about US

About US Abroad: Summit’s up with Chris

Sponsored by Pixels2Canvas
University Governor Chris Green has hit the heights this month – on the three
peaks challenge and in the About US Abroad competition. Chris is Finance Director
of Northumbria Water and climbed to the top of the three peaks - Ben Nevis,
Scafell and Snowdon - in 24 hours last month. Northumbria Water’s ‘Summits Up’
team raised over £11,750 for the Northumbria Calvert Trust charity at Kielder. The
Ben Nevis
July 2008
charity is dedicated to providing outdoor adventure for the disabled. Find out more
about Calvert’s operation at Kielder by following the justgiving weblink: http://
www.justgiving.com/summitsup
Chris has won a 24”x18” print of his favourite picture from Pixels2Canvas.
Pixels2Canvas use the latest technology to print your favourite photo on quality
Scafell
Steve Cram installed as Chancellor
cotton canvas, stretched and sealed around a handmade frame ready to hang.
To find out more about Pixels2Canvas’ services log on to www.pixels2canvas.co.uk
“Steve is a wonderful asset to this institution
Snowdon
and I, and the Board of Governors, very much
look forward to working with him to help take
the University forward.”
Last chance to win a place in the 2009 Bob Davies, Chairman of the Board of
Governors
Staff Calendar
“I can’t think of a better person to take on the
We have another two winners for this month’s calendar competition. Kate
Simpson (ELL) who submitted this fantastic shot of Alnwick Castle in role of Chancellor. Every bit of Steve’s DNA is
Northumberland, and James Fawcett (SLS) who captured this rare shot of a North East, but he has a global perspective.
heron on the banks of the Wear. The University is in very safe hands.”
Their photos will appear in Lord Sebastian Coe
the 2009 University Staff
Calendar – will yours? We “Steve is well aware of what we have achieved
only have two places left – so far and what we aim to achieve in the
and the only criteria is that future. I know he will be a great ambassador
you must be a member of in helping to promote what we do regionally,
staff at the University, and
nationally, and internationally.”
you must send us a picture
of the North East. Professor Peter Fidler, Vice-Chancellor and
To enter the calendar Chief Executive
competition send your “Steve will do a wonderful job for the
photos to me (prints or
University. He will not only be a great
email jpegs) at:
aboutus@sunderland.ac.uk figurehead, he is someone who is genuinely
by Friday July 18. passionate about education and its potential.”
Tony Blair

About now…
From next month About US will switch to a bi-monthly magazine. The main reason for this is mainly environmental – though
About US is 100 per cent recycled, that’s still an awful lot of paper to recycle every month, and a lot of you are concerned
about the impact of that. The second reason is that Ablog US, which was initially meant to be just an online version of About
US, is now more in keeping with what staff want in 2008, in contrast to what we set out to achieve when we launched the
magazine in 2004. The online magazine now features staff, student and city-wide stories as well as competitions and events –
and as you access it 4,000+ times month, I guess it’s quite popular!
But don’t worry, we certainly haven’t forgotten about those of you who don’t have access to the online magazine. About US
will now run to at least six pages every issue covering all our latest news. We also have a raft of More About US issues coming
along which will focus on what’s happening in this momentous period in the University’s history.
But, if you’re scratching around for something to read in your coffee break, from September we will begin publishing a student
magazine which will be available in cafes across the Campus. Grab one when the students aren’t looking, they won’t mind!
Please send your feedback to me either by email (aboutus@sunderland.ac.uk) or drop me a line at About US, the Press Office,
3rd Floor, Edinburgh Building, City Campus.
Tony Kerr

