Margaret Beckett’s student days

Hitching up with Harvard

Manchester International Festival

Your Manchester Online is launched

Martin Amis:arriving soon!

The University of ManchesterAlumni Magazine

May 2007

yourmanchester

2 YOURMANCHESTER

your manchesterfeatures...

16

8

18

12

10

14

YOURMANCHESTER 3

contentsAword from the President 4

Around the campus 6

Dementia demystified 10

Changing the climate 12

The significance ofsocial capital 14

The scar prevention revolution 16

Martin Amis joinsthe University 18

TV crews on campus 20

Sport at Manchester 23

Women graduates in the House 26

Manchester’s student newspapers 30

The ManchesterInternational Festival 32

Alumni in the spotlight 34

Alumni Association news 36

Development news 40

Your Manchester is published by the Communications,Media and Public Relations Division in conjunction with theDivision of Development and Alumni Relations,The University of Manchester.

For further information concerning any of the articles in thisissue please contact:Donna Prince, Co-ordinating Editor/Alumni Officer,Division of Development and Alumni Relations,The University of Manchester,G9 Christie Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL.tel +44 (0)161 306 3066fax +44 (0)161 306 8066email d.prince@manchester.ac.uk

The articles printed here, to the best of our knowledge,were correct at the time of going to press. We cannotguarantee that all articles submitted will be printed and wereserve the right to edit material where necessary.Furthermore, the views expressed in this magazine are notnecessarily those of The University of Manchester, TheUniversity of Manchester Alumni Association, or the Editor.

20

26

29

Cou

rtesyof

Greater

Man

chesterPo

liceMuseu

mCou

rtesyof

theForeignan

dCom

mon

wealth

Office

4 YOURMANCHESTER

Dear Graduate,

Welcome to this third edition of YourManchester, the magazine for the 200,000alumni of The University of Manchester aroundthe world.

I have been in Manchester just over three yearsnow and the new University is just over twoand a half years old. Reflecting on that period,it is remarkable what the University hasachieved. Although the merger was a massiveundertaking, the new University has by nowwell and truly established its own separateidentity, and the energy of the whole campuscommunity is focused on achieving theambitious goals identified in our strategic plan,the Manchester 2015 Agenda.

We are making remarkable progress towardsachieving many of those goals and establishingManchester as one of the world’s leadinguniversities over the next decade. Nothingworth achieving is ever easy, and the newUniversity has had challenges to overcome as

well as successes to celebrate. But thetrajectory has been remarkable. In September,we were named ‘University of the Year’ by theSunday Times and our position continues toimprove in the most credible of internationalhigher education league tables, the ‘AcademicRanking of World Universities’ produced by theShanghai Jiao Tong University, where ourposition has improved from 78th in 2004 to53rd in 2005 and 50th in 2006. Over the pastyear we moved from 12th to 9th in Europe and6th to 5th in the UK.

The appointment of distinguished novelistMartin Amis as Professor of Creative Writingand Robert D Putnam as a Visiting Professor tohead a new joint project between Manchesterand Harvard on Social Change are coveredelsewhere in this magazine. Alongside theappointment last year of Nobel LaureateProfessor Joseph Stiglitz, these two further‘iconic’ appointments reflect the boldness andambition of the ‘step change’ transformationlaid out in the Manchester 2015 Agenda.

The new University’s ambitions have beenrealised particularly in the research field, wherewe are establishing Manchester as not justworld class but world-leading in fields asdiverse as cancer studies, the understandingand remediation of global poverty, areas of cellbiology and the nuclear-related sciences. Acrossthe University more generally, we are emergingas a genuine research powerhouse with anannual research budget of around £350 millionand an increase of around 25 per cent in totalaudited research expenditure during our firsttwo years.

Without in any way diminishing the importancethat it attaches to fundamental research, thenew University has since its inception sought toplace equal weight on knowledge andtechnology transfer. In the past two years,there has been a 100 per cent increase in thenumber of ‘declarations of discovery' whichmay be of commercial value. Mostconspicuously, third party investment inUniversity companies is rising substantially. The

A word from Professor Alan Gilbe

YOURMANCHESTER 5

scale and value of some of these companies isimpressive. One spin-out company, NeuTechPharma, was acquired in 2006 by Swisspharmaceutical giant Novartis for £30 million;another, Renovo, was floated on the StockExchange, raising some £50 million and valuingthe company at more than £200 million.

In the teaching and learning field, applicationsto study at the University remain buoyant andthe past year has seen record levels ofenrolment by international students andstudents enrolled on programmes relyingpredominantly on on-line and distance learning.There has also been a continuing improvementin student satisfaction over the past yearreflecting our continuing programme ofinvestment in academic facilities and supportservices as well as the quality of our teachingstaff and the courses that we offer.

Our students – and the local community - arealso benefiting from the Manchester LeadershipProgramme (MLP), which was launched in early

2005 to encourage students to get involvedwith the local community, whilst boosting theirpersonal development. Combining achallenging curriculum focussed on personaland professional development, and requiring 60hours of formal community work, it attracted75 students in the first year, with a further 300set to take part in 2006/07. I believe that theMLP can become one of the definingcharacteristics of our alumni, making themmore sought after than ever by employers and,even more importantly, the kind of informedcitizens able to help build stable, sustainable,civil societies wherever in the world they chooseto live.

In pursuing all of the goals contained in theManchester 2015 Agenda, the University is verydependant on the support offered by itsgraduates around the globe. This magazinecontains examples of the valuable financial andpractical support that many alumni haveoffered to specific projects and initiatives, but Iknow that many more of you are supporting us

more informally by encouraging family andfriends to study here and colleagues andbusiness associates to forge partnerships withthe University.

I am grateful for your continuing support and Ihope that the highlights that we have chosenfor the pages of this magazine will give you aflavour of our successes over the past year andwill enable you to become even more effectiveambassadors for your University in the yearahead.

Professor Alan GilbertPresident and Vice-Chancellor

rt, President and Vice-Chancellor

6 YOURMANCHESTER

A series of prestigiousawards this year has boostedManchester’s enviablereputation around the world.A new survey of Britain’s top100 graduate recruiters forexample reveals thatManchester graduates arethe most targeted bycompanies seeking to fillgraduate vacancies.

The survey, from TheGraduate Market in 2007published by High FliersResearch Ltd, followed thenews that The University ofManchester had won thecoveted Sunday Times‘University of the Year’ title.

The Sunday Times UniversityGuide is now in its ninth yearand is seen by students andparents as an invaluable firstreference point for finding auniversity place.

This year’s league tablerevealed that we retained ourposition as the UK’s mostpopular university with62,657 applications toundergraduate courses forentry in 2006. In additionManchester was beaten byjust seven universities in thejudgment of academicsacross a range of 30 subjects.Official assessments ofteaching quality show nouniversity in the country hasmore subjects rated excellentfor teaching – 36 in all!

Manchester Business Schoolwas also well placed in theFinancial Times rankingpublished recently. TheSchool is now placed ninth inEurope and fourth in the UK,with particular strengths in

its doctoral programmewhich is ranked second inthe world.

Professor Michael Luger(from the Kenan-FlaglerBusiness School in NorthCarolina), who joinedManchester Business Schoolin January as Director, said:“We have faculty membersfrom all over the world, andan enormous breadth ofteaching and researchexperience that’s available toall our students, so it’s greatto see this recognised in theFT ranking. One of my keyobjectives is to promoteManchester Business Schoolon the world stage, andindependent surveys like thisadd weight to our claims tooffer a truly internationalexperience to our students.”

Another boost came fromThe Confederation of BritishIndustry (CBI) in the NorthWest which chose theUniversity’s President andVice-Chancellor, ProfessorAlan Gilbert, as its businessleader of the year.

Professor Gilbert was praisedby the CBI for his work inlaunching and leading theUniversity since itsestablishment in October2004 following thedissolution of the VictoriaUniversity of Manchesterand UMIST.

And finally the ManchesterScience Park has been judgedas ‘Outstanding’ for itsservices to tenants and thelocal community at theannual UK Science Park

Association conference heldat Edinburgh’s Heriot-WattUniversity Research Park.

The judges selectedManchester ahead of otherUK science parks due to thecontribution it has made tothe success of the City ofManchester and its excellentenvironmental policies.

The Science Park providesfree business developmentsupport to all its tenantcompanies and offersnetworking events, freebusiness and marketingsupport and access toGreater Manchesteruniversities. It is home tomore than 100 companies,and the University is a majorshareholder.

A string of firsts for The University of Manchester

Around the campus...

YOURMANCHESTER 7

New nuclearresearchcentreannouncedAmajor new nuclear researchfacility is to be established inCumbria with £20 million ofinitial funding from TheUniversity of Manchester'sDalton Nuclear Institute and theNuclear DecommissioningAuthority (NDA).

The University and the NDA havesigned an initial collaborationagreement, which will see eachorganisation invest £10 million overa seven-year period.

The money will be used to providespecialist research equipment andfacilities and to drive forwardresearch into radiation sciences andengineering decommissioning.

A new multi-million pound centrewill initially house around 60 staffand postgraduate students and willbe built on the Westlakes Scienceand Technology Park, nearWhitehaven in West Cumbria.As part of the investmentagreement The University ofManchester will recruit a team ofnew academic staff and will work toextend access for academicresearchers from other universities.

Restoration music expert DrRebecca Herissone has solved amystery that has puzzled scholarsfor more than a century.

The mystery surrounds Henry Purcell’spopular piece, Come Ye Sons of Art,which was written to celebrate thebirthday of Queen Mary in 1694.

The score is riddled with startling errorsand is quite different to the master-composer’s other works. Now, after afour-year investigation, Dr Herissone hasdiscovered that the ode, which wascopied by an unknown musician calledRobert Pindar, was subjected to majorchanges in the eighteenth century.Pindar used different instruments,changed repeats, notations and wordsand may even have replaced a wholemovement with another Purcell piece.

By using other Pindar copies and notingpattern changes, Dr Herissone was ableto ‘correct’ many of the errors and hasproduced her own version of the scorewhich she believes is closer to Purcell’soriginal composition.

“As we don't know if the autographscore survives, we don't have any way to

check Pindar's copy with the original,”she said. “But Pindar also copied threeother odes by Purcell, and we are able tocompare the composer's autographswith Pindar's versions of these pieces.I've identified how Pindar makeschanges to Purcell's music and haveused this knowledge to reconstructPurcell's original version of Come YeSons of Art. It's now almost a newpiece, but I'm confident it's pretty closeto the original.”

Purcell’s puzzling piece

Dr Rebecca Herissone

RenamedRutherfordA historic building that once housedone of the University's most famousscientists has been renamed inhis honour.

The Coupland Building, just off OxfordRoad, has been officially renamed inhonour of Nobel Prize winner,Ernest Rutherford.

The event in December was markedby a special ceremony, which wasattended by Rutherford’s great-granddaughter, Professor Mary Fowler,and also his great-great-granddaughterDr Ellen Nisbet.

Established in 1900, the PhysicalLaboratories at the University were, atthe time, among the largest in theworld. They soon became a centre forthe study of atomic and nuclear physics.

New Zealander Rutherford led thelaboratories between 1907 and 1919.

During this time he made some of hismost significant contributions to science,including the splitting of the atom.

The newly-named Rutherford Buildinghouses the University's International

Development, Student Recruitment,Admission and Widening Participationactivities, and also a small exhibitioncelebrating Rutherford's workin Manchester.

8 YOURMANCHESTER

A totally deaf Japanese student hasovercome hearing and languageproblems to graduate from theUniversity with flying colours.

Kenichiro (Ken) Onishi has thankedUniversity and Faculty DisabilityCo-ordinators for supporting himto achieve an MA inInternational Relations.

Ken became totally deaf at the age oftwo after contracting mumps whileliving in Japan. He has never learnt tospeak and has had to learn tocommunicate by sign language andby writing.

But with the help of the UniversityCentral Disability Co-ordinator heachieved a merit for his dissertation

paper on the discourses of HumanRights in Islamic countries.

Communicating by writing, Ken said:“When I started my MA studies I wasconcerned that as an internationaldisabled student any funding fordisabled students would be denied.However my worries were quicklyremoved when I was offered computerequipment to help me.”

Ken’s course was mainly seminar basedso to help him communicate with staffand other students, the Universityprovided a staff member and anelectronic note-taker to relay messagesin a quick and efficient manner. Theelectronic note-taker also had theadded benefit of allowing Ken to keephis files up-to-date.

Ken, who plans to take a PhD and trainas a solicitor, said: “I strongly believethat my achievement would not havebeen possible without the support ofthe Disability office.”

Student overcomes obstacles to graduate

Left to right: Dr Ellen Nisbet, Professor Mary Fowler and the President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Gilbert

Left to right: Pat Horrocks (School DisabilityCo-ordinator), Ken and Bryan Coleman (Disability Officer)

Jodrell Bank, the UK’s national radio astronomyobservatory and part of the University’s School ofPhysics and Astronomy, has been named as the UK’sgreatest ‘Unsung Landmark’ in a BBC online competition.

