News

Graduate honours

Published 8 February 2011

The University of Brighton is honouring one of its own when more than 1,800 students graduate this week (10 and 11 February).

David House

David House, the university's Deputy Vice-Chancellor between 1991 and 2010, will be awarded a Doctor of Letters in recognition of his longstanding and significant contribution to the development and growth of the university.

He will receive his award during the university's winter graduation ceremonies on Thursday and Friday at the Brighton Dome.

Mr House spent 37 years with the university until his retirement last year and is credited with building its sound financial footing. He is an active member of the community in Brighton and Hove, and chairs the Board of the Brighton Philharmonic Society. He is also a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths.

Lord Mogg of Queens Park, chairman of the university's Board of Governors, said: "Quite where the university will be without David’s profound contribution to its growth and development is anyone’s guess."

Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford

Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, professor of Early Childhood Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, is also receiving a Doctor of Letters, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to early years education and to raising the profile of the teaching profession.

Baroness Audrey Emerton

The ceremony's keynote speaker is Baroness Audrey Emerton, a cross-bench peer and former chair of Brighton Health Care NHS Trust and an honorary graduate of the University of Brighton.

Ezekiel Garang

Among the students receiving awards is Ezekiel Garang, the first graduate of the university's new Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the School of Applied Social Science.

He came to Brighton through the British Council's Chevening Scholarship Programme having previously worked for the United Nations in his home country of Sudan.

As part of the UN's Development Programme, he took part in efforts to demobilise, disarm and reintegrate ex-combatants in his country's long civil war.

He has now returned to Sudan and is currently applying for positions within the disarmament programme.

He said the MPA gave him an international perspective on how to improve services offered by government, civil society and non-governmental organisations.

Visit the School of Applied Social Science.

Heather Baid

Heather Baid comes from British Columbia, Canada, and expected to stay in Brighton for no more than a year.

Heather worked in the intensive care unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and liked the city more than she expected. Now, nine years later, she has completed an MSc Clinical Studies and Education at the University of Brighton.

Heather, now a senior lecturer and Intensive Care Pathway leader for the university's School of Nursing and Midwifery, leads a programme for post-registered nurses to specialise in intensive care, and she helps teach on physical assessment modules for nurses and paramedics.

She said: "I really enjoy teaching at the school of nursing of midwifery and look forward to staying on there for the indefinite future. I also occasionally work at the local intensive care unit in order to keep up to date with clinical skills."

Visit the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Dr Steven Goss-Turner

Deputy Head of the School of Service Management, Dr Steven Goss-Turner has been awarded a Doctor of Philosophy.

The School of Service Management, based at the Eastbourne campus, offers courses in events, hospitality, retail, travel and tourism. Steven has been working at the school since 1991. In this time, he has taught, researched and written several books in the main subject area of human resource management and the service sector, with particular emphasis on the hospitality industry.

For his PhD Steven studied the relationship between organisational culture and labour turnover within the licensed retail sector.

He said: "It has been fascinating to meet and interview many of the managers and staff who work in the pubs and restaurants sector of the economy, a sector that employs nearly 1.5m people in the UK. There are many employees who love their work and the work groups in which they work, but many businesses struggle with the impacts of unacceptable rates of staff turnover, detrimentally affecting customer service and profitability.

"It is my hope that the subsequent publication of my findings will make a significant contribution to addressing this challenge from a cultural and organisational behaviour angle, to the benefit of businesses, employees and customers."

Visit the School of Service Management.

Find out more

Find out more about the award ceremonies.