Jul 08

about US

About US Abroad: Summit’s up with Chris Sponsored by Pixels2Canvas University Governor Chris Green has hit the heights this month – on the three peaks challenge and in the About US Abroad competition. Chris is Finance Director of Northumbria Water and climbed to the top of the three peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowdon - in 24 hours last month. Northumbria Water’s ‘Summits Up’ team raised over £11,750 for the Northumbria Calvert Trust charity at Kielder. The charity is dedicated to providing outdoor adventure for the disabled. Find out more about Calvert’s operation at Kielder by following the justgiving weblink: http:// www.justgiving.com/summitsup

July 2008

Ben Nevis

Chris has won a 24”x18” print of his favourite picture from Pixels2Canvas. Pixels2Canvas use the latest technology to print your favourite photo on quality cotton canvas, stretched and sealed around a handmade frame ready to hang. To find out more about Pixels2Canvas’ services log on to www.pixels2canvas.co.uk

Scafell

Snowdon

Last chance to win a place in the 2009 Staff Calendar We have another two winners for this month’s calendar competition. Kate Simpson (ELL) who submitted this fantastic shot of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, and James Fawcett (SLS) who captured this rare shot of a heron on the banks of the Wear. Their photos will appear in the 2009 University Staff Calendar – will yours? We only have two places left – and the only criteria is that you must be a member of staff at the University, and you must send us a picture of the North East. To enter the calendar competition send your photos to me (prints or email jpegs) at: [email protected] by Friday July 18.

Steve Cram installed as Chancellor “Steve is a wonderful asset to this institution and I, and the Board of Governors, very much look forward to working with him to help take the University forward.” Bob Davies, Chairman of the Board of Governors “I can’t think of a better person to take on the role of Chancellor. Every bit of Steve’s DNA is North East, but he has a global perspective. The University is in very safe hands.” Lord Sebastian Coe “Steve is well aware of what we have achieved so far and what we aim to achieve in the future. I know he will be a great ambassador in helping to promote what we do regionally, nationally, and internationally.” Professor Peter Fidler, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive “Steve will do a wonderful job for the University. He will not only be a great figurehead, he is someone who is genuinely passionate about education and its potential.” Tony Blair

About now… From next month About US will switch to a bi-monthly magazine. The main reason for this is mainly environmental – though About US is 100 per cent recycled, that’s still an awful lot of paper to recycle every month, and a lot of you are concerned about the impact of that. The second reason is that Ablog US, which was initially meant to be just an online version of About US, is now more in keeping with what staff want in 2008, in contrast to what we set out to achieve when we launched the magazine in 2004. The online magazine now features staff, student and city-wide stories as well as competitions and events – and as you access it 4,000+ times month, I guess it’s quite popular! But don’t worry, we certainly haven’t forgotten about those of you who don’t have access to the online magazine. About US will now run to at least six pages every issue covering all our latest news. We also have a raft of More About US issues coming along which will focus on what’s happening in this momentous period in the University’s history. But, if you’re scratching around for something to read in your coffee break, from September we will begin publishing a student magazine which will be available in cafes across the Campus. Grab one when the students aren’t looking, they won’t mind! Please send your feedback to me either by email ([email protected]) or drop me a line at About US, the Press Office, 3rd Floor, Edinburgh Building, City Campus. Tony Kerr

Deadline for the next edition of About US is midday on Friday July 18, 2008. Please note that copy space is limited and inclusion in a particular edition can not be guaranteed. To submit an article contact Tony Kerr, the Press Office, Edinburgh Building, City Campus, ext. 2099, fax 2687 or email: [email protected] About US is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper.

For all the latest University news go to: http://ablogus.sunderland.ac.uk

Communication Reps launch The Communications Reps have met for the first time – and the new group is aiming to revolutionise how we communicate with staff and students at the University. The group meets every month to discuss new communication initiatives and how best to move forward with current plans. The idea is to decentralise communication, getting as many staff as possible involved with events and informed about new initiatives through their local Rep. The Reps are: Vicki Allman (Facilities) Sam Brown (Sports), Helyn Burton (Facilities), Ashleigh Clements (Employability), Julie Connelly (Student Support), Sophie Darwin (BLP), Val Ely (Knowledge House), Kay Grieves (ITs), Dean Hale (ITs), Steven Herron (C&T), Megan Janes (WP), Beverley Morgan (SLS), Elewechi Okike (BLP), Graeme Price (BLP), Neil Purvis (HNSS), Fiona Ratton (Academic Services), Deanna Rogerson (Gateway), Laura Simpson (ADMC), Amanda Watson (Planning). The Communication Reps will meet again on July 16. If you are interested in becoming a Rep for your School/Service contact: [email protected]

Carolyn has some welcome new arrivals Congratulations to Carolyn Jess-Cooke who has won a major writing award. She is preparing to publish her first poetry collection, and recently gave birth to her first son, Phoenix. Carolyn is a Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Cultural Studies and recently won the Northern Promise Award for Poetry, awarded each year by New Writing North to poets of promise. This year the award was judged by Alice Quinn, poetry editor of the New Yorker, and executive director of the Poetry Society of America. The award was a cash prize of £3,500 to be used in developing her work.