The accolade is a fitting tribute to a piece of science which isabout to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Jodrell Bank was the brainchild of physicist Sir Bernard Lovellwho had worked on radar during the war and was fascinatedby odd signals picked up by the equipment, which he believedmight be echoes of cosmic rays.

He started work at The University of Manchester buildings inthe centre of the city, but was obstructed by interference frompassing electric trams and decided he needed to get into thecountryside. He took up residence at Jodrell Bank, where theUniversity’s botany department had a base.

Conceived in the 1940s, and co-designed by engineer Sir CharlesHusband, the main telescope at Jodrell Bank was completed in1957. It measures 250 feet in diameter and weighs 3,200tonnes, dominating the Cheshire landscape near Goostrey.

The telescope soon impressed the astronomy community whenit was the only facility in the West able to track the rocketcarrying the Russians’ first satellite, the Sputnik, into space.

Today astronomers at Jodrell Bank spend much of their timelooking for quasars and pulsars, large stars that have collapsed inon themselves and become hugely dense rotating neutron stars.

For more details about Jodrell Bank and it’s 50th anniversarycelebrations go to www.manchester.ac.uk/jodrellbank.Also, see page 39.

YOURMANCHESTER 9

Researchers in the University’sSchool of Dentistry have created aunique way of identifyingosteoporosis sufferers usingordinary dental x-rays.

Following a three year EU fundedresearch programme Professor KeithHorner and Dr Hugh Devlin havedeveloped a largely automatedapproach to detecting the debilitating

bone disease - which affects a fifth ofpeople in their sixties and more than athird of those in their seventies.Currently no screening is available.

Since X-rays are used widely indentistry, the team has drawn on‘active shape modelling’ technology,developed by the University’sDivision of Imaging Sciences, toautomatically detect jaw widthsof less than 3mm – a key indicatorof osteoporosis.

“This cheap, simple and largely-automated approach could be carriedout by every dentist taking routinex-rays, and the success rate is as goodas having a specialist consultant onhand,” said Professor Horner.

The team hopes an x-ray equipmentcompany will now step in and integratethe software with its products.

Dentists detect osteoporosis

Star attraction

10 YOURMANCHESTER

Dementia is the name given to a groupof related conditions which destroybrain cells and lead to a progressivedecline in our mental function. It is adistressing condition which affectssome 750,000 people in the UK alone,gradually destroying their memory,their ability to learn, reason and makejudgments. Over time, sufferers oftenlose their ability to function on a day-to-day basis.

Treatments do exist but theireffectiveness is patchy and usuallyshort lived. However, world leadingresearch across two different Universityfaculties is tackling the root causes ofdementia and has produced some

promising results, and perhaps eventhe hope of a cure.

In the Faculty of Life Sciences,Professor Andrew Doig is working onthe design of a new drug for thetreatment of Alzheimer’s disease – oneof the commonest forms of dementia.His results have been so successfulthat he is now hoping to apply thesame drug principle to otherdevastating diseases.

Professor Doig said that the key step inthe onset of Alzheimer’s takes placewhen a small protein fragment (calledβ-amyloid) changes shape and sticks toitself. The protein aggregates then

build up in a part of the brain calledthe hippocampus, killing cellsresponsible for short-term memory.

To tackle this Professor Doig has beenworking in collaboration with a spin-out company from his laboratorycalled Senexis on the design of drugswhich bind to the β-amyloidaggregates. The drugs interfere withthe aggregates assembly and thenreduce their toxicity.

In tests the drugs are more effectivethan any others discovered to date andit is hoped that trials in humans willstart soon. In fact the results are sopromising that the same drug strategy

As our populationages, growingnumbers of people arelikely to developdementia. Currentlythere is no cure butresearchers inManchester are at theforefront of efforts tounderstand thebiology of this muchfeared disease

The Brain Gain

YOURMANCHESTER 11

is now being tested on other diseaseslinked with protein aggregation,including Parkinson’s disease and typeII Diabetes, and there are plans to startwork on Motor Neuron disease andother dementias in the near future.

“Diseases caused by proteinaggregation are of enormous andgrowing importance in our ageingpopulation”, said Professor Doig.“Current drugs can, at best, onlyalleviate symptoms for a limited periodof time. By tackling the root causes ofthe diseases, namely toxic proteinaggregates, we hope that we candevelop far more effective therapies.”

Elsewhere in the faculty, Professor RuthItzhaki’s team is investigatingAlzheimer’s from another angle byunravelling the role of a common virusin the development of the disease.

The virus, which targets the nervoussystem, infects most humans in infancybut remains within the peripheral

nervous system – the part of thenervous system other than the brainand spinal cord - usually indormant form.

“It was uncertain previously whetherthe virus is also present in the brain”,said Professor Itzhaki. “We found thatit does indeed reside there in manyelderly people, and that those whohave a specific form of a gene (calledapoE, type 4 form) are likely to developAlzheimer’s disease.”

The team’s recent findings haveformed a vital link between the virusand the main abnormal brain featuresof the disease.

“Our recent results are extremelyexciting; we have found that the viruscauses marked deposition of themain components of theseabnormalities,” said Professor Itzhaki.“We think the virus is normallydormant in elderly brains but canbecome activated by events such asstress or infection. Repeatedactivation in those with apoE type 4eventually causes Alzheimer’s disease.Our results point to treatment ofAlzheimer’s disease by using antiviralagents and to the future possibility ofits prevention by vaccination againstthe virus in infancy.”

While significant progress has beenmade in understanding the geneticcauses of Alzheimer’s disease, relativelylittle has been known about the geneslinked to another common form ofdementia called FrontotemporalDementia or FTD.

A breakthrough came last yearhowever when researchers in theSchool of Medicine helped identify asecond gene mutation behind FTD,following their earlier success inpinpointing errors in the gene knownas ‘tau’.

“We now know that many more casesprobably result from errors in the‘granulin’ gene,” said lead researcherDr Stuart Pickering-Brown, whopredicts that replacement therapies totackle the condition will be developedin the near future.

The Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centreis also contributing towards ourunderstanding of dementia and recentlycarried out its first positron emission

tomography ‘PET’ brain scan on anAlzheimer’s patient - a 77 year-oldformer RAF pilot and air trafficcontroller.

Stephen Carter of the School ofPsychological Sciences is using theCentre’s unique technology to look atthe transition from mild cognitiveimpairment (MCI) to earlyAlzheimer’s. MCI is often - althoughnot always - considered a precursorto the condition and it is crucial, hesaid, to be able to detect earlychanges: “We need to be able toproduce a more accurate diagnosis asby the time dementia is currentlydiagnosed, irreversible brain damagehas typically already taken place.”

In the same School, Professor MattLambon-Ralph is investigating how theknowledge we have about the world isstored in the brain, and why it breaksdown in dementia and stroke patients.

His team at the Centre for ClinicalNeuroscience is using a uniquecombination of comprehension andlanguage tests, plus mathematicalmodels and enhanced brain imaging toincrease understanding of how ourknowledge is encoded. Already theteam has identified the part of the brainwhich forms and processes concepts.

Dementia is also under the spotlight inPsychiatry where Professor Alistair Burnsis investigating the effectiveness ofaromatherapy oils in combating theagitation that often accompaniesAlzheimer’s. Professor Burns, DeputyDean (Clinical Affairs) of the Faculty ofMedical and Human Sciences, iscurrently recruiting volunteers for arandomised controlled trial in whichpatients will either have thearomatherapy oil Melissa massaged intotheir hand, or take a drug or a placebo.

It is hoped the study will lead to analternative treatment to conventionaldrugs which can have side effects.

Professor Burns is also working withthe Universities of New York andSydney in a study to help those caringfor dementia patients - more than halfof whom suffer from depression. Thework seeks to harmonise supportacross the three continents, enablingsharing of good practise in reducingdepression over time.

12 YOURMANCHESTER

A sea change in tackling

global warmingWhen you’re next in the city, see if youcan spot the solar panels on the newmaths, physics and astronomy buildingon Upper Brook Street or those on thenew humanities building on OxfordRoad; the latter is the second biggestsolar scheme in Manchester after theCIS tower.

The University is taking climate changevery seriously indeed and in addition tonew green buildings and energyreduction schemes, many hundreds ofstaff across our schools and researchgroups are committed to tacklingenvironmental concerns.

The Joule Centre for example isinvestigating low-carbon technologiessuch as wave energy and hydrogen fuel

cells, and academics working at theCentre are also looking to develop ahost of new ‘smart’ technologies.

The potential of wave energy hasalready been demonstrated byProfessor Peter Stansby from theSchool of Mechanical, Aerospaceand Civil Engineering, who hasattracted considerable attentionwith his innovative ‘ManchesterBobber’ system.

The Bobber does exactly what thename suggests - it makes use of therise and fall of the water surface.This movement transmits energy,which is then extracted by themechanics to drive a generator andproduce electricity.

The vision is to have a series of Bobbersworking together to generateelectricity for the National Grid. Afterthe successful testing of a 1/10th scaledevice, co-inventor Professor Stansby isnow working with The University ofManchester Intellectual Property Ltd(UMIP) and other commercial partnersto drive the project forward.

According to legend, the sun is a rarevisitor to Manchester but neverthelessthe University is still powering aheadwith some dazzling work in the field ofsolar energy.

The School of Chemistry recentlystarted a £1.5 million research projectwith the School of Materials, theSchool of Physics and Astronomy, the

Manchester is at theforefront in developingnew technologies totackle climate change

YOURMANCHESTER 13

School of Electrical and ElectronicEngineering and the Department ofPhysics at Imperial College London tocut the cost of solar power.

The three-year project will investigatea number of new and novel designsfor solar cells, in an attempt toproduce a cheaper and more efficientsystem for generating green energy.The research team are aiming todemonstrate solar cells that have thepotential to be mass-produced andcan achieve a good level of energyconversion efficiency.

As plans are formulated for the nextgeneration of nuclear power stations,the UK faces the very serious challengeof ensuring ageing nuclear facilities are

decommissioned and cleaned up safelyand securely.

The University’s Dalton Nuclear Institute isgeared up to tackle this challenge withsome of the UK's most advanceduniversity-based nuclear research facilities.

Plans for a world-class multi-millionpound research and learning centre inWest Cumbria were unveiled by theInstitute and the NuclearDecommissioning Agency at thebeginning of 2007. (See page 7)

In Manchester, the Institute is helpingto train and prepare a new crop ofnuclear engineers through its nuclearengineering doctorate and nuclearMSc courses.

The Rigg-NAFUMScholarship in EnergyEngineeringThe University’s research intosustainable energy is generouslysupported by alumnus George Rigg(BSc Science 1960) and his wifeJane, and by a contribution fromalumni who support the NorthAmerican Foundation for theUniversity of Manchester (NAFUM)(see page 36 for details on NAFUM).The Riggs, and their fellow NAFUMsupporters, have provided fundingfor a PhD scholarship in EnergyEngineering – the ‘Rigg-NAFUMScholarship’.

The scholarship, offered by theFaculty of Engineering and PhysicalSciences and commencing inSeptember 2007, is for a studentfrom the US with a research focuson energy, the environment andsustainability (including globalenvironmental change;environmental quality and humanwellbeing; sustainability andenvironmental technologicalinnovation; and energy systems).

14 YOURMANCHESTER

Love it or loathe it, successfulnetworking has become a mark ofsuccess, whether in academia,business, politics, even the schoolplayground. It’s who you know ratherthan what you know that determineshow you get on in life and whetheryou happen to be a captain of industryor captain of the netball team, youneed to be in with the right crowd tohave influence.

This is the central idea behind socialcapital: that groups of people with acommon interest help each other outand by doing so, contribute to botheconomic and wider societal gains.Social capital is not confined to theupper echelons of power but can beidentified in many different walks of lifefrom friendship networks,

neighbourhoods, churches, schools,sports clubs, civic associations,even bars.

The problem is that the way manypeople live today tends to isolateindividuals rather than bring themtogether. Changes in the workplace,where we live, even the growth ofcomputers have tended to fragmentcommunities and reduce the potentialfor building social capital.

Social capital is productive, since twofarmers exchanging tools can get morework done with less physical capital.Similarly rotating credit associationscan generate pools of financial capitalfor increased entrepreneurial activity.Social capital can encourage people toengage with democratic structures to

tackle social problems. On a moresimple level, social capital enablespeople to share information – aboutjob vacancies for example - andreciprocate favours.

But precisely how much influence iswielded by social capital in the 21stcentury is a big question for the manysocial scientists studying the idea, likeHarvard University’s Robert D Putnamwho popularised the concept andpublished a definitive account in hisbook Bowling Alone, publishedin 2000.

Bowling Alone shows how Americanshave become increasinglydisconnected from family, friends,neighbours, and democraticstructures. But it also explains how

A Harvard Professor who hasimpressed Tony Blair andGeorgeW Bush has become aVisiting Professor atManchester in order to conducta joint investigation into thebreakdown of social cohesion -on both sides of the Atlantic

Spotlight on social isolation

YOURMANCHESTER 15

they can reconnect which has strongimplications for policy makers.

Since the book was published,Professor Putnam’s ideas have attractedthe interest of politicians andcommentators – including Tony Blair,Bill Clinton and George W Bush.

