BROOKES SOCIETY
NEWSLETTE
R
Summer 2015 Edition
This is my first newsletter since being voted Chair of the Society (in my absence!) at the AGM in
February. Geoff Bremble is going to be a hard act to follow, and I know that the committee and
all of the members owe him, and fellow founding members Rodney Tulloch, Ann Edmunds, Ian
and Kathy Mitchell, a huge debt of gratitude for establishing Brookes Society. I was pleased to
take on the mantle as I firmly believe in the Society and the opportunities it offers all of us who
have retired from Oxford Brookes University.
Professor Sir Clive Booth, former Vice-Chancellor of the University, and Brookes Society Chair Clare Fox
at the Bryan Brown lecture, 6th May, 2015
Some of the areas I, and the committee, will be looking at this year are ways of increasing the
membership and how we can ensure that staff who have recently retired are encouraged to join
most pressingly. At the end of 2015 some members of the committee will have come to the end
of their terms, and so succession planning is something we have to consider. Anyone want to
volunteer?
I was pleased to represent the Society at the inauguration of Professor Alistair Fitt as the
4th Vice-Chancellor of the University on 19th June. The ceremony struck the absolute right note
of formality with no pomposity – just what we expect from Brookes! The speeches were
excellent: Professor Julie McLeod, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, introduced
Professor Fitt; Professor Graham Upton (a previous Vice-Chancellor) spoke as a Deputy
Lieutenant on the role of Brookes in the region, and Professor Fitt spoke thoughtfully on how he
will move Brookes forward.
The ceremony was followed by the inaugural Brookes People Awards which were given
to members of staff for varying ways they have contributed to the University; all were nominated
by their colleagues. This was a really good idea and a fun way to end what, of necessity, had to
be a formal occasion.
