A dedicated team of 23 student callers spoke to over 1,300 alumni across the UK during this autumn’s telephone fundraising campaign, during which time they shared their experiences at Kent, updated alumni on all the latest news from the University, and also spoke about the Kent Opportunity Fund, which supports a range of projects that help transform the lives of students at Kent.

Our student callers had a fantastic time sharing their memories with those who attended Kent before them. Many received offers of mentoring support from alumni who remember only too well how daunting the world of work can be, and over £71,000 was raised for the Kent Opportunity Fund, the highest total for our telephone campaign to date.

Every year the Development Office organises telephone campaigns to raise funds for the Kent Opportunity Fund. Donations and pledges received during will enable ground-breaking research to be undertaken by exceptional scholars, help financially-vulnerable students to complete their degrees, and support activities and projects that equip students with the skills and experience to become the leaders of tomorrow.

On Saturday 12 December 2015, UK Power Networks will be carrying out scheduled maintenance to the three sub-stations which serve the whole of the Historic Dockyard site. Consequently, on the 12 December there will be no staff or student access to any of the University’s buildings on the Dockyard site as there will be a complete power shutdown.

Information Services have asked that all staff based at the Dockyard site unplug all their IT equipment before leaving site on Friday 11 December 2015.  If you have any queries regarding your IT equipment please contact the Medway Campus Support Team  ukmhelpdesk@kent.ac.uk.

You should also unplug all other electrical equipment e.g.: kettles, toasters etc., except for fridges/freezers which should not be unplugged as they will defrost if they are left off all over the weekend.

Please ensure details of this closure are communicated to all of your students and to staff without access to email.

If there are any queries regarding the above please contact the Estates Helpdesk at Canterbury on Ext 3209.

Gulbenkian, Thursday 3 Dec, 19.30

In this truly unique performance pianist Sarah Nicolls plays her amazing ‘Inside-Out Piano’, through music and conversation she gradually reveals her parallel journey into motherhood.

Booking link: http://bit.ly/1NsVnKi

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta_U-H0cfPc

Select full price tickets and then enter the code is ‘moments’ (all lower case) to access your discounted ticket (also available through our Box Office 01227 769075).

A wide range of vibrant music making activities is available at The School of Music & Fine Art, from Chamber Choir and jazz ensembles to the World Percussion Ensemble and the large-scale Choir and Band, comprising students from across the Medway campus. In December we will be showcasing the talent and skills of our students in a range of concerts that are free to attend.

On Weds December 9 in the Galvanising Workshop at the Historic Dockyard Chatham, part of the University’s Medway campus, students from the School of Music & Fine Art perform music from a range of traditions. The Jazz Improvisation Ensemble will perform works by Juan Tizol, Fats Waller and Joe Harriott. There will be a performance of Frank Martin’s exceptionally beautiful Piano Quintet in D Minor and the concert will be framed by works with a festive flavour sung by the Chamber Choir. This free concert starts at 19.30.

The following week, you can hear students from the BMus and MA Music programmes studying band and ensemble playing. This Ensemble Performance Lunchtime Concert is Tues December 15 from 12.00 til 13.00 in the Galvanising Workshop, and will include performances of jazz and contemporary popular music.

Finally, from 20.00 until late on Thursday December 17 the award winning bar and bistro Cargo Bar at Liberty Quays welcomes bands from the School of Music & Fine Art to perform sets of original material and covers.The gigs are free to attend and always draw a crowd. Says Director of Music Programmes and Lecturer in Music, Dr Ben Curry, ‘always feel immensely proud and excited when I see our students perform. Whether they are playing innovative pop, soul and jazz or pulling off a challenging work from the classical tradition, they always give compelling performances.’

There are an estimated 36 million slaves alive today, including in the United States and Europe – more than at any point in human history. In this open lecture, guest speaker, Professor Zoe Trodd will explore how over the past 15 years, a growing antislavery movement has achieved some successes, including new legislation and increased public awareness. But it is repeating mistakes of the past and often starts from scratch, rather than learning from earlier antislavery successes, failures, experiments and strategies. After laying out the facts, figures and definitions for global slavery, Zoe Trodd will examine this contemporary antislavery movement. What might an antislavery usable past look like? What strategies, literary devices, images and opinion-building activities were useful to earlier antislavery generations, and how might they be useful for contemporary abolitionists in adapted form?

Professor Trodd’s lecture takes place on Thursday 3 December at 18.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 2. It is hosted by the University’s Centre for American Studies and is open to all.

About the speaker
Zoe Trodd is Professor of American Literature in the Department of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham. She received her PhD from Harvard University and has taught at Harvard, UNC Chapel Hill and Columbia University. She researches protest literature and visual culture, especially of antislavery, and her books include American Protest Literature (2006), To Plead Our Own Cause (2008), Modern Slavery (2009), The Tribunal (2012), Civil War America (2012), and Picturing Frederick Douglass (2015). She recently addressed the European Parliament about its antislavery policy, and works with antislavery NGOs on their campaigns, especially their use of slaves’ testimonies and their visual culture.