The arguments have also influencedthe World Bank which accepts thatsocial cohesion is critical for societies toprosper economically and fordevelopment to be sustainable.Professor Putnam was named one ofthe Guardian’s top 100 intellectuals of2005 and became a member of boththe American National Academy ofScience and the British Academy, forhis analysis of the 30-year-decline ofsocial connectivity and the atomisednature of modern life.

Now The University of Manchester’sSchool of Social Sciences has joinedforces with Professor Putnam’s team atHarvard to carry out major research inthis area.

‘Social Change: A Joint Project ofHarvard and Manchester’ will bedirected by Professor Putnam fromHarvard’s John F Kennedy School ofGovernment. He will join forces withresearchers from Manchester to conducta series of transatlantic comparativestudies on topics such as inequality,immigration, religion, the changingworkplace and civic engagement.

They will investigate what drives socialchange, how it relates to the wellbeingof members of society and theimplications for policy makers – issueswhich confront political leaders onboth sides of the Atlantic.

As part of the project, ProfessorPutnam has taken up a part-timeVisiting Professorship at The Universityof Manchester for five years. Hisactivities will include a series ofcollaborative projects, graduatesummer school coursework andpostgraduate programmes.

Manchester already hosts a number ofcentres of excellence specialising in theexploration of social change and ishome to the £3.7 million Economic andSocial Research Council Funded Centrefor Research on Socio Cultural Change.

It also hosts the Cathie Marsh Centrefor Census and Survey Research aninterdisciplinary research centre in theSchool of Social Sciences.

There are many examples of howuniversity research dovetails with theHarvard collaboration. For exampleLudi Simpson argues that the UnitedKingdom’s increasing ethnic diversityhas had no impact on levels of culturalsegregation - a prominent challenge tothe views of Commission for RacialEquality Chairman Trevor Phillips, whowarned last year that Britain was"sleepwalking towards segregation".

Similarly, Dale Southerton and a teamof sociologists found that contrary topopular belief, families are likely to eattogether in much the same way as theywould have done 30 years ago.

And in a report for the JosephRowntree Foundation Professor EdFieldhouse and Dr David Cutts haveshown a link between the turnout andregistration of British South Asianelectors and the ethnic make-up ofneighbourhoods.

Professor Putnam said: “There is a longand fruitful history of collaborationbetween British and American scholarsin learning across our similarities anddifferences in order to tackle importantsocial issues. The programme builds ona foundation of exceptional expertise inboth Manchester and Harvard, as wellas elsewhere in our two countries.”

He said Manchester had been heavilyinvolved historically in using the bestscholarship to resolve problems ofpractical importance to politicians,industrialists, leading citizens, and theworking-class - and this projectreturned Manchester ‘to those roots.’

Professor Putnam believes that today’sAmericans sign fewer petitions, belongto fewer organisations that meet,know their neighbours less, meet withfriends less frequently, and evensocialize with their families less often.

His research shows how changes inwork, family structure, the ageingpopulation, suburban life, television,computers, women's roles and manyother factors have contributed to ourisolation. Now he is trying to find waysto bring us back together.

The EnglanderStudentship inCivic EngagementThe Harvard-Manchester Initiativeand the University’s research intosustainable civil societies arecomplemented by the ‘EnglanderStudentship in Civic Engagement’.

This PhD studentship has beensupported by a generous gift fromPeter Englander and will focus onthe role of information technology inshaping and facilitating the role ofcitizens in a modern democracy.The scholarship holder will explorethe trend in democracies, such as theUK, for declining levels of politicalparticipation and volunteering, andreduced trust in government.

Peter Englander is an alumnus ofthe University having graduatedwith a BSc in Chemical Engineeringin 1964.

Professor Robert D Putnam

16 YOURMANCHESTER

It is no picnic to be selected as aTechnology Pioneer: a company mustbe developing life changingtechnology which has the potential forsome long term impact on businessand society. It must demonstratevisionary leadership and show all thesigns of being a long-standing marketleader. And blue sky thinking alonewill not suffice; the technology mustbe proven.

These are the stiff criteria laid down bythe Geneva-based World EconomicForum which is committed toimproving the state of the world.Funded by one thousand of theworld's foremost corporations, theForum exists to further economicgrowth and social progress. And thisyear it made Renovo Group plc, one ofManchester’s most successful spin outcompanies, a Technology Pioneer.

Renovo is a biopharmaceuticalcompany which last year successfully

floated on the London Stock Exchangeraising more than £60 million.

The company is genuinely a worldleader in regenerative medicine. Itsbusiness is developing drugs for theprevention and reduction of scarringwhich results from major injuries orfrom surgical procedures.

Scars are a consequence of a repairmechanism that replaces missingnormal tissue with an extra cellularmass when normal tissue regenerationhas failed.

But scars are not just unsightly. Theycan cause major medical problems andcan seriously impair the workings ofblood vessels, eyes, nerves, internalorgans, tendons and ligaments.

The new drugs are injected around themargins of the wound to eitherprevent scarring or significantly reduceits effects. But timing is critical and theintervention needs to take place within

48 hours if scar-free healing is to takeplace. Since surgery is ‘trauma byappointment’, administering the drugspromptly is not a problem for surgicalpatients. In the case of major traumaresulting from say road trafficaccidents or burns, patients are usuallytransferred promptly to hospital whereany scar reducing drug could beadministered.

No one else in the field is even close,and yet there is an important medicalneed to be met according to ProfessorMark Ferguson, Chief Executive Officerof Renovo. “There are currently nopharmaceutical drugs to prevent orimprove scarring,” he said. “Over thecounter products such as pressuregarments, silicone dressings orhydrocortisone injections areunpredictable and largely ineffective.”

Renovo has a portfolio of drugs whichuse different methods to prevent andreduce scarring. The Company

Manchester’s world leading research into the preventionof scars is recognised by theWorld Economic Forum

An injection of healing

YOURMANCHESTER 17

currently has four drugs in clinicaldevelopment and a further eight intrials. According to external researchconducted by The Mattson JackGroup, the potential commercialmarket is huge, worth in the order ofUS$4 billion a year in the US alone.This is largely because there are some42 million patients each yearundergoing surgical procedures inAmerica who could potentially benefitfrom pharmaceuticals that prevent orreduce scarring in the skin. Thismarket is larger in patient volumethan depression, osteoporosis, asthmaand diabetes.

By continuing research into thescientific mechanisms that result inscarring, Professor Ferguson’s teamaims to discover differentpharmaceutical approaches to scarring.For example much of the work isinvestigating why damagedmammalian embryos heal perfectly,with no signs of scarring and completerestitution of normal skin architecture.

Renovo has a strong portfolio ofintellectual property, with more than300 granted patents and patentapplications worldwide, as well as anumber of exclusive licensingagreements which allow access to thekey patents required.

And the potential benefits of the drugscould be even wider, Professor

Ferguson added. Since commonfibrotic disorders share some of theunderlying mechanisms involved inscarring, patients suffering fromconditions like pulmonary fibrosis, livercirrhosis and the kidney disorderglomerulonephritis also stand tobenefit from the research.

The final selection of the 47Technology Pioneers, from a group of225 nominees, was made by a panel of‘world leading’ technology and venturecapital experts appointed by the WorldEconomic Forum. Professor Ferguson ishoping that the award will boost hiscompany’s reputation across the world.”There is a real gap in the market forthe kind of drugs we are developingand significant unmet medical need,”Professor Ferguson said. “There is notreally any competition and Renovoaims to be first to market with a drugin the US and Europe to tackle scarprevention and wound healing.”

He was invited to take part in theWorld Economic Forum meeting inDavos in January where he got thechance to chat with the presidents ofSouth Africa and Egypt and businesspeople from many different sectors. “Itwas the most wonderful networkingopportunity,” he said. “I met interestingpeople from all over the world.”

www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2007

The Thornley VisitingProfessorshipManchester’s exceptional success inthe field of regenerative medicine isto be enhanced by the creation ofnew links with leading researchersand students in the USA.

Alumnus Anthony Thornley (BScChemistry 1967) and his wife Gillianare supporting the recruitment of avirtuoso Visiting Professor with atrack record in wound and scarhealing in the USA.

The aim is to build up a joint venturewith one of the foremost US centresof tissue regeneration/engineering toshare expertise and further ourunderstanding of the science. TheThornley Visiting Professor willcontinue his or her own programmeat home, while developing majornew and complementary strands ofresearch activity in Manchester. Therewill be full laboratory facilities andthe support of a technician.

Tony retired as President and ChiefOperating Officer of Qualcomm Incin 2005. Based in San Diego, he isthe newly elected President ofNAFUM (the North AmericanFoundation for the University ofManchester), an organisation that isplaying an increasingly catalytic roleat the interface between theUniversity and its strategic links withpartner universities in the USA.

Tony said “we are very happy to beable, in a small way, to help theUniversity in its quest for excellenceand particularly in the field ofregenerative medicine which has somany potential beneficial applicationsin the future of medicine.”

Read more about these links onpage 36

18 YOURMANCHESTER

In a great literary coup Martin Amis, arguably the leading novelist of hisgeneration, is coming to Manchester as Professor of CreativeWriting.

AcclaimingAmis“You can’t teach talent,” saidMartin Amis, “but I believe it can becoaxed along.”

Considering that he never had anyspecial tuition, yet has become arguablythe leading novelist of his generation,Amis is genuinely enthusiastic aboutteaching creative writing. He did, ofcourse, have what might be consideredthe huge advantage of learning at theknee of his famous novelist father,Kingsley Amis. But his drily humorousresponse to that notion is that “henever gave me any tuition.”

Indeed, ‘following in father’s footsteps’is not a suggestion he takes to kindly,even though Sir Kingsley also becamea teacher in later life – at Swansea,Princeton and Cambridge - for 15years. “By all accounts he was verygood at it,” he said.

Now, at 57 and with eleven acclaimednovels, as well as collections of shortstories, books of non-fiction andcountless essays and critical pieces tohis name, Amis is very much lookingforward to his first academic job – atThe University of Manchester’s newlycreated Centre for New Writing.

“I always fancied teaching,” he said.“I am at the point of my life where Iwant a new milieu and I think I havesomething to offer. I have a vulgarcuriosity about the young. I want toknow how ideological they are andwhat effect modernity has had onthem. I can’t think of a better way tolearn about them, because nothing laysyou more open than writing fiction.”He has five children of his own, but hesaid “they only give you a partial view”.

So, whilst coaxing along new writers,he is clearly keen to learn himself and,as always, is on the look-out forpossible material for another novel.

“When I was young I might havebenefited from some guidance from akind and helpful 57-year-old writer,” hesaid, with typical irony, considering thathe has something of a reputation forbeing an acerbic writer and a fearsomecritic. “I’m sure I can be helpful andgentle. I know that writing fiction leavesyou totally exposed.”

The challenge of not only teachingcreative writing, but also assessingstudents’ work, exercises him.“Nabokov said there is only one school– one of talent,” he said, underlininghis original point. And he is not aboutteaching new writers “the tricks of thetrade”. But there are what he callsbenchmarks, like freshness, freedomfrom cliché, levels of perception and,perhaps most importantly, “economyof energy – how to make the bestuse of it”.

He is truly committed and stronglybelieves that the academic milieu hasearned a valid place in fostering creativewriting talent. He cites Ian McEwan, aproduct of the long-established creativewriting course at East Anglia, led byMalcolm Bradbury, a notable exponentof the campus novel. The number ofsuccessful writers produced is certainlysome measure of the effectiveness ofthe teaching.

Amis will be based in the School of ArtsHistories and Cultures, also home tothe leading literary theorist and critic,Professor Terry Eagleton. And in

another literary coup Patricia Duncker,award-winning novelist and short storywriter, has also just joined the School -from the University from East Anglia -as Professor of Creative Writing. TheIrish poet Vona Groarke is yet anothernew appointee.

John McAuliffe, Co-Director with IanMcGuire of the Centre for New Writing,said: “The creative writing programmeat Manchester has long been one of thebest in the country, but the foundationof the Centre and the appointments ofMartin Amis and Patricia Duncker meanthat we will continue to attract – andprovide a terrific apprenticeship for –talented new novelists, poets andcritics. Martin and Patricia are bothwriters who are interested in the broadswim of contemporary culture, so theCentre will be a prominent platform forthe best new creative and criticalwriting being produced in the UK.”

Of course, few reach the heights or thecelebrity status that Amis himself hasachieved over 30 years. Aftergraduating from Exeter College,Oxford, with a First in English, wherehis tutor was the late JonathanWordsworth, great-great-great-nephewof the poet, he went to work as aneditorial assistant on the TimesLiterary Supplement.

He wrote his first novel, The RachelPapers, in 1973, when he was 24.Success was immediate - it won thecoveted Somerset Maugham Award forbest first novel. In 1975, Dead Babiesappeared, followed three years later byhis third novel Success, whilst he wasLiterary Editor of the New Statesman.

YOURMANCHESTER 19

In the 1980s, he produced what isconsidered to be his masterpiece,Money: A Suicide Note (1984), the firstof an informal trilogy along withLondon Fields (1989) and TheInformation (1995).

