The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Clive H Church, Emeritus Professor of European Studies.

Clive joined Kent from the University of Lancaster in 1981 as Senior Lecturer in European Studies, affiliated with the then European Studies unit in the School of European Culture and Languages. He was promoted to a professorship in 1992 and became a member of the Department (now School) of Politics and International Relations in 1996. Upon his retirement in 2003, he was appointed Emeritus Professor.

A historian by background, Clive became a leading scholar of Swiss history and politics and of European integration. Among his numerous works are The Politics and Government of Switzerland (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Understanding the European Constitution (Routledge, 2006 – with David Phinnemore), A Concise History of Switzerland (Cambridge University Press, 2013 – with Randolph Head), and Political Change in Switzerland (Routledge, 2016).

He was an active member of the Channel Tunnel Research Unit from 1986-1993, a co-founder of the Kent Centre for Europe (a Jean Monnet Centre), which was in operation from 2000-2010, and of the Centre for Swiss Politics, in operation from 2003-2016. He remained very much active past his retirement and was planning to write on external views of Swiss politics at the time of his death.

Outside academia, Clive was much involved in the local community. He was the founder of the Alliance of Canterbury Residents’ Associations, an organisation which is still important and active today. He was also a key member of the Campaign for Democracy in the Canterbury district, where his understanding of political issues and processes made a valuable contribution. As the same time he was active in Thanington, the part of Canterbury where he lived, writing a history of the area and contributing to the parish council.

He will be fondly remembered by all those who knew him.

We express our deepest condolences to his daughters, Hilary and Joanna, and partner, Clare, and their families.

Dr Paolo Dardanelli | Deputy Head of School of Politics and IR

Picture shows: Clive with his granddaughter, Claudia

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Keith Dimond.

Former colleague, Mohamed Sobhy writes:

‘It is with sadness that I report that my friend and colleague Keith Dimond has passed away. Keith joined the University in 1971 as lecturer in the Electronics Laboratories (now the School of Engineering). Prior to joining, Keith worked at GCHQ in Cheltenham. I remember in his interview at Kent, Keith could not give the panel some details of his work, as it was classified. Nevertheless, the panel was so impressed by Keith’s personality and knowledge and had no hesitation in offering him the post.

‘Subsequently, Keith made a vital contribution to developing the teaching and research in the department, especially on the digital side and was promoted to a Senior Lectureship in recognition of his work. Keith also made a significant contribution to the administration of The Electronics Laboratories. For 10 years, during my term as director, Keith was deputy director and his help and support were vital to the smooth running of the department. I remember in particular, his help in preparing the application to the Institution of Electrical Engineers (now IET) for accrediting the new courses. Before his retirement, Keith became Master of Keynes College again using his personality and diplomacy to run the College smoothly and effectively.

‘Throughout my knowledge of Keith, I admired his manner of dealing with people in a diplomatic and kind manner that made him respected and loved by all his colleagues and students. Keith will be sadly missed by all who knew him.’

We express our condolences to his wife Judith, his two daughters Rachel and Fiona and their families.  

It is with great sadness that we inform colleagues of the death of Geoffrey Stephenson (1939-2021).

Geoffrey established the Social Psychology Research Unit and the Board of Studies in Social Psychology at the University of Kent in 1978, and created its pathway to become the Institute of Social and Applied Psychology and ultimately both the School of Psychology and Tizard Centre.

Geoffrey was one of the UK’s foremost social psychologists in the 1970s and 80s and a leading figure in the formation and growth of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology, being elected its President from 1984-7. Following his retirement from Kent in 1998, he continued to be very active in research and teaching for a further decade.

A full obituary will be prepared in due course. Those wishing to convey messages of condolence and remembrance to his wife Astrid and children Lawrence, Kate and David are welcome to contact Professor Dominic Abrams: D.Abrams@kent.ac.uk

In memory of Geoffrey, his family invite donations to be made in aid of Age UK Faversham and Sittingbourne via  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidStephenson28/1

Professor Georgina Randsley de Moura | Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance

We were saddened to hear that Ivan Wills passed away after a long battle with illness.

Ivan worked for over 13 years as a Security Officer for the University and was a member of the Congregation Team for the majority of that time, a role which he particularly enjoyed. He pointed out on many occasions that watching the students graduate was what it was all about.

Ivan was a keen fisherman, a very proud grandfather and just a real character, who will be missed by all who knew him.

Campus Security Team

The University was very sorry to learn that Philip North died on 4 June, 2021, aged 72.

Dr North obtained his PhD from the University of Kent in 1979, on the topic of Statistical methods in ornithology. He was an active member of an Ecology Research Group, which predated DICE.

In addition through his research, links were established with the British Trust for Ornithology and the Centre d’Ecologie Fontionnelle & Evolutive, CNRS Montpellier, which are continued by the current members of the Statistical Ecology at Kent research group in SMSAS.

