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College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Newsletter 1 |
Welcome to the first edition of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences newsletter. These briefings will be issued monthly in the next academic year and are designed to keep you up to date with major developments within the College. We welcome your feedback - if you have any queries or comments, please contact us.
This edition tells you a little more about our work on the College's contribution to The Way Forward, introduces you to the members of the College Team and invites you to Town Hall Meetings in September to hear more about the College's action plans.
Professor George Boyne
Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Chaired by the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of College, College Board is responsible for the strategic direction of the College's 1,100 academic and professional staff, 13,000 students and 11 academic schools.
College Board is comprised of the Heads of the Academic Schools of the College, the College Deans for Research, Education and Students, and International, and the College Registrar.
The College Deans also work alongside their fellow Deans in the other colleges, and with the thematic Pro-Vice Chancellors of the University.
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Professor Amanda Coffey is Dean for Education and Students. Elected as an academician of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2011, Amanda is a professor in the School of Social Sciences. A founding co-director of the Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD), her research interests include young people and social change, gender and education, and working lives. In her role as Dean, Amanda's priorities are to ensure the College shares good practice and maximises its collective advantage to assure and enhance the student experience. |
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Professor Ken Hamilton is Dean for International. He is an international concert-pianist, musicologist and broadcaster. His most recent book, 'After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance' (OUP) was a Daily Telegraph “Book of the Year” in the UK, and a CHOICE “Outstanding Academic Title” in the US. Ken is responsible for international student mobility throughout the University, for streamlining systems for international recruitment and admissions within the College, and promoting the College's research and “impact” overseas. |
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Professor Justin Lewis is Dean for Research, Innovation and Enterprise and Professor of Communication in the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. He has written widely about media, culture and politics, media audiences, cultural policy, and media and race. Justin's immediate priority will be to help Schools in the College to submit the best possible returns to the REF. In the medium term, his aim is to deliver some of the key areas of research support - extending the Research Leave scheme for example - and to work on strategic initiatives such as the Creative Industries Hub, the Ideas Lab and the new Library. |
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The University has developed a capital investment programme to improve the facilities on offer to staff and students across campus. The College has submitted a series of successful bids to the programme, leading to the improvement of a number of constituent Schools' estates. Work on the following projects is now underway and is due for completion before the next academic term.
- Improvement of teaching spaces in the MUSIC building (£250,000 investment)
- Refurbishment of 30 shared seminar rooms in the John Percival Building (£250,000 investment)
- Upgrade of teaching and PGR facilities in EUROP's building (£22,000 investment)
- Refurbishment of SHARE's teaching laboratories and new IT facilities (£72,000 investment)
- Upgrade of the Glamorgan Building's facilities, including redecoration, new furniture and new IT and AV facilities (£171,000 investment)
- Refurbishment of JOMEC's facilities (£600,000 investment)
In addition, work has started on an additional building for CARBS, and the College has made a number of new major bids for capital investment. The outcome of these bids will be reported upon in a future edition.
| Response to The Way Forward |
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Following the Vice Chancellor's release of The Way Forward strategy, which outlines the University's priorities for the next five years, work has been undertaken on College action plans for research, education and students, and international activities. These action plans will be circulated to colleagues in the College for consultation in mid-September. |
| Town Hall Meetings |
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In order to give all members of the College an opportunity to learn more about the College action plans and, as part of the consultation process, we have organised two Town Hall meetings for September. The College Deans will present a brief summary of each action plan at the meeting, followed by a Q&A. The meetings will be held on:
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The College has recently made a number of professional services appointments to support Academic Schools in areas of strategic priority.
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Anna Verhamme is the College Registrar. Previously, Anna was College Manager for the University of Exeter Business School. At Exeter, Anna had also taken responsibility for organising and implementing the new governance and professional services structures to support the University's reorganisation into colleges. She has held a number of senior roles and has considerable experience in the management of large-scale projects. Anna has an MA in Women's Studies at the University of Exeter. |
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Nichola Amor joins the College at the beginning of September as Projects and Initiatives Officer. Nichola is currently a Senior Planning Officer in the University's Planning Division and previously worked at the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales after graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Psychology. |
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Siân Benwell is PA to the College Pro Vice Chancellor. Siân was PA to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor from August 2008 until October 2012. She has previously worked in the private and public sector for organisations such as the NHS, DVLA, Gwent Police and also as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language in Barcelona. |
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Laura Davies joins the College as Head of Communications in September. Laura is currently the Director of External Relations at Cardiff Business School and previously worked in the University's Public Relations team. She returned to Cardiff after graduating with a degree in English Language and Literature from Saint Anne's College, Oxford. |
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Andrew Glanfield has returned to his post as School Manager in the Business School but will continue to work on supporting the College's inter-linked 'Languages for All' and potential academic school reorganisation strands of work on a part time basis during the Summer and Autumn. |
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Nick Hogben joins the College in August and will take up the role of Management Accountant. Nick has significant accountancy and finance experience and has worked across both the private and public sector. He is currently the Finance Manager for a NHS organisation and recently played an integral role in carrying out a comprehensive review of health related higher education in Wales, which has resulted in multi-million pound savings. Nick has a degree in accountancy and is also a qualified chartered accountant. |
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Rhian Roberts joins the College in August as Human Resources Business Partner. Rhian has worked for Tata Steel Europe since June 2007 undertaking a key leadership role on the Port Talbot, Llanelli and Llanwern Steel Works. She is an experienced HR Business Partner who has worked in the private, public and not for profit sectors, for organisations such as Gwalia Housing, South Wales Magistrates' Courts and Orange. |