In 2003 came Yellow Dog, his eleventhnovel, and he is currently working onhis latest, The Pregnant Widow. “It is avery autobiographical, generally rashnovel,” he said. “At a certain age, youbecome curious about what you’velived through and it is a matter oftweaking and mauling that material.Feminism has been the main issue in mylifetime, hence the title.”

Amis has always tackled big anddistinctive themes, fearlessly and oftencontroversially. And he has alwaysexplored them with a distinctive andinnovative literary style.

So, he brings to his new job exceptionalexperience as a writer – and as a manconcerned with the big issues. In a way,he is entering a new phase in a widersense since he has recently returned toEngland after living for more than twoyears in Uruguay.

He and his second wife, the writerIsabel Fonseca, moved back to Londonfor the sake of their daughters’(Fernanda, aged nine and seven-year-old Clio) education. And coming backhas caused him to look afresh at Britain,Europe and what he identifies as theworrying hostility towards the UnitedStates and Israel.

“I find that people here are verymasochistic” he said. “The tangle ofideologies that dominated Europe haspeaked in America. The lesson ofhistory is the desire for power – and theloss of power causes anger. Britain doesnot relish being no longer a worldpower. Islamism lost power centuriesago and is still angry about it.”

When the Centre for New Writing islaunched in September, Martin Amiswill be there, raring to go, runningpostgraduate seminars and participatingin public events – whilst gently coaxingthat talent along.

For more information on the Centre forNew Writing at The University ofManchester visit

www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/cnw

"Nothing laysyou more openthan writing"

20 YOURMANCHESTER

…as well as Top gear,Cold Blood and TheInnocence Project, filmand TV crews lovecoming to TheUniversity ofManchester as AlisonUtley found out

The University campus has become afirm favourite for film and TV crewsaccording to Richard Hanscombe, Salesand Marketing Manager of STARS(Sport, Trading and Residential Services).“We are always happy to work with TVcrews,” he said. “Lately we have beenexperiencing an increasing number ofenquiries by film production companiesand we are excited that the University issuch a popular film location.”

Filming generated some £30 million ofinward investment to Manchester in2005 and according to Colin Sinclair,Chief Executive of inward investment

agency MIDAS, the city’s cool image ismuch enhanced as a result. “There wasa time when Manchester conjuredimages of cobbled streets becauseCoronation Street was all there was togo on,” he said. “Now we have got amuch more positive image.”

Perhaps you spotted some of your oldhaunts if you watched Cold Bloodstarring John Hannah which was filmedin the University’s Whitworth Building.And Blue Murder starring CarolineQuentin was made around Chancellors– which was also the setting for ExtremeEscapes, a National Geographic film

FromHitchhiker’s Guide to theFrom left to right: Jodrell Bank Observatory used in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Ashburne Hall as featured in The Mark of Cain and Goldplated; cast from The Innocence Project

YOURMANCHESTER 21

about the storming by the SAS of theIranian Embassy.The Sackville Streetbuilding appeared as a mentalhospital for The Street starring JimBroadbent.

For the filming of The Mark of Cain(a story about the impact of war onyoung soldiers in Iraq), the University’sWoolton Hall was used as thesergeants’ mess and also a courtmartial room, while Ashburne Hall’sdining room was turned into theofficers’ mess.

Another crew has finished making thedrama Goldplated for Channel Four

on the University’s Fallowfield campus.Behrens House was turned into a clinicwhere characters in the story went to‘dry out’, whilst Ashburne Hall was usedas St Ethel’s School for Girls.

The childrens’ channel CBBC has alsorecently been filming on the campus.They captured some sketches duringFresher's Week for Prank Patrol whichairs on Saturday morning children’s TV.Banana skins were strewn on thepavements and when the students wentto investigate, a gorilla jumped out of ahut to make them jump. In anothergag, footballs with string attached were

whipped away when someone went tokick them.

Easy Jet have even filmed a televisionadvert outside Main Campus’ BarnesWallis Building which featured two‘soon to be’ holiday makers beingwhisked away thanks to a bungee cordattached to a giant crane!

On a more serious note, a new BBC Onemini series called The Innocence Projectabout a group of law students has beenmade on the central campus. But thistime The University of Manchester wasmore than merely an attractivebackdrop for the drama.

Galaxy to Coronation Street

The cast from the Innocence Project

22 YOURMANCHESTER

From left to right: William Roache (Ken Barlow, Coronation Street); Philippa Adshead from the University’s Visitor Centre; Anne Kirkbride (Deidrie Barlow, Coronation Street);and filming an Easy Jet advert outside the Barnes Wallis Building

The eight part series focuses on lawstudents researching miscarriages ofjustice. This theme mirrors some realwork going on in the University’s LawSchool which has been advising themakers of the drama.

The programme stars Lloyd Owen, ofMonarch of the Glen fame, whoplays a corporate law professorworking with students to take onhigh profile dramatic appeal cases.But in real life, volunteering atManchester’s Legal Advice Centre isslightly less glamorous and moreabout training future lawyersaccording to Dinah Crystal, Directorof Clinical Education and Practice atthe School of Law who set up thecentre seven years ago.

Some 300 student volunteers work‘pro bono’ at the Centre to helphundreds of clients every year dealingwith problems such as landlord andtenant disputes, divorce, probate,consumer and employment tribunals.“We may not take on such dramaticcases as the TV show but we haveour share of complex matters,” shesaid. “For example a prison liaisonofficer at HM Strangeways prisoncontacted us to take up a miscarriageof justice for a man convicted ofattempted murder.”

The Centre has also helped someparents protesting about a schoolclosure to take their local authority tothe High Court, and successfullynegotiated compensation for a bowlingclub that was to be closed down byproperty developers.

Ms Crystal said she had been impressedwith the amount of effort the BBC hadput into making the series as realistic aspossible. “When I visited the set withone of my students he said it was soreal he could have sat down and startedworking, their attention to detail hasbeen amazing.”

Pro bono work played an importantpart in the life of many lawpractitioners, she added: “I hope thisprogramme will inspire more youngpeople to do pro bono work duringtheir legal careers.”

Manchester Business School has alsobeen working behind the scenes on thehit business series Dragon's Den. Theprogramme follows entrepreneurspitching to four ‘dragons’ (potentialinvestors) to secure cash for theirbusinesses. MBS was approached by theBBC to screen applicants' business plans.

“When we saw this opportunity, wewere interested straight away,” saidLeigh Wharton, manager of the MBSIncubator. “It’s what we do every day

in assessing business ideas that comeinto the Incubator, but to be part of anational TV programme provides anextra buzz. We are working understrict confidentiality agreements, as it’svital that the applicants to Dragon’sDen can be sure that their plans andideas – many of which are veryinnovative – will be protected. We’relooking forward to seeing thebusinesses we’ve assessed featured onTV – and perhaps even have a ‘dragon’ask one of our questions!'

Meanwhile scientists at the University’sJodrell Bank observatory came face toface with Earth destroying aliens in themovie blockbuster The Hitchhiker’sGuide to the Galaxy.

Two key scenes of the sci fi classic werefilmed at the observatory in Cheshire –which also features in the book byDouglas Adams. But in a unique twistto the original plot, in which scientistsfail to detect an alien spacecraft as theyare busy enjoying a nice cup of tea, thistime it is down to them to stop theVogons from destroying the Earth.

Jodrell astronomer Ian Morison, who isone of the extras in the film, said:“Actually the aliens take very littlenotice of us and blow up the planetanyway – we might as well be having anice relaxing cup of tea.”

Sport atManchesterThe University of Manchester hasgrown its sporting talent tounprecedented levels thanks to newstate-of-the-art facilities and thelegacy of the 2002 CommonwealthGames. Last year, the Universityachieved its highest ever finishingposition in the British UniversitiesSports Association (BUSA) NationalLeague table, finishing tenth out of150 competing institutions.

But sport on campus had humblebeginnings. Director of Sport, AlisonOdell, takes up the story: “The first

mention of sport at Manchester was inthe 1850s and some fairly shabby gymequipment in a back room at Owens’College on Quay Street. The firstoutside fixture didn’t take place until1861, but the following year saw thefirst annual boat race on the RiverIrwell, and by 1865 the first officialSports Day had been held, becoming amajor social fixture at the College.

It wasn’t until 1884 that a sending offwas first recorded of an Owens’ playerduring a game of lacrosse – Mr Bell forhitting Mr Lewis. A second dismissal

wasn’t slow in coming – Mr Lewis forhitting Mr Bell.”

Sporting pedigreeBoth UMIST and the Victoria Universityof Manchester have a history ofproducing sporting talent over theyears and, not surprisingly, football hasalways been central to Manchester’ssporting activity.

Dr Richard Cox, former Director ofSport at UMIST, said: “Manyfootballers will remember UMIST’senvied status as members of the

Sport has come a long way since a grubby bit of gym kitwas installed in a back room at Quay Street 150 years ago

YOURMANCHESTER 23

24 YOURMANCHESTER24 YOURMANCHESTER

Lancashire League where they playedon quality grounds, sometimes againsttop players on their way back to formfollowing injury or playing in the Ateam before progressing up the ranks.

“Bryan Robson and NormanWhiteside, for example, graced theplaying fields at MUTECH in my day asDirector of Sport. Other universitiesdesperately tried to get into theLeague without success. There wasalso the annual grudge matchbetween UMIST and ‘Owens’, whichwas always the highlight of the year.”

Former students include Paul Sherwin,a great cyclist who ended upcommentating with the Channel 4team after he retired; rugby player

Gary French who went on to play forBath; Charles Dagnall, cricketer forWarwickshire and Leicester; MarieHarrison, European WindsurfingChampion in 1986; Clare Connor,Captain of England women’s cricketteam 2000-2006 and Rugby Leaguestar John Whittle, who played for bothWigan and St Helens.

Two Cities Boat RaceOne of the highlights of the sportingcalendar at The University of Manchesteris the annual ‘Two Cities Boat Race’against Salford. Now in its 36th year, ithas become a huge family day outattracting crowds in excess of 5000.

Professor Alan Gilbert, President andVice-Chancellor of The University of

Manchester said: “The Boat Race playsa special role within the Manchesterand Salford communities and thegenerous support allows us to growand develop the event.”

The Two Cities Race has also attractedsupport from Olympic Gold medalistSir Steve Redgrave, who said:“University rowing on the whole isvery important because we need toexpand the people becoming involvedin the sport. University gives a lot ofpeople the chance to get involved inthe sport, an opportunity they maynever have had before.”

In 2006, The University of Manchestersuccessfully retained its title, winningsix of the seven races.

YOURMANCHESTER 25

The futureIn 2005/6, Manchester claimed itshighest position ever in the BUSALeague. The Trampoline club won thenational title, whilst Canoe, Swimming,Climbing and Water Polo all finished inthe top five.

Many of our athletes compete at thehighest level. Elaine Radcliffe andOlivia Clinton have just returned fromthe England Lacrosse tour of theUnited States, whilst 14 other currentstudents have represented Englandover the last year.

AU President Mark Thompson said:“13,000 students and staff wereinvolved in our extensive health andfitness programme last year. We

organise over 80 courses and classesevery week; everything from ComeDancing to Ashtanga Yoga.

“Over 2,000 students are involved inweekly leagues and, on a Wednesdayafternoon alone, 600 students takepart in our eleven-a-side footballleague at the WythenshaweSports Ground.”

Sport has come a long way since thatgrubby bit of gym kit was installed ina back room at Quay Street in thenineteenth century, and Manchesterwill continue to provide opportunitiesand choices for students and staff toparticipate in sport, health and fitnessat whatever level they choose.

Key stagesFrom these humble beginnings, sporthas flourished at The University ofManchester;

•1885: the formation of the AthleticUnion (AU) which has survived to thepresent day

•1900: the establishment of aWomen’s Athletic Union (WAU)

•1900: the Firs Pavilion andFallowfield sports grounds wereopened. Apart from a period duringthe First World War when thegrounds were requisitioned as aPOW camp, they have remained inconstant use to this day

•1932: The XXI Club was founded. Itsmembers are the elite amongManchester’s student athletes andthis prestigious body boasts manyinternational athletes amongst itsalumni. 2007 sees the celebration ofthe 75th anniversary of the Club

•1986: The completion of theArmitage Centre

•1993: The Directorate of Sport wasformed

•1997: The Sugden Sports Centre wascompleted

•2002: The Commonwealth Gamescame to Manchester, providing theincredible purpose-built ManchesterAquatics Centre with two 50m poolsand a specialist diving pool

Today The University of Manchestercan boast more than 80 health andfitness classes every week, whilst over3000 students are members of the 42various Athletic Union Clubs.

26 YOURMANCHESTER

Summer 1968: As student revolutionaryturmoil reached fever pitch on thestreets of Paris, Beverley Hughes wasgetting ready to pack her bags for theVictoria University of Manchester. Oneof eight children, she was the first inher family to have the chance ofstudying for a degree.

