Many of us will have seen you in the Faculty: but what do you do day to day?
What I do is act as the link between the students, academics, and central university offices. It’s really as a kind of bridge between the students, the teaching staff, and indeed the main administration of the University of Cambridge to ensure 'things happen' as they should. And, while it is rare, in the case of student complaints I also ensure they are dealt with swiftly and effectively.
What do you remember of your first day in the Faculty?
I've been in the Faculty since March 2006: it may seem a long time ago now; back then Tony Blair was Prime Minister, and Finland was about to win the Eurovision Song Content, which was held in Greece. Kieran Martin West, who studied here for a BA in Economics and Land Economy rowed for Cambridge in the Boat Race, the Queen was celebrating her 80th birthday, and Cambridge was just heading into the start of the 2006 European Heat Wave, when many weather records were broken. It was a long hot summer. At the time the Chair of the Faculty was Andrew Harvey, and the Academic Secretary was Ken Coutts.
Over the past 15 years, what has been your favourite part of the role?
My favourite part of the job is the interaction with the students. I love coming into work and turning chaos into order; their queries can be many and varied, but there is a great feeling of satisfaction from helping a student. I’ve also worked with some really bright and enthusiastic student representatives, to name a few who I remember fondly, Ryoko Ito, George Ducksbury, Athene Laws, David Hutchinson, Gustavo Paez, Maarten de Ridder.
You must have had many unusual queries – what sticks in your mind? My funniest moment was being quoted in Varsity for sending an email to the students headed ‘An unpleasant matter – dirty girls’ and saying ‘I think the Faculty is working you too hard because some of you don’t have time to flush the ladies’ toilets. It’s a simple matter, put your finger on the button and push!’
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