on
MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS.
Lowest possible prices on
subscriptions to The Economist,
National Geographic, Time,
Vogue and many more
exclusively for alumnus that have
graduated within the last 5 years.
To find out more visit:
www.alumni-subscriptions.co.uk
T: 0870 191 6950 and quote:
• A000961 for UK car hire
• A000962 for UK van hire
• 8577510 for international
car hire
• A000961G for Guy Salmon
hire
Terms and Conditions apply:
All Affinity Leisure Programme
rentals are subject to National
Car Rental’s and Guy Salmon’s
standard terms and conditions,
driver qualification and
availability. Advance booking is
required. Payment must be
made at the renting location
with a credit or debit card.
Members can enjoy the luxury of the Guy Salmon fleet
in the UK - from a Mercedes to the power of a Porsche
- at surprisingly affordable prices.
CLASSNOTES
1940s
Mrs Irene Morton (nee Miller),
Diploma 1 1945
Four of us, who were Diploma I
students 1942-45, living in Melvin
House Hostel, still keep in touch.
We were in the group who went
to London in 1944!
1950s
Mrs Mary Hubbard (nee Gray),
Diploma in Institutional
Management 1953
After I left college, I worked in the
Diet Kitchen at the Western
General Hospital, Edinburgh.
Then St Anslem's Prep School in
Derbyshire, Carrington &
Dewhurst's canteen, Rochdale;
Writtle Agricultural College and
Girls' High School, Rugby until I
married in 1960. I have 3
children, 1 boy, 2 girls and 5
grandchildren. Lost my husband
4 years ago. I lived in Melvin
House, Rothesay Terrace while at
college.
1960s
Mr Mike Mollett, Diploma in Hotel
Catering 1961-63
I would like to hear from any of
the male chefs or ladies that
trained in Hotel catering between
1961-63 at Atholl Crescent.
Currently living in Adelaide but
was recently visiting old friends
and family in Scotland. Please
contact me at:
mikem@senet.com.au
1970s
Mrs Sheila Wallace (nee
Robertson), BSc in Occupational
Therapy (Conversion) 1972
I would be interested in knowing
how many contacts there are for
my OT diploma year (Maggie
Nichol's year 1970). I was
involved in the past with Linda
Wishart in arranging reunions.
We will be due a big one in 3
years.
Mrs Isabell Hodgson (nee
MacKinnon), Diploma in
Institutional Management 1972
I was one of a 'select' 12 students
who graduated with the final IMA
Diploma but one of the first cohort
to study at Clerwood. It was a
wonderful opportunity to
experience Atholl Crescent and a
then, very modern, up-to-date
new college and campus. Having
worked in education since 1975, I
now lead the Hospitality
Management team at Leeds Met
University.
1990s
Mrs Wendy Fraser (nee
Buchan), BSc Occupational
Therapy 1993
Married for 7 years and living in
West Lothian. Still working in
mental health in Edinburgh but
also sit on the Mental Health
Tribunals, am a partner within the
Health Professions Council and
sing in a band!
Mr Solomon Leung, BSc (Hons)
Physiotherapy 1995
I graduated in 1995 and have
been working in McAllen Medical
Center as a physical therapist for
10 years. McAllen is a border city
in deep south Texas close to
Mexico. People are nice here. I
have learned some Spanish since
I was here but only enough to
communicate with my patients. I
enjoy working here though. We
just missed the super hurricane
(category 5) Dean last week but
there are more hurricanes to
come this year.
Ms Rebecca MacIntosh, BA
Retail Business 1997
Currently living and working in
New Zealand. Been here for 5
years and absolutely loving it.
Married the man I met in my last
year at QM and now have two
beautiful children, Cameron (6) and
Jessica (3). Would really love to
track Caroline Veevers same
course as me.
Mr Andrew Usher, BA Acting
1999. Hi I'm Andrew Usher (stage
name Arron). I've been an Actor for
8 years now. I'm doing a Noel
Coward play 'Hayfever' at the
Fringe this year and pantomime in
Musselburgh this Christmas. I also
became an uncle for the first time.
I have a 6 month old nephew
called Cavan.
2000s
Mr Mark Healy, BSc (Hons)
Physiotherapy 2000
After a year flying for Air France
subsidiary City Jet in Paris, I was
posted back to Dublin where I
returned to Aer Lingus with whom I
originally completed my flight
training . Now flying to over 70
European destinations including
Edinburgh.
Miss Katherine May, BSc (Hons)
Applied Human Nutrition 2001
I have been working at the Food
Standards agency since
September 2002. I am currently
working in the Novel Foods,
Additives and Supplements
Division helping to manage
research projects relating to
improving the safety assessment of
GM foods. I have also recently
successfully completed a Masters
in Public Health at Kings College,
London. I married Tom May in
June 2006.
Miss Shona Macfarlane, BSc
(Hons) Health Psychology 2004
Since leaving QMU, I have began
my training at Napier University to
become a mental health nurse, just
started second year in September
2007 and am due to qualify in
February 2009. Loving it!!