Some 58 years previously, one of herpolitical heroines, ‘Red’ Ellen Wilkinson,was one of the first women ever to goto the Victoria University ofManchester. And one of the manywomen graduates who would later optfor a political career.

“Those early women at ManchesterUniversity were breaking the mould in a

really dramatic way and I like to thinkthat their struggle still inspires us,” saidMs Hughes, who since 1997 has beenLabour MP for Stretford and Urmstonand is now Minister Of State at theDepartment for Education and Skills.

Born in 1891, Ellen Wilkinson was thedaughter of a textile worker. At the ageof eleven she won the first of severalscholarships and in 1910 became aVictoria University undergraduate,studying history. Ms Wilkinson wasactive in the University SocialistFederation, an active Fabian Societymember and she is said to have failedto gain the First Class degree expectedof her because of her “studied

decision” before Finals to help in a localrailwaymen's strike. A keen suffragistand pacifist she never became asuffragette as she abhorred militancyand violence.

This attitude was in stark contrast to heralmost contemporary, ChristabelPankhurst, daughter of the legendaryEmmeline who was equally instrumentalin the Votes For Women movement.

The Pankhurst family lived just roundthe corner from the University andclose friends included Keir Hardie,founding father of the Labour Party.Christabel studied law, obtained herdegree but then faced the harshrealities of life as a woman in the early

Manchester hasproduced more than itsfair share of successfulfemale politicians overthe decades

Their struggle still inspi

YOURMANCHESTER 27

19th century. Her genderprevented her from developing acareer as a barrister and shedecided to leave Manchester andjoin the suffragette campaign inLondon, turning away from themainstream political parties andadvocating direct action.

After winning the vote for women(and unsuccessfully standing as anMP for the Women’s Party)Christabel Pankhurst went toAmerica and joined the Seventh DayAdventist religious movement.

Meanwhile, Ellen Wilkinson hadbecome a Labour councillor and

was developing the trade union linkswhich would see her becoming an MPin 1924. Her finest hour wasprobably in 1936, when she led theJarrow March of 200 unemployedworkers all the way from the north-east to London.

This was, as Beverley Hughes puts it,"inspirational" stuff: "Things stillaren't easy for women in politics but Iwould not want at all to imply that itwas the same for my generation. Thedifficulties faced by women in thosedays were tremendous, they werereally breaking the mould in a muchmore dramatic way."

In May 1937 Ellen Wilkinson joinedwith Eleanor Rathbone, IndependentMP for the Combined EnglishUniversities (which includedManchester), to establish theDependents Aid Committee, raisingmoney for the families of men whowere fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

As Minister for Education, shesupervised the implementation of the1944 Education Act but is said to havebeen uneasy at the prospect of the

eleven-plus and selective education. In1947, she took an overdose of thebarbiturates which were prescribed forher asthma. It was a tragic end but herlegacy was the prospect of a universityeducation for thousands more childrenfrom ordinary backgrounds.

Another fiery redhead, Renee Short,followed in her wake as a VictoriaUniversity graduate and Labour MP.And, by 1968, the Manchester air waspositively swarming with studentradicalism.

Beverley Hughes recalls: "It wasmarvellous to find there were lots ofwomen like me from the same kind ofbackgrounds. The revolution hadstarted; we were all very vibrant andquestioning all the things going onaround the world. You did not need tojoin in a political party; there was somuch going on. I was involved in andaround many of the demonstrationsthat took place then."

Beverley Hughes took a degree inliberal studies with science and later ona diploma in social administration.

ires us

Cou

rtesyof

Greater

Man

chesterPo

liceMuseu

m

Cou

rtesyof

Greater

Man

chesterPo

liceMuseu

m

Ellen Cicely Wilkinson, National Portrait Gallery, LondonDame Christabel Pankhurst, National Portrait Gallery, London

28 YOURMANCHESTER

Another 1960's student was the latePatsy Calton MP, who readbiochemistry at UMIST, before gettinginvolved in political life full-time as aLiberal Democrat MP for Cheadle. Ahealth campaigner, Ms Calton will alsobe remembered for her remarkablebravery in battling cancer, winningtwo General Elections before beingsworn in again as an MP only daysbefore she died in 2005. Herneighbouring constituency ofStockport is still represented byLabour's Ann Coffey, a Manchesterpost-graduate in 1976.

Ms Coffey studied for an MSc inpsychiatric social work: "It was avocational course so there was not somuch contact with student life. Butwhat I do remember is that there wasa real sense of being a part of whatthe women's movement was all about.We would sit at meetings on the floorin dungarees. I remember the eleganceof the buildings and the sense of beingin a real student quarter.

I was always very conscious of thecontribution to political life of thewomen of Manchester and coming upto Manchester in those days you hada real sense of industrial history. Youcould still see the mills, you couldalmost hear that conflict and sense itin the fabric of the building."

Manchester's highest woman politicalachiever to date is Margaret Beckett,

the first-ever female Foreign Secretary,who studied Metallurgy. DeputyLabour Leader and briefly Leader ofthe Labour Party after the death ofJohn Smith, Mrs Beckett has alsoserved as Defra Minister and Leader ofthe House of Common.

Beverley Hughes pays tribute to her as"a fantastic person, someone who isregarded as a concrete politicalsymbol of women's achievement andwho has come through into one ofthe highest offices of State."

So what would those earlypioneers make of today's crop ofwomen politicians?

Claire Annesley, Lecturer in EuropeanPolitics, has just published a new bookWomen and New Labour:Engendering Politics and Policy, onthat very issue.

She said: “I think they would bepleased at the record number ofwomen politicians in Parliament. Wenow have the minimum wage, morecaring family policies, less sexualinequality, civil partnerships, and thisGovernment has done more than anyother party to change things.However, there's a conflict therebecause of the economic agenda,which preserves the status quo. Thatstill impacts on women, and the lesswealthy and disabled. But yes, theyhave made a difference."

As the first female Leader of theLabour Party - she was at the helm inthe interim between the death ofJohn Smith and the election of TonyBlair - Margaret Beckett has one ofthe most distinguished careers inBritish political history. And despiteonce describing herself as a “terriblepessimist” her experience in thelabour movement has, she reflects,been a happy one.

Britain’s first female foreign secretaryarrived first at UMIST and then at theJohn Dalton Polytechnic in the early1960s having already established atrack record as a hard-working sortwho could be relied on. BornMargaret Mary Jackson in Ashtonunder Lyne, she was Head Girl at herconvent school in Norwich and camethrough some very difficult familycircumstances (her father Cyril diedwhen she was just 12 years old) toattain what in those days was a rareachievement for a woman. Aftersecondary school, she was selected for

Ann Coffey MP Beverley Hughes MP

Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP

The engineeForeign Secr

Margaret Beckett recallscombining her studentlife at Manchester withsome hard graft on thefactory floor

YOURMANCHESTER 29

an engineering apprenticeship,specialising in metallurgy, at AEIManchester. Of the 2,400apprenticeships available at that time,only about 20 were held by women.

Looking back, she concurs that her earlyexperience of such inequalities shapedher lifelong commitment to furtheringlife chances for women. She was anearly advocate of all-women shortlistsfor aspiring MPs because “it neededsuch measures to drive the aspirationsof women forward and give them theself-confidence to enter political life.”

As a young woman, Margaret wasinspired by female role models likeBarbara Castle and first becameinvolved in the Labour Party at the 1964General Election. “I was active inPolitics when I was a student and wason student council alongside the formerMP, now Lord David Clark. But I wasmuch more active with the Labour Partyat home in Swinton, where I wasBranch Treasurer.”

Unlike most of her contemporaries,Margaret had to combine her years asa student with some serious graft onthe shopfloor. “I have very fondmemories of the University, but as anengineering student I was often on six-month placements in factories,sometimes away from Manchester,during the five years of my degree.”

She went on to become a metallurgistrunning an electro-microscopiclaboratory at the University beforestarting work for the Labour Party as aresearcher in industrial policy andspecial adviser to Minister Judith Hart.

In the February 1974 General Electionshe took on Labour defector DickTaverne – and lost. But there were twoGeneral Elections that year and withtypical tenacity the young candidatecame back to fight again and waselected Labour MP for Lincoln inOctober 1974. She lost the seat in1979 but was returned as MP forDerby South in 1983.

For much of her early career, MargaretBeckett was a renowned left-winger.She vigorously supported Tony Benn inhis bid to become Deputy Leader in1981 and for some years was amember of the dissident CampaignGroup of MPs. But opposition to thestatus quo does not usually lead tohigh Government office. In MargaretBeckett’s case, her views may havemodified but she is said to haveretained the friendship and regard ofher former colleagues on the left. Herappointment as the first femaleForeign Secretary in 2006 was theculmination of a long track record as aloyal servant both in Government andthe many Shadow Cabinets in Labour’slong years of Opposition.

Her other top-level roles includeSecretary of State at the Departmentfor Environment, Food and RuralAffairs (Defra), and a stint as Leader ofthe House of Commons for which shewon praise. But she has neverforgotten her ‘very ordinary’ roots -one of her proudest achievements hasbeen helping to bring about theminimum wage. Another is herpioneering work on climate change.

Unlike other high achievers inGovernment, Margaret Beckettretains an unpretentious lifestyle. Shehas continued to live in one of theless flashy areas of her Derbyconstituency and, until security issuesmade it a logistical nightmare, sheand her husband Leo were probablythe most famous caravanners inBritain. A couple of years ago, sheopened the Camping andCaravanning Club’s new HQ inCoventry and described her favouritepursuit as a “cool” thing to do.

When John Smith died, MargaretBeckett faced the immensely difficulttask of delivering a eulogy to him onlyhours later in the House of Commons.She described the much-loved Labourfigure as "the best leader the countrynever had". At time of writing, she isone of the safest pairs of hands in TonyBlair’s Cabinet. As the country looksforward to the interesting prospect of anew Prime Minister, this feisty survivorof troubled political times is likely toprove as indispensable as she alwayshas been throughout her political life.

ring apprentice turnedetary

Cou

rtesyof

theForeignan

dCom

mon

wealth

Office

30 YOURMANCHESTER

Some Scurrilous StoriesThe history of student journalism atManchester has ranged from someprofessional award-winningpublications to some perhaps ratherless prestigious efforts.

Back in the 1930s, for example, thestudents’ union’s first News Bulletinveered between the solemn commentaryof a broadsheet and a tabloid’s appetitefor scandal. It lasted until 1960 when itwas axed by the Vice-Chancellor whohad by then had enough of its scurrilousnews stories published, it was said, withlittle attempt at verification. One whichattacked the University Registrar andanother impugning the morals ofstudents in lodgings had proved to bethe final straws. The paper had beenwidely circulated and assaults on theUniversity’s reputation were noteasily forgiven.

Students needed a journal however,and the Manchester Independent tookthe place of the News Bulletin in 1961.Chastened by the crisis of 1960, theunion ventured cautiously back in tonews and started putting out, albeitsporadically, a modest free newssheetcalled the Mancunian which wasdesigned to explain the activities ofUnion officers and the Council totheir constituents.

During the 1970s The Independentwas plagued by financial troubles andbegan to founder and finally collapse.The Mancunian swiftly acquired manyof its rival’s good qualities and itsofferings of features, reviews andsports reports came forward to fillthe void.

Early editions of the Mancunianresembled a ‘borrowed set of sociology

notes’ churned out by a photocopyingmachine but soon it becameprofessionally printed as a tabloid.

The Mancunian was generally critical ofthe University establishment andinclined to accuse it of conspiring withthe government against students’interests – sometimes infuriatingreaders by its overt political bias. Butthe paper itself, and some of its editorsand feature writers, won nationalprizes helping the Mancunian to equalthe record of the Independent.

And by the early 1990s the Mancunianwas more inclined to publish goodhumoured satires on the posturing ofleft wingers or cheerful accounts ofstudent hedonism as prospects forgraduate employment improved. Drink,be brave and merry, for tomorrow westart a career!

Life on a student newspaper veers between scandal-mongeringand somemore serious journalism

YOURMANCHESTER 31

A Manchester graduate turnedsuccessful newshoundMany a distinguished newspaper editorgot their first taste of the thrill of thescoop on a student paper. AndManchester has produced more than itsfair share of household names in theworld of publishing and broadcasting -Anna Ford, Sophie Raworth, MathewEngel and David Aaronovitch for exampleall began their careers at Manchester, asdid Phillip Crawley, publisher of theCanadian Globe and Mail.

Mr Crawley can still recall theexcitement of his first front page splashmore than forty years ago. In fact hecan still remember the story.

An English undergraduate arriving in1963, Mr Crawley had started work onthe then newly formed ManchesterIndependent. As its name suggests thepaper was detached from both thestudents’ union and the Universityauthorities and quickly gained areputation for high quality journalism.

His first front page by-line was a storywhich cropped up during an interviewwith the University Registrar VincentKnowles. Mr Knowles happened tomention that there were still significantnumbers of unpaid student grantcheques waiting to be picked up.

“For a working class lad fromGateshead this was deeply shocking tome,” Mr Crawley said. “I was eking outevery penny of my grant and in thatmoment I realised that not all studentswere having to live like that.”

