Honorary professor in the Centre for Journalism, Keith Somerville, is to receive a prestigious prize for his ground-breaking examination of the history and politics of ivory in Africa.

Keith has been awarded the Marjan-Marsh Prize – given annually by the King’s College’s Marjan Centre for the Study of War and the Non-Human Sphere and the Marsh Trust “to someone who has made an invaluable contribution to an area where conflict and conservation overlap”.

Keith will share the award with Stephane Crayne, who trained and led anti-poaching teams in the Central African Republic. Both will receive their awards and give a presentation on their work at King’s College on 23 November.

At the award ceremony, Keith will also be launching his  book Ivory – Power and Poaching in Africa, which played a key part in his nomination.

Half of Tanzania’s elephants have been killed for their ivory since 2007, and a similarly alarming story can be told of herds in northern Mozambique and swathes of central Africa.

Keith’s new study of the history and politics of ivory in Africa forensically examines why poaching happens and why it is corruption, crime and politics, rather than insurgency, which we should worry about.

Two members of staff from Kent Hospitality are cycling 300 miles from Manchester to Exeter in conjunction with TUCO (The University Caterers Organisation) to raise money for charity.

From 22 to 25 July, Adam Hames (Keynes Food and Beverage Manager) and Chris Terry (Darwin Food and Beverage Manager) will cycle 75 miles a day to reach the annual TUCO Conference which is being held in Exeter this year.

Chris said: ‘We’re really excited to be doing this for great charities that mean a lot to us individually, our families and so many others. Neither of us has ever done anything like this before, we’re not professional cyclists by any means and this will push us to our physical limits. It will be worthwhile though and we’re looking forward to arriving at the 2016 TUCO Conference!’

Adam and Chris are raising money for Leukaemia Cancer Society and Pilgrim’s Hospice respectively. University staff can support them by donating via their Just Giving webpages.

At our meeting on Friday 1 July, the Council of the University discussed the implications of the EU referendum.

The Council is the University’s governing body, and its members are from a wide range of backgrounds, including business, industry, law, media and public services, as well as representatives from all parts of the University.

We were united in endorsing the Vice-Chancellor’s commitment, and that of her staff, to support staff and students through this very difficult and uncertain time, as set out in her message sent to the University community on 24 June.

We also re-affirmed the importance of Kent’s status as the UK’s European University. We share the University’s pride in this identity, and its determination to remain an outward-facing, international institution.

This is at the heart of Kent’s future, and the Council is unequivocal in its support.

Sir David Warren
Chair of the University Council

The University held elections for three of the four staff positions on Council in June 2016. For the first time, an online system was used for the nominations and the elections, and this proved to be a success.

There were two available positions on Council for academic and research staff and five expressions of interest were received. After an election where 432 members of staff took part, Dr Owen Lyne from the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Professor John Fitzpatrick, from Kent Law School, were elected. There was a very good response rate of 41% for this election.

There was one available position on Council for a member of the University’s staff from Grades 1 to 6 and eight expressions of interest were received for this position. Charlotte Guy from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, was elected with 19% of the votes cast after a very close election. Again, there was a good response rate of 32% for the election, with 461 members of staff taking part.

All three will serve as members of Council from 1 August 2016 until 31 July 2019, joining Mark Ellis from the School of Engineering and Digital Arts, who was elected last year as a member of the University’s staff from Grades 7 and above.

Further information on the University Council, its membership and terms of reference, is available on the University Governance webpages.

The University has reinforced its commitment to remain a European university, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

We have begun to receive updates from government and advisory bodies, though many questions still remain.

We are mindful of the impact of this uncertainty on our staff and students. Our Vice-Chancellor led two Q&A sessions with staff and students at Canterbury and Medway last week.

We have also developed post-EU referendum advice webpages, using guidance from key agencies such as Universities UK and the Student Loans Company. We will update these pages as the situation develops.

Individual staff with particular concerns are advised to contact the HR Department. Students with EU referendum-related queries are advised to contact staff within the Academic Division.

Staff have another opportunity to find out more about the University’s concept master plan for the development of the Canterbury campus over the next 50 years with leading architects, Farrells.

An exhibition will run in the Grimond Foyer (Canterbury campus)  on Tuesday, 5 July, from 10.00-18.00 and Wednesday 6 July, from 09.00-17.00. There is no need to book, all are welcome.

On Tuesday 5 July, there will also be a presentation from the University’s Director of Estates, Peter Czarnomski in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3, from 12.00-13.00. You will need to book your place online.

The concept master plan, developed with leading architects Farrells, builds on principles outlined in the University’s original development plan from 1963. The concept master plan contains ideas on how best to develop our campus to meet the needs of the University, as well as deliver long-term benefits to our local communities, and improve our intellectual, physical, economic and cultural connections with the city of Canterbury.

We need your comments and feedback on these ideas and these will be used to help us develop this concept into the finished master plan.

The University is also consulting with local residents, alumni, the business community and councillors in order to get a view from the local community.

The concept plan in full, along with ways to send in your comments online, is also now available on the University webpages.

The University of Kent is proud to announce its continuing participation in the Aurora programme, a Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) sector-wide development programme for women in higher education.

The programme is sponsored at Kent by our Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, and Professor Yvonne Sherwood (Professor of Religious Studies) has now formally taken over the role of Aurora Champion from Professor Ruth Blakeley (Professor of International Relations) who has provided excellent support and guidance for the programme in the role for the last three years.

After the last three year’s successful involvement with the programme, we will again be supporting a further Kent cohort in 2016/17. Female staff in academic (up to Senior Lecturer level), postgraduate research and professional services (grades 7-9) roles are now invited to apply by completing the relevant academic & research or professional services application form available on the Learning & Development website.