Deadline for the next edition of About US is midday on Friday July 18, 2008. Please note that copy space is limited and inclusion in a
particular edition can not be guaranteed. To submit an article contact Tony Kerr, the Press Office, Edinburgh Building, City Campus, ext.
For all the latest University news go to:
2099, fax 2687 or email: aboutus@sunderland.ac.uk About US is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper. http://ablogus.sunderland.ac.uk
Communication Reps launch
The Communications Reps have met for the first time – and the
new group is aiming to revolutionise how we communicate with
staff and students at the University.
The group meets every month to discuss new communication
initiatives and how best to move forward with current plans. The
idea is to decentralise communication, getting as many staff as
possible involved with events and informed about new initiatives
through their local Rep.
The Reps are: Vicki Allman (Facilities) Sam Brown (Sports),
Helyn Burton (Facilities), Ashleigh Clements (Employability),
Julie Connelly (Student Support), Sophie Darwin (BLP),
Val Ely (Knowledge House), Kay Grieves (ITs), Dean Hale (ITs),
Steven Herron (C&T), Megan Janes (WP), Beverley Morgan (SLS),
Elewechi Okike (BLP), Graeme Price (BLP), Neil Purvis (HNSS),
Fiona Ratton (Academic Services), Deanna Rogerson (Gateway),
Laura Simpson (ADMC), Amanda Watson (Planning).
The Communication Reps will meet again on July 16. If you are
interested in becoming a Rep for your School/Service contact:
aboutus@sunderland.ac.uk
Carolyn has some welcome new
arrivals
Congratulations to Carolyn Jess-Cooke who has won a major writing
award. She is preparing to publish her first poetry collection, and
recently gave birth to her first son, Phoenix.
Carolyn is a Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Cultural Studies and
recently won the Northern Promise Award for Poetry, awarded each
year by New Writing North to poets of promise. This year the award
was judged by Alice Quinn, poetry editor of the New Yorker, and
executive director of the Poetry Society of America. The award was
a cash prize of £3,500 to be used in developing her work.
Carolyn says: “The award was presented at the Hexham Book
Festival in May, a couple of weeks after the birth of my son, Phoenix
– so it was a pretty big month for me!”
Carolyn has received awards from the Society of Authors, the Arts
Council of England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Tyrone
Guthrie prize for poetry, the Cardiff International Poetry Competition,
and a commendation in the New Writing Ventures competition.
To top it all off Carolyn has just received a publishing contract from
prestigious Welsh publisher Seren for her debut poetry collection,
Inroads, due out in 2010.
Mike separates
the mint from
the cushty
A University dialect expert has discovered who in the north is
‘champion’ or ‘mint’. Dr Mike Pearce, from ADMC’s English
Department, has created a perceptual dialect map of North East
England – with the help of over 1,600 volunteers across the region,
from Berwick in the north to Darlington in the south.
Mike set out to find out what people from different parts of the
region think and feel about their local accents and dialects, and
where they draw their own personal ‘dialect boundaries’. Now he
has created a virtual map where you can click on different areas
in the North East, and find out more about individual people’s
experiences of words, phrases and pronunciations from their area.
You can view Mike’s Dialect Map – and discover more views from
the region - at: http://drmichaelpearce.blogspot.com/
Global company call in AMAP
L-R: Davinia Ward (3M), Andrew Flower (NEPA),
Sajid Abdullah (AMAP), Fraser Shearer (3M)
Global technology company 3M called in experts from the School
of C&T’s innovative automotive centre to help improve a system
that ensures worker safety across the world. Experts from AMAP
(Institute for Automotive Manufacturing and Advanced Practice)
have used the latest cutting edge laser scanning technology to help
3M at Newton Aycliffe improve their manufacturing processes to
create respirators for worker safety.
The University’s Sajid Abdullah, Lead Consultant with Digital
Factory, demonstrated the laser scanner, which provides a 2D and
3D dimensional analysis.
Fraser Shearer, 3M Senior Manufacturing Technologist, said:
“Traditional inspection methods take a long time and are very costly.
Using the latest digital technologies available from the NEPA Digital
Factory we achieved 3D measurements in two days without any
factory down-time. Without NEPA’s invaluable help, it would have
taken a consultancy two weeks worth of work at a high cost.”
Iain is simply the best
Facilities’ Iain Garfield has been named the Chartered Management
Institute’s North East Chartered Manager of the Year. Iain’s
award was made in recognition of his exceptional leadership and
management capabilities.
Iain submitted a portfolio of work for online assessment, obtaining
appraisals from colleagues and a panel interview. His performance
was measured against six nationally recognised skills, including
the ability to meet customer needs, lead people and manage
information.
Manager of the Year Iain Garfield with his team L-R: Phil Beardmore, Helyn Burton,
Martin Shaw, Paul Harris, Shayne Swan
Liz is back in the saddle for
National Championships
This month sees C&T’s Liz Gandy saddle up to take part in a
national competition – only nine months after taking up horse riding
again.
Liz, Senior Lecturer in Software Engineering, is a finalist for the
Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships
to be held at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire on July 12-13. Liz,
who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, is representing Washington Riding
for the Disabled Group in the Championship Dressage class and a
Freestyle Dressage to Music Test.
She says: “I’ve only been riding again for about nine months after
a break of 15 years. It has been a tough year getting fit enough to
do it again. When I started I couldn’t even get my legs around the
saddle but my fitness has improved a lot since then. It has also
helped at work as I can now walk around the campus between
classes and meetings much more easily than I could a year ago.”
Liz Gandy and Tully prepare for glory
HNSS researchers aim to kick
athlete’s career into high gear
HNSS’s Paul Bradley puts Andrew through his paces
Andrew Burton is already a world champion – but researchers at
HNSS are using the latest research to kick him into an even higher
gear.
Sport scientist Paul Bradley is working with Andrew who, as well
holding the title of WUMA world welterweight champion kickboxer,
is also studying a degree in Sport and Exercise Development at the
University.
Paul’s research has mostly concentrated on football, and to get
kickboxer Andrew to the peak of his physical condition Paul had to
take a different approach to his research.
Paul says: “Essentially I look at what fitness attributes are important
to make him a successful athlete and you focus on that. Even
though he is a world champion his training needed tweaking.
We’ve increased the power and speed of his kicks and punches
significantly through the inclusion of functional strength and power
sessions. We also implemented recovery sessions into his schedule
to reduce ‘burn out’ and injuries.
“His maximal aerobic fitness has improved and is now higher than
that of a professional boxer. So now he goes into his fights with
confidence that he is in the right condition to do the job.”
Sunderland-born Andrew came to the University via a Foundation
Degree, and this month will graduate from Sport and Exercise
Development studies. He plans to go into further study and teach
sports.
New parking application system
This summer will see the introduction of a new, web-based car
parking application system that will provide a more efficient
customer focussed service.
All current and new parking scheme members will be required to re-
apply for their Annual salary mandate and Pay and Display permits
this August and then also each year thereafter.
The Car Parking Scheme application will be located within the
“My Sunderland” area of the University website, with customers
requiring a University log-in code and password to access the
application. Staff who do not have University log-in codes should
see their line manager for assistance with the process.
For 2008/09, Staff Annual salary mandate charges will increase
from £15 to £17 per month, the Staff/Student Pay and Display
tariff will remain at 20p per hour (up to a maximum of £1 per day).
Visitor parking will remain at £1 per hour.
Further information about the new parking application system and
other travel initiatives will be available at www.sunderland.ac.uk/
facilities/carparking during July.