The story was splashed on the front pageandMr Crawley succumbed to theaddiction of breaking news. TheIndependent went on to acquirewidespread respect for its content andpresentation and in 1967 it won thehighest Daily Mirror prize awarded tostudent papers, breaking a strangleholdheld for some time by Oxfordand Cambridge.

“The Independent was edgy because itwas not a university mouthpiece andwe had some really excellentjournalists,” he said.

But the paper was running ‘on fresh air’during the early 1960s. There were noproper premises and the Independentwas put together in bedrooms and onkitchen tables: “We really had to beself-sufficient and were flying by theseat of our pants most the time,” MrCrawley said. “I remember taking thepaper to Macclesfield during lunchtimesto be printed, then standing on theunion steps selling it a few days later.”

Mr Crawley’s early success led to ahigh flying career in journalism. He gothis first graduate job, at the NewcastleJournal, on the back of his student

paper experience and then his careerreally took off. After working for theDaily Telegraph in London he becameEditor of the South China MorningPost in Hongkong (1988-93). Hereturned to London to becomeManaging Director of The TimesSupplements before moving to NewZealand for 18 months as ManagingDirector of The New Zealand Herald.He arrived in Toronto in 1998 to bePublisher of The Globe and Mail,Canada's national newspaper, duringits battle against Conrad Black's newpaper, The National Post.

Phillip Crawley

Could Manchester become a seriousthreat to Edinburgh as an arts capital?

This summer the international artsworld will be focusing its spotlight onthe city as it becomes the first ever tohold a festival of completely new andoriginal work.

From June 28 - July 15, the city’scultural capital is set to soar as theManchester International Festival islaunched with a programme of eventsfeaturing leading musicians, artists,actors and writers.

And if at first it seems a brave movefor a place which entices thousands ofapplications for its university each yearpurely on the allure of its pubs andclubs, let’s not forget that it wasManchester that gave birth to theHallé, it was where Annie Hornimanstarted her revolutionary GaietyTheatre and that it once had its veryown ‘Jollywood’ film industry based atDickenson Road.

Festival Director Alex Poots explainsthat while many may be questioningthe wisdom of staging yet anotherarts festival, Manchester’s will betruly unique.

“As the original modern city,Manchester is well placed to launchthe first ever international festival,presenting new work, newcommissions and new ideas,” he said.“And for a city to have committed tosuch a festival shows real vision.”

It is Manchester’s industrial past and itsmusical heritage which have providedthe impetus for this extraordinaryevent and, undeniably given suchcriteria, it’s a festival that could happennowhere else. All the works whichhave been commissioned from acrossthe spectrum of the arts, popularculture and music reflect these themes.

For example, there will be a new stageadaptation of The Pianist, best knownas an Oscar-winning film by Roman

Polanski and based upon the story ofWladyslaw Szpilman’s survival in theWarsaw Ghetto during theNazi occupation.

Using Szpilman’s original text and theravishing music of Chopin this movingaccount will derive it power from itsdistinctive Manchester setting forthe location.

With an audience of only 200 on eachof its ten performances, worldrenowned pianist Mikhail Rudy will beseated before a Baby Grand in theatmospheric attic space of the 1830warehouse in the Museum of Scienceand Industry. Not your average venuefor a piano recital, but one that willsurely conjure up a sense of theisolation which Szpilman felt as hemoved from derelict building toderelict building with only memories ofthe music he loved keeping him sane.

Another commission which is sitespecific is Il Tempo Del Postino, which

32 YOURMANCHESTER

The Manchester International Festival is on the way, and it rocks

Move over Edinburgh…

YOURMANCHESTER 33

To apply for membership visit www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com/membership and follow the instructions.You will be asked for your password, which is – UNVR01. This password entitles you to buy tickets at the reduced price.

involves a remarkable gathering ofground-breaking talent for anexhibition, not in a gallery, but at theManchester Opera House. It’s a showcurated by Hans Ulrich Obrist andPhilippe Parreno that asks: what if artwas not about occupying space, butoccupying time.

It will be a relief to many to discoverthat the Manchester InternationalFestival is not about ‘dumbing down’,but that doesn’t mean it’s allconceptual art and classical music.

Opening the Festival is Monkey:Journey to the West, an astoundingmillion pound circus opera thatderives much credibility from thecollaborative efforts of the duobehind the award-winning virtualband Gorillaz - Damon Albarn, whohas written the score and JamieHewlett who has been responsible forthe visual concept. Under thedirection of Chen Shi-Zheng they arebringing the Chinese Monkey legendto life with a mixture of martial artists,circus acrobats and Chinese vocalists.

There’s a new feature film by GregHall with music by Steve Martland thathas been entirely shot in Manchester,gigs at Manchester Central, a familyevent featuring lots of interactiveperformances and a science-meets-the-arts slot by The Universityof Manchester.

The Hallé Orchestra will be playing asignificant role in the Festival whichalso draws on the city’s musicalheritage and takes as its theme ‘urgentstories of our time’.

“To create the world’s first festival oforiginal, new work is a new conceptand a new context that is whollyappropriate for a city that hasembraced innovation across a widerange of art forms and popularcredible culture. For us to focus onmusic particularly and what I call theurgent stories of our time, importantissues, is very relevant to this city Ithink.” Said Alex Poots.

The Manchester International Festivalhas also forged a special relationshipwith The University of Manchester.

Rachel Davies, who is participating inthe Manchester Firsts strand, is visitingJohn Thaw Fellow in the University’sSchool of Arts, Histories and Culture. Itis anticipated that Iranian TheatreDirector Amir Reza Koohestani willstart an MA in Theatre Studies inSeptember as the result of a JohnThaw Fellowship offered jointly by MIFand the University and additionally, theExodus Refugee Orchestra, which issupported by the In Place of Warproject at the University’s Centre forApplied Theatre Research, will also beappearing at the event.

The University has also created aninnovative higher education festival postthat’s the first of its kind. The currentincumbent Dr Jennifer Cleary said: “Thisposition will build on the relationshipbetween the Festival and the University.The aim is for greater collaborationbetween us both in future festivals.”

The special relationship forgedbetween the University and MIF is alsoreflected in the offer of festivalmembership at £15 for University staff,students and alumni.

Mon

key:Journe

yto

theWestby

JamieHew

lett

34 YOURMANCHESTER

Dr David HessayonOBE(PhD Soil Science 1954)

You probably have at leastone of his books on yourbookshelf. David has writtena record-breaking series ofgardening books which hasled to his being recentlyawarded an OBE in the NewYear Honours 2007.

He initiated a majorinnovation in gardeningpublications in 1959 with thefirst of his Gardening Expertguides. These best-sellingguides have had anunparalleled influence ongardening over the past50 years.

In 1999 he received a GuinessWorld Record Award asBritain’s best selling livingauthor of the 1990s.

Despite the success of hisbooks, David continued hiswork at Pan BritannicaIndustries (the makers of BabyBio) as Chief Scientist andlater as Chairman from 1955until his retirement in 1993.He now lives in Essex and hastwo daughters and fourgrandchildren.

Lord Burns(DSocSc 1992,BA (Econ) 1965)

Lord Burns was recentlycharged with heading thestructural review of theFootball Association. TheGovernment ordered thereview following a year ofcontroversy for football’sgoverning body in England.The conclusions andrecommendations have been

presented to the Chairmanand the Board of Directors ofthe Football Association andare being acted upon in full.

Lord Burns was appointedChief Economic Advisor to theTreasury and Head of theGovernment Economic Servicein 1980. In 1991, he becamePermanent Secretary to theTreasury and was made a LifePeer when he stepped downfrom the Treasury in 1998. Hewas appointed Chairman ofAbbey National plc in 2002and was appointed a Non-Executive Director of BancoSantander Central Hispano SAin 2004. He is also Chairmanof Marks and Spencer Groupplc and Glas Cymru Ltd. (WelshWater) and a Non-ExecutiveDirector of Pearson Group.

Tim Booth(BA Drama 1982)

Tim has rejoined Manchesterindie band, James, for acomeback tour after a five-year break, and played fivearena concerts in the UK thisApril, including one inManchester, which was sold

out within hours of the ticketsgoing on sale.

The Manchester band, led byTim Booth, formed in 1981.The single Sit Down, releasedin 1990 during theMadchester pop boom,catapulted them to famebefore the release of radiofavourites Laid, Come Home,and She's A Star assured theirposition as one of the mostsuccessful bands.

After nine studio albums, theband split in 2001 and Timpursued a solo career and alsoappeared as Judas in the BBC’sManchester Passion last year.

Andrea Catherwood(LLB Law 1989)

Andrea is a broadcaster andjournalist and has beenpresenting ITV’s new politicsshow, The Sunday Edition,with political commentatorAndrew Rawnsley.

Andrea previously presentedITV News bulletins afterreturning from maternityleave earlier last year, havinggiven birth to twins.

The Belfast-born journalisthas spent most of herworking life bringing thepublic up-to-date with currentaffairs, including reportingfrom war zones. She was thefirst British reporter to enterMazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistanafter it was captured fromTaliban forces.

TessaTraege

r,Nationa

lPortraitGallery,Lon

don

Cou

rtesyof

Hallo

rNothing

Angela Pell(BA Education 1991)

Angela’s first screenplay, SnowCake, has been turned into afilm starring SigourneyWeaver, Alan Rickman andCarrie-Anne Moss.

The film, released inSeptember, is about anautistic woman called LindaFreeman, (played by Weaver)who strikes up an unusualfriendship with Alex Hughes(Rickman).

The script is noted for beingwarm and witty and draws onAngela’s own experienceswith her son, Johnny, whowas diagnosed with autism.

“Before then I’d been writingscripts of all sorts and havingthem rejected,” she said.“When Johnny wasdiagnosed with autism, Ibasically stopped that andlaunched into running ahome programme with him.That was many hours a dayrunning around a whiteroom, dressing up as a ghostor a monster or Spidermanand trying to be the most funand exciting thing in theroom in order to engage myson. So, when I sat down towrite this script a couple ofyears ago, it was catharticbecause I’d been thinkingabout autism for a while.

“Although some people mightthink it’s a big responsibilitywriting about autism, afterabout 15 years of writing andconstant rejection it didn’teven occur to me that anyonewould make a film I’d written.Ultimately, it’s not really a filmabout autism, it’s a film aboutacceptance – about a manlearning to live with and tolove somebody who’s autistic.”

Simon Lloyd(MusB Music 2006)

Westminster Cathedral’sorgan scholar, workingalongside the Choir ofWestminster Cathedral, isrecognised as one of thefinest organists in the world.

Simon began his musicaldevelopment at an early age,teaching himself the pianowhen he was four. Two yearslater he began organ lessonsand has been playingregularly for church servicessince he was seven.

In 1996 Simon moved toWells Cathedral School, oneof the five Specialist Musicschools in the UK, as a DfESSpecialist Musician, receivingthe highest scholarship tostudy organ with RupertGough. He performedregularly as a soloist andcontinuo player in venuessuch as Wells Cathedral, St.George’s Bristol and St.James’ Piccadilly. Whilst atWells, he also undertookstudies in cello, harpsichordand composition.

Simon graduated in July 2006with first-class honours,playing the organ for his owngraduation ceremony. Duringhis MusB (Hons) degreecourse, he continued hisorgan studies with GordonStewart. He also heldconducting positions withthe University Sinfoniettaand String Orchestra, as wellas forming his ownchamber orchestra.

YOURMANCHESTER 35

Peter W Mount, CBE(BSc MechanicalEngineering 1961)

The Chair of CentralManchester and ManchesterChildren’s University HospitalsNHS Trust has been awardeda CBE in the New YearHonours 2007 for services tothe National Health Service.

Peter’s early career began inindustry as a productionengineer for Rolls Royce Ltdand after five years he thenmoved toPriceWaterhouseCoopers as a

Management Consultant. By1984 he had become CEO ofThorn EMI Fire Protection Ltdand Director of Thorn SecurityLtd.

On the sale of Thorn’sbusiness he became Chairmanof Salford Royal Hospitals NHSTrust from 1993 to 2001 andmoved to chair the mergedCentral Manchester andManchester Children’sUniversity NHS Trust. He alsochairs the NHS Confederationand serves on the Departmentof Health Audit committee.

He was also instrumental insetting up the ManchesterNew Hospitals Appeal and in2003 was founder of a charitycalled Helping UgandaSchools, which has providedsupport towards the buildingof a school near Mubende andto assist one near to Gayazza.They are helping to educatenearly 700 Ugandan children.

Professor GeorgeMaxwell Richards(MSc 1957, BSc AppliedChemistry 1955)

The President of Trinidad andTobago recently returned tothe University to help markthe fiftieth anniversary of itschemical engineering degree.

Professor Richards wasPrincipal of the St AugustineCampus of the University ofWest Indies in Trinidad in1996. He previously workedfor Shell Trinidad Ltd before

joining the University of theWest Indies in 1965. He wassworn into the President’soffice on March 17 2003 fora five-year term. ProfessorRichards is the first Head ofState in the AnglophoneCaribbean of Amerindianancestry.

