Don’t forget – registration closes for this event at 10.00 on Tuesday 6 August!

National Cycle to Work Day is Thursday 8 August. To celebrate this, and to encourage a greener campus, you are invited to breakfast at Jarman Plaza (opposite Blackwell’s Bookshop) 8.00-9.00.

All you need to do is cycle to campus on that day and come and enjoy a free breakfast and cuppa.

To help us get an idea of numbers for catering, please register on Eventbrite by Tuesday 10.00. Don’t worry about bringing a ticket to the event. Just turn up with your bike and join us.

Dr Bike will be in attendance. Dr Bike (Chris) provides bike repairs on campus each Wednesday at the Cycle Hub near the Sports Pavilion.

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday morning.

As part of the process to reorganise our schools into seven large academic divisions, we will shortly start work on recruitment to the Director of Division and Divisional Director of Operations roles. More details on the recruitment process for these are outlined below.

Directors of Division

An internal advert for this will go live on Monday 5 August, with external leadership consultancy Wickland-Westcott supporting us with the assessment process. The key selection and assessment dates are outlined below:

• 5 August: Job advert live
• 26 August: Closing date for applications
• 27-29 August; 2-5 & 10 September: Initial telephone interviews with Wickland-Westcott
• 17 September: Shortlisting meeting
• 18-22 September: Shortlisted candidates to complete pyschometric tests
• 23-25 & 30 September; 2 October: Assessment centres (case study and interview) run by Wickland-Westcott
• Mid-end October: Final panel interviews and stakeholder presentations

If you wish to find out more about the assessment process and what will be involved, Wickland–Westcott will be on campus holding briefing sessions on the following days / times:

• 1 August, 13.30 – 14.30 – Darwin Boardroom
• 6 August 12.30 – 13.30 – Darwin Boardroom

For those unable to make these briefing sessions, a Q&A document will be made available on the Organising for Success webpages shortly afterwards.

A reminder of the new academic divisions can be found on the Organising for Success webpages.

Divisional Directors of Operations

Recruitment to these roles will also be for internal candidates only, with the assessment process managed by external consultancy Minerva. The advert is expected to go live on Monday 12 August, with more details to follow on the selection process.

Message from the Vice-Chancellor

Recent announcements stated that we would be seeking to make interim appointments to cover two DVC positions until the outcome of open recruitment processes.

We are looking at external and internal options for these roles in this period and I am now writing to invite colleagues who may have the relevant skills and experience to make formal expressions of interest in the following interim roles:

DVC Academic Strategy, Planning & Performance

This will be a new role with the post holder providing leadership on, and implementing structural frameworks for, a broad range of institutional planning and horizon scanning activities. This will help ensure that Kent is well-placed to respond to sectoral changes and provide an outstanding student-centred experience.

The DVC Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance will also develop frameworks to support the delivery of academic and research excellence in our new school groupings. The key accountable areas for this role will include strategy and planning, as well as academic leadership, working closely with the emerging school groups and their leadership teams, to ensure that Kent maintains a competitive offering to students.

A full job description is available here

DVC Education & Student Experience

The post holder will be responsible for the University’s continued excellence in student experience and will be accountable for developing and delivering further innovations in educational programmes.

The interim DVC Education and Student Experience will work across the University to implement new strategies and impact our education offer alongside student support.  The role holder will ensure that our educational programmes are relevant for the graduates of the future, and of an excellent standard; that student needs are met both curricular and co-curricular dimensions and that we are working towards our ambition of offering one of the best student experiences in the UK.

A full job description is available here

Both positions will be interim until appointments are made following open recruitment processes and offer an excellent opportunity to step up into a more senior role and take on a new challenge which will play a key part in shaping these roles for the future.

Should you wish to express interest in either or both of these interim appointments please provide an up-to-date CV, together with a covering letter setting out how you feel you would contribute in the role to s.power@kent.ac.uk.

Please note that the closing date is 12 noon on Friday 30 August 2019.  Interviews will be held on Tuesday 10 September (DVC Education and Student Experience) and Friday 13 September (DVC Academic Strategy, Planning and Performance).

If you would like to have an informal, confidential conversation about either post, then please feel free to email me or Ruth Johnson, so that a suitable date / time can be arranged.

The latest instalment of Newton Talks, a podcast project by Dr James Newton, Lecturer in Media Studies, has just been published. The episode features Dr Dieter Declerq, Lecturer in Film and Media Studies in the School of Arts.

In the podcast series, James discusses topics (mostly) related to cinema, television, and culture.

In this episode, James and Dieter discuss Dieter’s research on satire, and how his interest in the topic began by watching The Simpsons whilst growing up in Belgium. James and Dieter discuss satire’s limitations and paradoxes, as well as the distinctions between satire and mockery. The podcast also covers Dieter’s new research on satire and mental health.

‘[The Simpsons] was television about television. It was mocking other television; it was quite clever about being different from other kinds of television’, says Dieter. ‘I think, for a lot of reasons it’s an important television show. For me it’s because of the satirical worldview, going against the establishment at the time. I think for a teenager who’s in a Catholic school in Belgium, not having a very good time, that was really important’.

To listen to the episode, and others in the series, please see the page here.

Learning & Organisational Development are pleased to announce that the University has achieved Level 2 of the Disability Confident Grading Scheme and we are now accredited with ‘Disability Confident Employer’.

Through Disability Confident, we will work to ensure that disabled people and those with long-term health conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. Recognition of this scheme will help us to recruit and retain the widest possible pool of talent and help develop our valuable skills and experience.

As a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer, we have committed to all elements of Level 1 and also commit to:

• getting the right people for our business
• keeping and developing our people

Disability Confident Employers are recognised as going the extra mile to make sure disabled people get a fair chance.