He became Director of the Applied Statistical Research Unit at Kent (subsequently ASRU Ltd), which for many years undertook consultancy with a range of pharmaceutical companies.

Words by Byron Morgan, SMSAS

Words by Helen Buhler

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Will Simpson on 7 July 2021.

Sadly, and unexpectedly, Will Simpson, the University of Kent’s second Librarian, died on 7 July  at home. Since succeeding Stephen Darlow, Kent’s Founding Librarian, after four years as his Deputy Librarian, Will’s time in the best office on campus was characterised by forward-thinking and efficient management, together with a deep dislike of red tape and paperwork. He was a major figure in the development of KLACS, Kent’s online circulation system, written by the Computing Lab’s Rod Saunders, which came into use in October 1976, and was the first in a British university library. This was eventually replaced by Cambridge’s cataloguing and circulation systems.

Will was also instrumental in fostering a relationship with the Cathedral Library, and was (together with Naomi Linnell and David Shaw) involved in the Cathedral’s online catalogue of pre-1801 printed books. The Templeman’s extension on its eastern side owed its initial planning to Will, aided by Margaret Smyth.

Always approachable and helpful, Will made the Templeman a very pleasant place to work. I have happy memories of those years. Needless to say, his retirement was marked by the Templeman’s best and biggest party!

Our condolences and thoughts go out to June and to their children, Harold, Lucy, and Victoria.

May Will rest in peace.

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Dr Jingqi Miao on Friday 2 July.

Dr Miao was appointed as a Lecturer at the University in 2001 and she retired two years ago. She was a valued member of the School community and the sad news of her death has been deeply felt across it.

Jingqi joined us at a challenging time, when subjects like Physics were facing a shortfall in Higher Education funding. After taking up her academic post at Kent, Jingqi was immediately confronted with the task of increasing undergraduate student recruitment in Physics and Astronomy, a role she relished and made her own. The increase in recruitment that she helped generate set up the School on a path of substantial growth over the next decade.

She was successful in making a powerful case for renewing funding from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council to establish “Space School” which quickly became an annual SPS tradition. This event ran in the summer every year from 1999 (and was only suspended in 2020 due to COVID).

Jingqi’s research was appreciated across the world. Her work on the origin of stars, using computer simulations, will hold a special place in the future development of the subject. Her enthusiasm for her research was unwavering and transmitted to her students and collaborators.

All of her colleagues will always remember her as kind, modest, hardworking and devoted to her family. Well-liked and respected by all, she was the kind of colleague that made the School a better and happier place to be in.

A fuller tribute to Dr Jingqi Miao, by Dr Silvia Ramos and other members of the School of Physical Sciences, is available on the School website.

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Anne Seller, one of the first members of our academic staff, on Wednesday 11 November.

Anne Seller was appointed to a Lectureship in Philosophy in 1966, and helped to shape the profile of philosophy at Kent. Her speciality was political philosophy.

She was a member of Keynes and played an active part in the life of the college. She also played a central role in setting up the Women’s Studies graduate course at Kent.

Outside the University, Anne Seller also made an enormous contribution. Locally, she taught philosophy for children, working at the Orchard School, and served as Lady Mayoress of Canterbury in 2001-2.

On the national stage, she played a lead role in the Society for Women in Philosophy and took an active part in campaigning against siting Cruise missiles in the UK.

She spent a year teaching at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, where she continued to be a frequent visitor, and held a visiting appointment at Mother Teresa Women’s University in south India

A fuller tribute to Anne Seller, by Professor Richard Norman, Professor Sean Sayers and former student Professor Miranda Fricker FBA, is available on the Department of Philosophy webpages.

The University was very sorry to hear of the death of Dr Ian Stone on Friday 10 July 2020.

Dr Stone was appointed Administrative Assistant in the Academic Division of the Registry in May 1978. He was then appointed Assistant Registrar in 1982 and by 1985 was Senior Assistant Registrar and Faculty Administrator for the Natural Sciences Faculty. In 1990 Dr Stone moved to the new Research Grants and Contracts Office, as Head, and worked there until he took early retirement in the mid-1990s.

Dr Stone then moved to the Isle of Man and, a scholar of polar studies, became Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, being editor of the journal Polar Record for over ten years and publishing more than 60 articles.

Many University colleagues have expressed their sadness at Dr Stone’s death and have looked back with happy memories at a greatly esteemed and entertaining colleague, a very supportive manager and someone who was always ready for a competitive game of squash.

Dr Jeremy Ovenden, former Director of Planning and Student Information, writes: ‘Ian was one of those real characters that you are privileged to come across in your working life. Always entertaining, he delighted his colleagues with his little eccentricities and headed up a happy and motivated office. Yet beneath that exterior was an intelligent, knowledgeable and caring individual and I was grateful for his guidance on many occasions. He will be missed.’

Dr Stone will be remembered with immense fondness. The University expresses its condolences to his family.