Although the position ofPresident is a primarilyceremonial one, ProfessorRichards has been outspokenin his criticism of upsurgingcrime in Trinidad and Tobagoand is also well known for hisinvolvement in Carnival.

He is married to Dr JeanRamjohn-Richards, ananaesthetist and cousin offormer President NoorHassanali. They have twochildren - a son Mark, who isalso a medical doctor and adaughter Maxine, who is abusinesswoman.

36 YOURMANCHESTER

It has been a good year for thedeepening of the University’s academicand alumni links across the Atlantic

The ability to form strategic allianceswhere the University enjoyscomplementary expertise with academiccolleagues across the pond has alwaysbeen a great source of strength atManchester. The new initiative on socialcapital (see page 14) with the University ofHarvard builds on a range of recentpartnerships and appointments, includingthat of Nobel Laureate Professor JosephStiglitz of Columbia University as Chairmanof the Brooks World Poverty Institute (seethe last issue of Your Manchester).

Research collaborations aredeveloping across the sciencesat an accelerated rate as well.For example, pioneeringresearch carried out byManchester scientists fromthe Faculty of Life Sciences,together with researchers at

the University of Iowa, havehelped identify the crucialfaulty gene that causes Van derWoude syndrome - an inheritedform of cleft lip and palate that

can causesevere facial

disfigurements in babies. Further researchis being carried out by the Manchesterteam with scientists at the StowersInstitute for Medical Research in Kansas.

Over in the School of Mechanical,Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE),senior lecturer, Andrew Gale, haspioneered a successful MSc distancelearning programme which has nowinspired the development of a ‘sister’programme at the University ofPennsylvania. The innovative, web-basedprogramme on Project Management is anindustry-led partnership with four of theworld’s leading companies: Rolls-Royce,Goodrich, AMEC and EDS.

MACE is also at the heart of a £1.5 millionproject to develop new compositetechnologies and materials for futureaircraft design in partnership with TheUniversity of Washington (Seattle). Amajor focus is to develop more fuel-efficient aircraft in order to reduce carbonemissions. The partnership has formallyestablished the Manchester SeattleComposite Partnership which is nowworking with the Northwest AerospaceAlliance, Airbus, Boeing and a wide rangeof businesses in the UK and US.

A thriving Alumni Association plays animportant role in maintaining relations

with the US. At the moment there areactive regional groups in NorthernCalifornia, Southern California, New York,Four Corner States, Texas, Mid-AtlanticStates and New England.

Elizabeth Pole (BA Economics 1990), Statecontact for Southern California andRegional Coordinator for the US,comments: “There are over 3,500 alumniliving in the US, including numerousbusiness and academic leaders and ourmembers are increasingly lending supportto Manchester's 2015 goals. We’re thrilledthat leading academics from Manchesterare talking more and more with our groupswhen they are in the States. We arecurrently working with the Careers Serviceto identify work placement opportunitiesin America for Manchester students,helping those returning and relocating tothe US and otherwise doing whatever wecan through our alumni networks tofacilitate US-UK academic links”.

Far from resting on its laurels, theUniversity is now determined to build onthese activities in the US, and has created astrategic board, chaired by Professor SimonGaskell, Vice-President for Research, toco-ordinate all its activities in the USA andpromote top level partnerships.

Our friends in theUS

The North American Foundation for TheUniversity of Manchester (NAFUM) hasoffered invaluable support following arecord-breaking year when more than200 donors gave $540,000 (up from$153,500 in 2005).

An independent, not-for-profitcorporation, NAFUM supports a range ofscholarships at Manchester including PhDand Masters scholarships for NorthAmerican students as well as specificresearch initiatives and academic

appointments.Directing thisprogramme isNAFUM’s Board ofDirectors, the majorityof whom are fellowManchester alumni

who live in the US.

The Board has adopted the following keyresearch themes for their philanthropicpriorities: World Poverty, Cancer 2015,Science 2015, Regenerative Medicine,Sustainable Civil Society, TransformingFutures. Visit:

www.manchester.ac.uk/alumni/donorprogrammes/nafum.

A new focus for NAFUM in 2006 was itssupport for undergraduate WelcomeScholarships for Greater Manchesterstudents from non-traditionalbackgrounds. This was complemented in2006 by a gift to NAFUM of $500,000over three years from the Goldman SachsFoundations in order to assist thecreation of the Sutton-GoldmanMasterclasses (a series of summer schoolsfor students from backgrounds which areunder represented in higher education)at the University.

A Record Breaking Year

How do I registerfor Your ManchesterOnline?1 Log on to

www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester

2 Click on the Registration buttonin the left-hand menu

3 Enter your alumni ID number.This number appears on yourmembership card and is alsoprinted on the address sheet withthis magazine.

4 You will gain immediate access tosome parts of the website andwill then need to wait for us tovalidate your information beforehaving complete access to thesecure features such as thealumni directory. As soon as thisis done you will be informed viaemail – we aim to do this on thesame day, but it may take up tothree working days.

Why should I updatemy profile?1 To keep in touch with yourgraduation year and friends andto enable them to contact you.

2 To keep us informed of yourcareer moves and addresschanges, allowing us to post or e-mail you information directlyrelevant to your interests andrequirements.

3 The more alumni who updatetheir profile, the more effectiveYMO will become!

For comments, feedback andenquiries please emailalumni@manchester.ac.uk

Almost everyone who uses the Web willhave heard of Friends Reunited, the UK’sfirst mass-market taste of socialnetworking which allows users to searchfor former school mates online.

The wider crop of major networkingsites in the UK includes Bebo, Facebookand MySpace, with each site receivingmore than two million visitors everymonth. They offer far more interactivefeatures and have become hugelypopular with young people, allowingthem to create personal profiles, uploadphotographs, add links to other sites,write blogs, and send instant messagesor emails to other people’s profiles.Other sites include Friendster, Orkut andMSN Spaces.

Fans claim that these onlinecommunities are the future face of Web2.0 and so it seems that the climate hasnever been better for the launch of TheUniversity of Manchester’s own brandnew alumni online community: YourManchester Online (YMO) - speciallydesigned to easily reconnect our alumniwith their University friends.

The interactive website is free to useand provides password-protected areas.Special features include a popularalumni directory where you can accessdetails of other alumni; an events

booking system where you can book toattend events and pay as necessaryusing a secure credit card facility;classnotes; discussion forums;e-newsletters; special alumni benefits;and Email for Life - the University’semail forwarding service, so that younever need to remember to tell yourfriends when you change your emailaddress, only us! In addition to this,we have also made it easier for you toupdate your alumni record byregistering address changes etc.

Further down the line, plans for the siteinclude a new alumni careers andbusiness network facility. This aims toencourage alumni who have foundsuccess in their chosen line of work toassist younger alumni and currentstudents by providing mentoringopportunities, work placement and adviceon finding work or choosing a career.

YMO will also become a valuable andeasy way for our international networksto plan and organise their activities –giving co-ordinators the ability tomanage their own pages withphotographs and notice boards.

YMO was launched in a pilot phase to asmall segment of our alumni communityin December 2006 and more than 5,000alumni have signed up so far.

YOURMANCHESTER 37

More than half of Britain’s internet population isbusy with social networking, and nowManchester’salumni can connect with each other online. So getsearching, and bring somememories to life!

YourManchesterOnline is Launched

38 YOURMANCHESTER

Alumni benefitsYour Alumni Association membership card entitles you to over 40 special discountsand offers (seewww.manchester.ac.uk/alumni/benefits for a full listing).We havehighlighted below some of the latest benefits we have negotiated for you:-

Cox and KingsCox and Kings is the longest establishedtravel company in the world. Theirholidays range from the luxurious to theadventurous and combinations of both.Cox and Kings are pleased to offer a 10per cent discount on both escortedgroup tours and private journeys fromtheir India, Latin America, Africa,Far East, Middle East and Europeanbrochures. Brochures can bedownloaded fromwww.coxandkings.co.uk or requested bycalling 0870 225 03 22 (UK only). Pleasequote ‘Manchester’ in order to receivethe 10 per cent discount.

Vision ExpressVision Express is offering members ofThe University of Manchester AlumniAssociation substantial savings on theireye care requirements. There is a savingof up to £50 with a free eye examinationwhen purchasing spectacles and £30 offcomplete spectacles if the frame is £69or over. The contact lens package costs£45 but is worth nearly £90 giving a 50per cent discount. Included in thepackage is an eye exam, contact lensconsultation and three months supply ofenhance™ contact lenses when joiningthe direct debit scheme. Monthlypayment thereafter is £14.95. Other lensoptions apply, simply pay the difference.The offer also extends to all familymembers of The University ofManchester alumni. To obtain a leafletcontaining the discount vouchers pleasecontact the Alumni Relations office orvisit any Vision Express store with yourAlumni Association membership cardand the store will then give you thediscount leaflet. www.visionexpress.com

Mountain HeavenMountain Heaven offers a superbselection of luxury, self-catered chaletstyle apartments in the traditional Frenchvillage of Montalbert. This is one of theten villages making up La Plagne, nowone of the world’s biggest ski resorts.The apartments are all within one minuteoff the piste. University of ManchesterAlumni Association members qualify fora 10 per cent discount on all holidays,except for peak weeks when thediscount is 5 per cent. Please contactMountain Heaven for large group rates.For more information please visitwww.mountainheaven.co.uk ortelephone + 44 (0)151 625 1921 andquote ‘Manchester University’.

Gardening ExpressMembers of the University ofManchester Alumni Association can takeadvantage of a 5 per cent discount on allorders placed atwww.gardeningexpress.co.uk.

To take advantage of the offer pleaseinput the code MANCHESTER_ALUMNIin the offers box at the end of thecheckout when placing your order.

YHA (England and Wales) LtdYHA has provided affordableaccommodation for the budget travellerthroughout the past 75 years and nowoperates at more than 200 stunninglocations in England and Wales with ahuge range of buildings to choose from– cottages, mills, mansions, castles andlodges. Members of The University ofManchester Alumni Association can jointhe YHA and qualify for half pricemembership, costing £7.95 (that’s asaving of £8 off individual membership)and for just £11.50 can take out familymembership. Membership is also valid inaround 4,500 other propertiesthroughout the world. For moreinformation please call 0870 770 8868(UK only) or emailcustomerservices@yha.org.uk quotingreference MANUNIVERSITYwww.yha.org.uk

The Co-operative BankThe Co-operative Bank has developed arange of products for The University ofManchester Alumni Association. Forfurther details please visit the ‘benefitsand services section’ on Your ManchesterOnline and follow the link.

Terms and conditions apply.

Disclaimer:The benefits and services listed do not implyendorsement of the listed companies, northeir products or services nor is this listexhaustive. While as much care as possiblehas been taken in compiling this informationthese descriptions may not truly represent thefull capabilities or function of the respectivecompany, which may be determined morefully by contacting the company in question.

YOURMANCHESTER 39

In accordance with the Statutesof the University, there isprovision for the maintenanceand review of a list of AlumniAssociation members who wishto be kept informed of theproceedings of the Associationand who are thereby entitled tobe sent notices and papersrelating to its business and toparticipate in elections by theAssociation. Such electionsinclude:- an Alumni Associationrepresentative on the Board ofGovernors (cyclic),representatives on the GeneralAssembly (annual), and theelection of a Chancellor (cyclic).

Only those Alumni Associationmembers who are on the list willbe sent relevant notices relating toelections so if you do wish toparticipate you are encouraged toregister on the list. This listcurrently includes the names andcontact details of those memberswho have, over recent years,shown an interest in alumniprogrammes and activities. Toensure you are included pleasekeep the Division of Developmentand Alumni Relations updated withyour current email address byregistering with the alumnicommunity website

www.manchester.ac.uk/yourmanchester

and you will then be notified whenthe relevant ballot documentationbecomes available.

If you do not have access to theinternet then please contact theDivision of Development andAlumni Relations at the addressshown on page 3, providing yourdetails (including the date of youraward) and indicating that youwish to be kept informed of theproceedings of the Association.

Investigations of concepts andmeaning: the case of the four-legged duckWednesday, 20 June5.30pm for 6.15pmProfessor Matthew Lambon RalphSchool of Psychological SciencesThe University of Manchester

The Moral Obligation To Improveon Evolution: The new possibilitiesfor human enhancementThursday, 6 September5.30pm for 6.15pmProfessor John HarrisInstitute of Medicine Law and BioethicsThe University of Manchester

Radio Astronomy at Jodrell Bank,50 years old and poised forthe futureWednesday, 7 November5.30pm for 6.15pmProfessor Phil DiamondDirector, Jodrell BankThe University of Manchester(See page 9 for article on Jodrell Bank).

Alumni Dinner in London with theUniversity’s President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan GilbertThursday, 29 November6.30 pm for 7.00 pmOne Great George StreetHome of the Institute of Civil Engineers

For more details, costs, and how to book seewww.yourmanchester.ac.uk and click on ‘events’.

The AlumniRegister

Save the dates!Forthcoming alumni events

The achievements of three formerstudents have been recognised withOutstanding Alumni Awards in 2006

Professor Alan Emery, Dr Rajesh Jeetahand Robert Hertz were eachpresented with the Award over thesummer months.

