The AVENGERS, A 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Classic Television Series at the University of Chichester

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Basketball coach Gary Smith leaves University role 20/10/10

Worthing Thunder Basketball Club and the University of Chichester announce that Worthing Thunder Director of Coaching Gary Smith has agreed to return as Head Coach of the club.

Smith, who won two EBL Division 1 titles during his previous spell as coach as well as being a driving force in Thunder’s entry to the BBL in 2008-9, took over ahead of the BBL Championship match away to Guildford on Saturday 16 October.

It was originally anticipated that Gary would combine his role as Director of Coaching with that of Head Coach at the University of Chichester Thunder in EBL Division 4, as the club and University look to forge stronger links along the lines of a number of similar programmes in both the BBL and EBL. However, following the difficulties in appointing a US player-coach during the close-season (a process with which Smith was closely involved), the directors at Worthing Thunder decided to ask Gary if he would be prepared to take over the reins once more, which he agreed to do.

Worthing Thunder Chairman Frank Gainsbury said: “I am very grateful to Gary, and also Sid Fletcher at the University of Chichester, for their assistance in bringing this appointment to a conclusion. Whilst it was always the intention that Gary would play an active part within the BBL programme this year within his Director of Coaching remit, it was also felt beneficial to both parties that he coach the University EBL team.

“As it has transpired, Gary will be back as Head Coach with Worthing Thunder and will continue to be involved with University of Chichester with a view to developing and identifying potential talented players to provide them with the opportunity to play at the highest level in the sport. Gary’s appointment will be for both this season and the next campaign with a view to allowing him to develop and build some stability in the playing squad.”

Sid Fletcher, Sports Development Manager at the University of Chichester Students’ Union, said: “Obviously we are disappointed to lose a coach of Gary’s calibre at this stage of the season, but with Worthing in the situation they found themselves in, we were happy to support his appointment. We look at this as the first ‘promotion’ of many from this partnership as our links increase year on year.”

Chichester academics feature at international conference on migration 20/10/10

Two international students from the University of Chichester have showcased their work on a global scale by appearing at the Metropolis Conference at The Hague.

Carolene Ayaka from Kenya and Amanda Muscat from Malta are both studying for PhDs at the University, and were invited to be part of a conference panel looking at a range of migration issues. The panel was assembled by Professor Chris Gaine, a leading expert in migration and Chair of Social Policy at the University.

The conference was held at The Hague in the Netherlands, next door to the International War Crimes Tribunal, between 3-4 October 2010, and was attended by experts in migration from around the world.

The panel examined the experience of different groups of Africans in Europe: French-speaking people from Cameroon now living in London, educated Kenyan and Nigerian women in Leeds negotiating their identities in relation to their pasts and futures, Zambian and Zimbabwean nurses recruited into the UK’s care homes, and Somalian, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees arriving by boat in Malta.

Prof Gaine said: “The conference insisted that all panels contained researchers, policy analysts, and people from non-government organisations, as well as speakers from more than one country. Because of my networks and work in this field, I was able to get Carolene and Amanda to present at the conference, which was an excellent experience for them both. It was also a useful networking opportunity for them, as the other members of the panel were Sarah Isal, Deputy Director of the Runnymede Trust, Britain’s leading think tank on issues of ethnicity and migration, and Amina Chitembo, who runs the Black and Minority Ethnic Community Services NGO in West Sussex.”

Prof Gaine also contributed to another workshop discussing different work he has been engaged in, looking at the perceptions of young people of migrant backgrounds in Lisbon, Paris and London. The conference attendance for Prof Gaine followed an appearance at the European Education Research Association conference in Helsinki in August, where he was joint convenor of the Social Justice network for his tenth year. As well as chairing several sessions, he gave a special seminar to doctoral students from Iceland who are studying migration. It is likely he will be invited to Reykjavik early next year.

Three honorary awards to be conferred at University of Chichester graduation ceremonies 19/10/10

Three experts in the fields of music, children’s services and sport will be recognised at graduation ceremonies organised by the University of Chichester this week.

Andy Brown, the founder and leader of the London Metropolitan Orchestra, will be conferred with an Honorary Master of Arts degree, while Dame Gillian Pugh, former chief executive of Coram Family, a leading children’s charity, and Professor Celia Brackenridge, the first Chair of the UK Women’s Sports Foundation, will both be conferred with Honorary Fellowship awards.

The trio will receive their awards alongside around 1500 students who have completed their degrees at the University of Chichester. They will formally graduate at ceremonies taking place at Chichester Festival Theatre on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 October 2010.

Further details of honorary awards:

Honorary Master of Arts – Andy Brown (Ceremony 1: Friday 22 October, 10am)

Andy Brown founded and leads the London Metropolitan Orchestra, a multimedia orchestra which employs London’s best musicians renowned for their virtuosity. LMO is one of the finest film recording orchestras in the world, having recorded more than 250 films and worked on many of the greatest Hollywood films.

