6 News News in brief


Sporting chance Participation in sport by Essex students is higher than the national average according to a new Sport England survey, and new initiatives are being launched to build on this.


The Higher Education Sport Participation and Satisfaction Survey for 2011-12 found 42 per cent of those questioned took part in a minimum of 30 minutes of sport at least three times a week.


Eight per cent of students also took part in sport-related volunteering for at least one hour a week, compared with five per cent nationally.


Now the Sports Centre and the Students’ Union are working together to launch Just Play, a new social sport programme. Just Play offers weekly drop-in sessions costing only £1 plus tournaments and leagues throughout the year. Students can also gain funding for coaching and officiating courses through the Just Play Coach Education scheme.


www.essex.ac.uk/sport/justplay Curatorial award


History of Art graduate and leading Mexico City-based curator Cuauhtémoc Medina has won the biennial Walter Hopps Award for curatorial achievement. The award recognises early-to mid-career contemporary art curators and includes a stipend of $15,000.


Cuauhtémoc, who completed a PhD in the history and theory of art at Essex, has organised numerous exhibitions internationally and was head curator of the prestigious ninth Manifesta biennial last year held in Genk, Belgium. Professor Dawn Ades was also part of the curating team.


Heart research backed


The University is part of a £175,000 research project funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) into heart disease.


Heart and circulatory disease is Britain’s biggest killer and the grant is part of the BHF’s multi-million-pound boost for research in the UK.


Working with scientists from the University of Warwick and Aston University Birmingham, the team from Essex, led by Professor Chris Reynolds, will research a small protein in the heart and circulatory system which could feed into future research to develop new medicines for cardiovascular disease.


bhf.org.uk/heartscience


Anniversary voices to mark 50 years


Tales of Pink Floyd in the Hexagon, the protests of the late 1960s and recollections of ground-breaking research ranging from computing to social history are among the reminiscences making up a new oral history podcast series marking the 50th anniversary of the University.


The series Creating a University tells the story of Essex from its earliest days – with interviews from the people who were there, including students, staff and Wivenhoe residents.


Essex pioneered oral history in Britain – and this commitment to research is now allowing the University to explore its own five-decade history.


Surprising


One podcast will be released every month until August 2013. Each one looks at a different aspect of the University – from what it was like to be one of the first students to the impact of the University on the surrounding area.


In the first podcast the series director, Professor Paul Thompson of the Department of Sociology, talks about how the series came about and some of the surprising stories recorded.


The University’s founding Vice-Chancellor, Sir Albert Sloman, and his vision for Essex is the


subject of the second podcast. Some of the early staff, attracted by Sir Albert’s vision, talk about his focus on interdisciplinary study with an international focus, and about the “bright, imaginative, adventurous” undergraduates.


The podcasts are based on archive interviews carried out by volunteers for the Wivenhoe Oral History Project, established by Professor Paul Thompson.


www.essex.ac.uk/fifty


Planning for our celebrations


Events and activities to mark our 50th anniversary are being co-ordinated by Sarah Mills in Communications and External Relations. Sarah is talking to colleagues across all campuses about how they can get involved in the anniversary celebration. Contact Sarah if you have ideas or suggestions on how to mark the five decades of Essex.


T 01206 874661 E fifty@essex.ac.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24