Outstanding Alumni Awards are given toformer students who have achieveddistinction within their profession, haveprovided exemplary service to theUniversity, or have made an outstandingcontribution of a personalhumanitarian nature.

Professor Alan Emery, who graduatedfrom Manchester in 1952, is one of thefounding fathers in the field of MedicalGenetics, having enjoyed a highlydistinguished career in NeuromuscularGenetics. He has held a number ofprestigious positions throughout hiscareer including President of the BritishClinical Genetics Society and ChiefScientific Advisor for the European

Neuromuscular Centre. He is also aFellow of Green College, Oxford.

Dr Rajesh Jeetah, a 1984 Textile Scienceand Technology graduate, received hisaward in August while in the UK in hisrole as Minister of Industry, Small andMedium Enterprises, Commerce andCooperatives – within the Governmentof Mauritius.

The third recipient of the Award wasRobert Herz, a 1974 ManchesterBusiness School graduate and nowChairman of the Financial AccountingStandards Board (FASB), in the USA.

An additional award has beenaccepted by John Cheffins, who is theChief Operating Officer at Rolls RoyceGroup plc.

The Outstanding Alumni Awards takeplace annually. If you have anysuggestions for future recipients pleasesend these to Annette Babchuk byemailing alumni@manchester.ac.uk ortelephoning +44 (0)161 306 3066.

Trio awarded foroutstanding achievement

40 YOURMANCHESTER

Many of you will have been telephonedby one of our student callers over thepast few months. Thank you for sharingyour fond Manchester memories withthem - and for starting or renewing yoursupport for Manchester!

Since October 2006, 950 alumni, havecommitted to donations which totalledover £230,000. Calling was principallyfocused on the UK, but alumni in theUSA have generously donated toNAFUM (the North AmericanFoundation for The University ofManchester) with 151 alumnicontributing over $39,000. This helpedNAFUM reach a record-breaking totalof $540,000 and to release funding forten new scholarships (see page 36 forfurther details).

We should like to thank all of you foryour generosity. Your commitment ishaving a genuine impact on individualstudents, and on the overallstudent experience at The Universityof Manchester.

You may remember from the lastedition of Your Manchester that wehave launched a number of new

themed Fund Areas. Here is a reminderof these five priority areas and anoverview of the progress yourgenerosity has facilitated:

Alumni Welcome ScholarshipsThe University of Manchester providesone of the most generous programmesof scholarships in the UK for high-achieving students from low incomebackgrounds, with the purpose ofmaking Manchester a magnet foroutstanding people, irrespective of theirsocial or financial background.

Professor Alan Gilbert, President andVice-Chancellor, said the Universitywas committed to attracting andsupporting the very best students. “Ifstudents have the talent, we want toensure that they have the opportunityto study here regardless of theirfinancial circumstances.”

The Alumni Fund has providedadditional scholarship support for73 students from some of the mostdeprived neighbourhoods inManchester, who achieved thedemanding grades required tostudy here.

The University’s new Alumni Fund has made great progress in its firstyear, supporting access into undergraduate and PhD study for almost100 students - thanks to your generous support. A very big Thank You!

Transforming Futures

Among the recipients is Sean Curleywho is studying Philosophy and haswanted to study at Manchester eversince he was 14. “The scholarshiphas already helped me a great deal,”he said. “I come from an area ofpoverty and the scholarship helps me- and similar people fromunderprivileged backgrounds - getinto higher education by alleviatingsome of the financial issues we face.Education is the best way to breakthe poverty trap.”

Sean Curley

Developing CountryScholarshipsWhile The University of Manchester iscommitted to giving financial supportto home students, it also has a targetof providing 750 ‘equity and merit’scholarships for students fromdeveloping countries by 2015.

The Alumni Fund is playing a pivotalrole in this programme by providingfunding for living costs andinternational travel. A pilot programmeis being launched in 2007/8 forstudents from Uganda and Malawi,and we look forward to reporting backon this next year.

Emergency Student HardshipIt is inevitable that during thecourse of their studies, some studentswill be affected by unforeseenfinancial difficulties.

Following a rigorous review process, theAlumni Fund assists students who arefaced with acute financial difficulties,ensuring that they have sufficientincome to complete their studies.

So far the Annual Fund has allocated£70,000 towards the Student HardshipFund from which 22 awards of varyingamounts have been made to date.

Student ResourcesThe Alumni Fund continues to provideequipment and resources across thecampus and in halls of residence.

Projects for funding are prioritised ondata collated through the University’sannual student satisfaction survey sothat they are of maximum benefit forthe student body as a whole. Theseinclude a ‘Time Out Zone’ to be addedto the library, which will providestudents with a comfortable and safeenvironment in which they can have abreak when studying outside ‘normal’working hours.

Another distinctive feature of theStudent Resources Fund is support forstudent-led initiatives withinManchester’s ‘Manchester LeadershipProgramme’. This aims to encouragestudents to show leadership incommunity-based projects in theGreater Manchester area. A ‘Pod Cast’facility within the Careers Service isbeing funded which will allow studentsundertaking leadership projects toshare their experiences on-line with

other students and with the manyexternal partner organisations involvedin the programme.

Research for SocietyThe Alumni Fund also supportsoutstanding Manchester graduateswho want to continue their studies atthe University via PhD study across theFund’s five priority research themes:World Poverty, Cancer 2015, Science2015, Regenerative Medicine andSustainable Civic Society (seewww.manchester.ac.uk/alumni/donorprogrammes). This year therewere nine award recipients, includingSadia Mohammed.

Sadia is currently researching ways ofrelieving poverty in Ghana’s artisanaland small-scale mining communitieswhich are blighted by illegal activity,environmental degradation andHIV/AIDS. “I could only have fulfilledmy dream of undertaking doctoralresearch on poverty in Ghana if therewas necessary financial assistance”,she said. “Apart from my workcontributing tremendously to theUniversity and to the policy sector ofGhana, the Alumni Fund offers hopefor anyone in the world committed tofacilitating change through research.”

Andrew Spinoza, Chairman of theAlumni Association and of the Alumni

Fund Steering Group which allocatesthe funds said the on-going andincreasing generosity from alumni wasa good sign. “We are feelingincreasingly involved and engaged inthe current life of the University andits students,” he said. “It has beenvery rewarding to see how our giftsare being put to highly strategic useon campus, and I would like toencourage alumni worldwide to getbehind our efforts.”

President Alan Gilbert added: “Ouralumni have always been our keyambassadors worldwide. The factthat so many feel moved to provideadditional support for these student-related priorities means a great deal toall of us on campus. We arebeginning to build the sort of base ofsupport that can give us vitaladditional flexibility as we strive tomake the University as a whole, andthe student experience, among thevery best in the world.”

For more information on theUniversity’s philanthropic priorities andprogramme of donor relations, pleasecontact Chris Cox, Director ofDevelopment, Division of Developmentand Alumni Relations, on+44 (0)161 275 2620 or emailchris.cox@manchester.ac.uk

YOURMANCHESTER 41

Sadia Mohammed

Pleasepay

YYYYMMDD

£

Amountin words

Commencingon the

Eachmonth / quarter / year* to The University of ManchesterAnnual Fund donations account number 30924369:

Barclays Bank plc, 7th Floor, 1 Marsden Street, Manchester M2 1HW (Sort code 20-55-34)

Name

Address Email

Tel

Postcode

Nameof bank

Bankaddress

Your accountnumber

Sort code /

Postcode

/

Date

for years OR Until further notice(please tick)

*Delete as appropriate

Startdate /

Single Gift by Cheque or Credit Card

Date

£50 £200

£500

£1,000

Other

Visa CAFMaestroMastercard

I wish to make a donation of

Please charge the above amount to my

Expirydate

*

*

/

Card No

£100

* Please note not all cards havea start date or issue number.

I enclose a cheque made payable to‘The University of Manchester’

Regular Gift by Standing Order (please do not send this form to your bank)

Issueno

OR

The purpose of your gift

The Alumni Fund for ManchesterTo benefit the five student support priority areas at the discretion of theAlumni Fund Steering Group

the following Student Support area: (please tick)Alumni WelcomeScholarships

Developing CountryScholarships

Emergency StudentHardship

StudentResources

Researchfor Society

Other

Specific ResearchTheme (optional)

Please tick here if you would prefer your name not toappear in any future list of donors

Donor Acknowledgement

If you are a UK taxpayer please take a moment to sign thisdeclaration. In doing so you will increase the value of yourdonation by 28% at no extra cost to you. Please see the reverseof this form for details and guidelines.

I would like The University of Manchester to treat all donationsI have made for the last 6 years prior to this year, (but no earlierthan 06/04/2000) and all donations I make from the date of thisdeclaration until I notify you otherwise as Gift Aid donations.

Gift Aid Declaration

Signature Date

SignatureSignature

Data Protection - 1998 Data Protection Act Your data is securely held in the University’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations and will be treated confidentially and with sensitivity for the benefitof the University and its members in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. The data is available to our schools and faculties, recognised alumni societies, sports and other clubsassociated with the University and is used for a full range of alumni activities including the sending of University publications and the notification of alumni events, fundraising programmes and for thepromotion of benefits and services. If you do not want your data to be used for the above purposes, please tick this box.

ALUMNI FUND FORMANCHESTERShow your support for the transformational power ofeducation and research.The Alumni Fund is the programme through which thousands of Manchester Alumni targettheir support for a range of student scholarships, resources for learning, and research at theUniversity. For further details on the priorities of the fund, or to donate online please seewww.manchester.ac.uk/alumni/donorprogrammes/alumnifund

OR

Please complete in block capitals and return toThe Division of Development and Alumni RelationsThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchester M13 9PLtel +44 (0)161 306 6250

42 YOURMANCHESTER

YOURMANCHESTER 43

It was back in 1824 that a group ofbusinessmen and industrialistsfounded the Manchester Mechanic’sInstitute to teach artisans theprinciples of science. The Institutegrew into the University ofManchester Institute of Science andTechnology (UMIST). Similarly, in1846, Manchester textile merchantJohn Owens left £96,942 in his Will(over £6 million in today’s money) toestablish a college which was later tobecome the Victoria Universityof Manchester.

Today, many of our alumni andfriends, choose to show theirappreciation of the University and itsrole in wider society, by rememberingus in their Will.

Mr Joseph Andre Hamiltongenerously left his estate to the JohnRylands Library because of thekindness shown to him by formerLibrarian Henry Guppy - who died in1949. Mr Hamilton first applied for hisreader ticket in April 1948 andcontinued to renew his readershipannually through the 1950s. In hisrenewal letter dated April 1950 hewrote, “Some of the happiest hours,for the past three years of my life, havebeen spent within the walls of theRylands Library. For all these, thankyou, with all my heart.”

Barbara Smethurst, is a three timesgraduate of the University, havinggained her Certificate in Educationfollowed by her Bachelors and Mastersin Education. She enjoyed a long anddistinguished career teaching studentsfrom a variety of racial and religiousbackgrounds. Strongly believing in theimportance of promoting and fosteringcross-faith and inter-racialunderstanding, co-operation andcommunication, she has established abequest to the University that willsupport scholarships for studentsdemonstrating this: “It is my dearestwish that people from all races, religionsand different cultures will live inharmony and peace and I believe thateducation is crucial to achieving this.”

Emeritus Professor Arthur Porter -BSc (Hons) Physics, 1933; MSc 1934;PhD 1936 and Honorary DSc 2004 - andhis wife Patricia, have chosen to supportthe North American Foundation for TheUniversity of Manchester (NAFUM) byestablishing a Charitable RemainderTrust (a vehicle for deferred givingavailable in the USA). Professor Porterexplains why he and his wife chose todonate in this way: “Two reasonspredominated. First, as an expression ofour profound gratitude to a universitywhich provided me with wonderfulopportunities to enjoy a long life filledwith so many exciting challenges. Andsecondly, because having benefited

virtually 70 years ago from a two-yearpost-doctoral fellowship at MIT I ampowerfully aware of the importance ofproviding opportunities to US graduatesto study in UK universities, andespecially at Manchester. Suffice it toadd that such an exchange programmenot only enhances scholarship andresearch but just as importantlyfacilitates understanding between ourtwo countries.”

As you can see, legacy donors canengage in a shared vision with theUniversity, and the University ishonoured to be the selected partner forsuch far-sighted generosity. TheUniversity is committed to maximisingthe thoughtfulness and efficiency withwhich it manages resultant funds - andto meeting your stated preferences tothe fullest extent possible.

If you would like to speak directly tosomeone in confidence about leavinga legacy to the University, pleasecontact Louise Hancock, onTel: +44 (0)161 275 7230, Email:louise.hancock@manchester.ac.uk

Or, we can send a copy of theUniversity’s new legacy brochure: YourVision, Your Values, Your Manchester– a legacy for learning and discovery.It is intended for alumni and otherswho may want to consider leaving agift to the University in their Will.

Without its strong tradition of charitable support, The University ofManchester would not be the great institution of learning it has become today

YourVisionYourValues

Barabara Smethurst

J1459 05/07Royal Charter Number: RC000797