Mike separates the mint from the cushty

Iain is simply the best Facilities’ Iain Garfield has been named the Chartered Management Institute’s North East Chartered Manager of the Year. Iain’s award was made in recognition of his exceptional leadership and management capabilities.

HNSS researchers aim to kick athlete’s career into high gear

Iain submitted a portfolio of work for online assessment, obtaining appraisals from colleagues and a panel interview. His performance was measured against six nationally recognised skills, including the ability to meet customer needs, lead people and manage information.

A University dialect expert has discovered who in the north is ‘champion’ or ‘mint’. Dr Mike Pearce, from ADMC’s English Department, has created a perceptual dialect map of North East England – with the help of over 1,600 volunteers across the region, from Berwick in the north to Darlington in the south. Mike set out to find out what people from different parts of the region think and feel about their local accents and dialects, and where they draw their own personal ‘dialect boundaries’. Now he has created a virtual map where you can click on different areas in the North East, and find out more about individual people’s experiences of words, phrases and pronunciations from their area. You can view Mike’s Dialect Map – and discover more views from the region - at: http://drmichaelpearce.blogspot.com/

Global company call in AMAP

HNSS’s Paul Bradley puts Andrew through his paces

Manager of the Year Iain Garfield with his team L-R: Phil Beardmore, Helyn Burton, Martin Shaw, Paul Harris, Shayne Swan

Liz is back in the saddle for National Championships This month sees C&T’s Liz Gandy saddle up to take part in a national competition – only nine months after taking up horse riding again. Liz, Senior Lecturer in Software Engineering, is a finalist for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships to be held at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire on July 12-13. Liz, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, is representing Washington Riding for the Disabled Group in the Championship Dressage class and a Freestyle Dressage to Music Test.

Carolyn says: “The award was presented at the Hexham Book Festival in May, a couple of weeks after the birth of my son, Phoenix – so it was a pretty big month for me!” Carolyn has received awards from the Society of Authors, the Arts Council of England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Tyrone Guthrie prize for poetry, the Cardiff International Poetry Competition, and a commendation in the New Writing Ventures competition.

She says: “I’ve only been riding again for about nine months after a break of 15 years. It has been a tough year getting fit enough to do it again. When I started I couldn’t even get my legs around the saddle but my fitness has improved a lot since then. It has also helped at work as I can now walk around the campus between classes and meetings much more easily than I could a year ago.”

To top it all off Carolyn has just received a publishing contract from prestigious Welsh publisher Seren for her debut poetry collection, Inroads, due out in 2010.

Sport scientist Paul Bradley is working with Andrew who, as well holding the title of WUMA world welterweight champion kickboxer, is also studying a degree in Sport and Exercise Development at the University. Paul’s research has mostly concentrated on football, and to get kickboxer Andrew to the peak of his physical condition Paul had to take a different approach to his research. Paul says: “Essentially I look at what fitness attributes are important to make him a successful athlete and you focus on that. Even though he is a world champion his training needed tweaking. We’ve increased the power and speed of his kicks and punches significantly through the inclusion of functional strength and power sessions. We also implemented recovery sessions into his schedule to reduce ‘burn out’ and injuries. “His maximal aerobic fitness has improved and is now higher than that of a professional boxer. So now he goes into his fights with confidence that he is in the right condition to do the job.” Sunderland-born Andrew came to the University via a Foundation Degree, and this month will graduate from Sport and Exercise Development studies. He plans to go into further study and teach sports.

New parking application system

L-R: Davinia Ward (3M), Andrew Flower (NEPA), Sajid Abdullah (AMAP), Fraser Shearer (3M)

This summer will see the introduction of a new, web-based car parking application system that will provide a more efficient customer focussed service.

Global technology company 3M called in experts from the School of C&T’s innovative automotive centre to help improve a system that ensures worker safety across the world. Experts from AMAP (Institute for Automotive Manufacturing and Advanced Practice) have used the latest cutting edge laser scanning technology to help 3M at Newton Aycliffe improve their manufacturing processes to create respirators for worker safety.

All current and new parking scheme members will be required to reapply for their Annual salary mandate and Pay and Display permits this August and then also each year thereafter. The Car Parking Scheme application will be located within the “My Sunderland” area of the University website, with customers requiring a University log-in code and password to access the application. Staff who do not have University log-in codes should see their line manager for assistance with the process.

The University’s Sajid Abdullah, Lead Consultant with Digital Factory, demonstrated the laser scanner, which provides a 2D and 3D dimensional analysis. Fraser Shearer, 3M Senior Manufacturing Technologist, said: “Traditional inspection methods take a long time and are very costly. Using the latest digital technologies available from the NEPA Digital Factory we achieved 3D measurements in two days without any factory down-time. Without NEPA’s invaluable help, it would have taken a consultancy two weeks worth of work at a high cost.”

Andrew Burton is already a world champion – but researchers at HNSS are using the latest research to kick him into an even higher gear.

For 2008/09, Staff Annual salary mandate charges will increase from £15 to £17 per month, the Staff/Student Pay and Display tariff will remain at 20p per hour (up to a maximum of £1 per day). Visitor parking will remain at £1 per hour. Liz Gandy and Tully prepare for glory

Further information about the new parking application system and other travel initiatives will be available at www.sunderland.ac.uk/ facilities/carparking during July.