Rector’s Awards 2006

The hard work and commitment of Imperial’s staff were celebrated at the annual Rector’s Awards - News

Tuesday 24 October 2006
By Naomi Weston

The commitment and talent of Imperial’s staff were recognised this week at this year’s Rector’s Awards Ceremony, held at 170 Queen’s Gate on Wednesday 18 October. This year's ceremony included the addition of three new awards -  Excellence in Leadership and Management; Mentoring; and Equality Excellence.

Dr Sunday Popo-Ola, an active member of Imperial as One, the College’s black and minority ethnic race equality advisory group, won the new Equality Excellence Award. The award was established to recognise the effort and commitment of College staff in eliminating discrimination, promoting inclusion, and bringing added value to the working and learning environment of Imperial.

“I try to take a long view about my equality work and want to help Imperial as One develop a ‘future proof’ agenda, so that any new members have a clear idea of what the group needs to do in terms of activities, events and discussions,” explains Dr Popo-Ola. He added: “I always make time for equality activities and have a sense of responsibility towards others and a desire to ‘make a difference’.”

Sir Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial, emphasised the importance of such events: “There can be no greater recognition than that of one’s peers and team-members and this occasion gives us the opportunity to publicly thank all those involved, specifically those who nominated individuals for the three awards.” He added: “The awards attracted many applications, which is a credit to the College, and also serves to profile some of our excellent role models who are working hard to truly promote equality and diversity, excellent leadership and mentoring practice throughout the College.”

All those nominated for the Excellence in Leadership and Management Award were judged to have made a significant impact on colleagues, and on the College. The two winners were selected because their impact was considered to be transformational.

Julia Anderson is Divisional Administrator in the Faculty of Medicine, and among other things, has contributed to the administrative design and implementation of the new Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics. Alison Ahearn has created a series of initiatives to support student learning across the College, as well as within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, some of which have received national recognition, in particular her contribution to the Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Scheme.

Ken Haynes, from Molecular Microbiology and Infection and Jenny Nelson from Physics, were both awarded the Mentoring Award, which celebrates mentoring as a key support mechanism at the College.

Ken Haynes has demonstrated that it is possible to have a successful research career and be committed to the career development of his research group. His nominator said of him: “Ken is always enthusiastic and recognises the potential for success in others. He is generous with praise and credit, listens well and treats those he mentors with respect.” Jenny Nelson has recently been promoted to Professor and her outstanding commitment to mentoring is evidenced by the number of her past mentees who nominated her for this award.

The ceremony also celebrated the achievement of staff who have gained qualifications in a wide range of areas, through internal accredited programmes - the Diploma in Management Studies and the Certificate in First-line Management - and through the Sponsored Study scheme, all run by the Staff Development Unit. Those receiving certificates including the most recent group of technician trainees, James Stone, from the Department of Physics, Tom Churchill, and John Yard who worked in the Estates Division.

Judy Barnett, Staff Development Manager, explained: “The Awards Ceremony makes a wonderful occasion where staff effort in a very wide range of areas can be celebrated.”

"Many staff have completed an extended course of study, which provides significant benefits both to the individual and to the College, while balancing the demands of their job and external commitments. The nominations for the three new Rector's Awards show some of our excellent role models, who are working hard to truly promote equality and diversity, excellent leadership and mentoring practice throughout the College.”

The ceremony was organised by the Staff Development team and the Equality and Diversity Unit at the College.