Andy grew up and went to school in Chichester and is clearly one of the world’s leading film music conductors, having worked with all the major Hollywood studios and worldwide record companies since the orchestra was formed in 1994. The LMO is now working with an exciting younger generation of composers and Andy Brown gives generously of his time to work with and inspire students in the University’s music department.

Honorary Fellowship – Dame Gillian Pugh (Ceremony 4: Saturday 23 October, 10am)

Dame Gillian Pugh retired in 2005 as Chief Executive of Coram Family, a leading children’s charity which aims to develop and promote best practice in the care and support of very vulnerable children and their families. She has published widely, including London’s Forgotten Children: Thomas Coram and the Foundling Hospital (2008) and Contemporary Issues in the Early Years (5th edition 2009). Gillian chaired the Advisory Committee for the Cambridge Primary Review and is a co-author of the final report Children, their World, their Education (Routledge 2009). She was a member of the LGA Narrowing the Gap project team, and is chair of the National Children’s Bureau. Gillian is President of the National Childminding Association, a member of the Children’s Workforce Development Council, is on the Board of the Training and Development Agency for Schools, is visiting Professor at the Institute of Education, and an advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee for children, schools and families. She has recently been appointed to the Family Justice Review panel. She was awarded the DBE in 2005 for services to children and families.

Honorary Fellowship – Professor Celia Brackenridge (Ceremony 6: Saturday 23 October, 2pm)

Professor Brackenridge is internationally respected for her work investigating issues of abuse and harassment in sport, and for her extensive and significant contribution to child protection. She was programme consultant to the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission Consensus Statement on Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Sport (2007) and to the UNICEF working group on violence against children in sport (2007-2008). She serves on the Research Committee of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers and chairs the Research Task Force of the NSPCC/Sport England Child Protection in Sport Unit. She is also a child protection tutor for Sports Coach UK and for the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Professor Brackenridge was the first Chair of the UK Women’s Sports Foundation, she chaired the Leisure Studies Association from 1993-1995, edited the journal of Leisure Studies from 1995-1997, has published extensively, and is a former international athlete and captain of the England and Great Britain women's lacrosse teams.

Alison MacLeod from the University of Chichester interviews Hanif Kureishi

Hanif Kureishi CBE (b. 1954) is a novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, film-maker and, according to The Times (2008), one of ‘The 50 greatest British writers since 1945″. As a short story writer, he explores a heady range of subjects, including race and religion, love and sexuality, and the power of culture and the imagination.

Kureishi was born in Kent to an Indian father and an English mother. As the child of a mixed-race relationship, he grew up with a keen awareness of racism and ‘otherness’. His award-winning novel The Buddha of Suburbia opens with the now famous line, ”My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost.’

Kureishi attended Bromley Technical High School (where David Bowie had been a pupil previously). Later he read philosophy at King’s College, London, and in 1982 was appointed Writer in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre. In 1984, he wrote My Beautiful Laundrette, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay at a time when the young Kureishi was still living in council accommodation in London. He is now the author of over twenty major novels, story and essay collections, plays and screenplays, and his work has been translated into thirty-six languages. For his services to literature, he was made a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) and was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts des Lettres.

Alison MacLeod is the author of The Wave Theory of Angels (Penguin 2006) and Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction (Penguin 2007). Her next novel is published by Hamish Hamilton (Penguin) in 2011. She is Professor of Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester (UK).

Read interview with Hanif Kureishi

Using the arts to care for people with dementia 08/10/10

Care for people with dementia has been given an artistic twist by a senior lecturer at the University of Chichester.

Jill Hayes is the author of The Creative Arts in Dementia Care – Person-Centred Approaches and Ideas, designed to be a guide for health professionals and researchers, care providers, arts organisers, independent artists, as well as for families of people with dementia.

Jill, a senior lecturer in dance and counselling, decided to write the book after completing a research project in 2009 on a similar topic through the University.

Jill said: “The physical care of people with dementia is of vital importance, but so too is their emotional, social, mental and spiritual wellbeing. The creative arts are gaining increasing recognition not only as a tool for delivering effective person-centred dementia care, but also for attending to soul as well as body.

“I want to encourage those who care for people with dementia to develop their own creative skills, and this book provides a creative map of care with easy-to-follow examples and detailed case studies.

“People with dementia matter. They have feelings which need attention, and this can be given through the arts. The arts can be a way of communicating with people with dementia when words fail.”

The book, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, will be officially launched at an event on Friday 25th November 2010 at Felpham Memorial Hall, where an invited community of friends, social work, health care and arts for health practitioners will join with people with dementia to try out some of the techniques in the book. A highlight will be songs performed by Sarah Povey, whose reflections on her long career as a voice movement therapist with people with dementia have a central place in the book. For more details of the launch please contact: saj.povey@virgin.net or for more details on the book or to order, visit http://www.jkp.com/.