The certification is valid for two years and we can now display the Disability Confident Employer badge on University stationery, correspondence and websites.

Please review where and how you can use this badge within your own processes.

Over the next two years, we will continue to review the criteria for the Level 2 certification ‘Disability Confident Employer’ to improve services and the experience for all employees. We will also review the next level of the Disability confident scheme ‘Disability Confident Leader’ and understand requirements to move forward.

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to Peter Stanfield, Professor of Film and Media in the School of Arts.

Peter works in American popular cinema from the 1930s through to the 1970s, and we learn why it was that the 50s resonated in the way it did in later films, including the rise of Teddy Boys in the early 70s.

The pair also discuss: singing cowboys; American popular cinema; photographs and memories; growing up in Hemel Hempstead; New Musical Express; seeing Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin on stage; the emerging punk scene; sitting next to Nick Cave at the cinema; how there is no separation between being a fan and being a researcher; why Peter doesn’t have a longing to return to his teenage years; the relationship between nostalgia and repetition; and why Peter has never had the ambition to be a filmmaker.

Garrett Gorman and Rich Payne from our Finance Department have completed a 220-mile cycle ride to Paris, and raised nearly £2,400 for charity.

Garrett and Rich joined 70 students (seven from Kent) for the Breast Cancer Now London to Paris from 5 to 7 July. They were keen to support Breast Cancer Now as they have both had family members and friends affected by the disease.

Garrett said: ‘We wanted to do something to support a charity that is actively researching a cure for this disease. More recently, myself and Rich have had a very close friend and work colleague fighting this disease – she was especially in our thoughts as we completed this challenge and we wish her the very best as she gets through this.’

The three-day cycle, which raised a total of over £90,000, started in Waltham upon Thames and stopped off at Portsmouth, Caen and Evreux en route to Paris.

Garrett said: ‘Emotions were running high as we came around the road under the Eiffel Tower. There was family, friends and strangers cheering us on and cars tooting their horns in encouragement for the final stretch. Both of us appreciated just how much our family and our work colleagues did to support us – without them, we don’t believe we would have managed to raise the full amount.’

In an extra boost to their fundraising, Garrett and Rich held a raffle and cake sale on campus during March ahead of the cycle ride.

There’s still time to support them by clicking on Garrett’s sponsorship page or Rich’s sponsorship page.

The Centre for English and World Languages has two spare tickets for the 2pm performance of As You Like It at the Globe Theatre (Lower Gallery) on 22 August.

Face value is £47. If you would like the tickets, please email englishshortcourses@kent.ac.uk by 5pm on 31 July and make us an offer. 

Dr Patty Baker, Senior Lecturer in Classical & Archaeological Studies, was invited to take part in the Summer School for Greek and Latin at University College London (UCL) to speak at a round table session about ‘Disability in Antiquity’.

Patty spoke about conceptions of mental disability or learning disability, and how this topic can be used as a prompt for difficult classroom discussions about modern issues of equity and inclusion for those who identify as such.

The round table session was made up of a panel of four experts who research the topic of disability in the past. Patty’s talk explored how adults with mental impairments were defined and treated in the Greco-Roman world, arguing that they were seen as incomplete adults and cared for as if they were children. The second part of her talk explained how information about disability in the ancient world can be used as a platform to evoke difficult classroom discussions in consideration of modern issues related to disability rights.

Patty described the event by saying: ‘The summer school was a mix of academics and students from around the world. Students focused on translating Homer in the morning and early afternoon and then attended an afternoon round-table on topics covered in their reading. The event led to a lively discussion between the audience and the panelists.’

Catriona Blackburn, currently studying on the MA in Film with Practice, has had her short film The Cracks selected for submission to five film festivals: One-Reeler Short Film Competition, the WRPN Women’s International Film Festival, Lisbon Film Rendezvous, Lift-Off Global Network Sessions, and KinoDUEL International Film Festival. In addition, Catriona’s film has been selected as a semi-finalist at Lisbon Film Rendezvous and for the Award of Excellence at One-Reeler Short Film Festival.

The Cracks follows the emotional journey of Anna (Katherine Hall) as she copes with a violation; of her body, of her trust, and of her mind. As the cracks begin to show, only her little love, Tio, can save her from total self-destruction.

Catriona’s time at Kent started in 2011, first studying a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology, for which she received first-class honours. After a year of working with academics within the university and beyond as a visual anthropologist, Catriona came back to Kent to study for an MA in Film with Practice in the School of Arts.

Catriona says: ‘It was an incredible learning experience, our lecturers always discussed with a level and respect and humility that meant our opinions felt recognised and relevant. I have always felt that Kent offered me a freedom to speak my mind and explore my creativity. I felt I had found my niche in Visual Anthropology after my undergraduate studies, but with the support of the School of Arts, in particular my supervisor for the final production Richard Misek, and technician Daniel Haywood, I see many more opportunities for myself in the future. Completing this course has given me confidence in my abilities not only as an independent film maker but as a producer and distributor. I cannot quite believe how much positive feedback my first fiction film has received, and before it has even been graded!’

What’s next for Catriona? ‘I plan to complete my current projects this coming year; ‘Ableism in Academia’, ‘Embodied Reflection’ with Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, and ‘Exploring Embodied Academic Identity through creative research methods’. Moving forward I hope to have the opportunity to produce films and documentaries, find funding for an experimental short using puppetry to speak about bereavement. I also have plans to make a feature documentary, showcasing the lack of support for new mothers and the onus on the mother’s responsibility within pregnancy and through to new motherhood, by following a group of pregnant women from different socio-economic backgrounds through into new motherhood’.

More of Catriona’s work can be viewed on her website: www.catrionablackburn.com

More information about The Cracks can be found here.