WelcomeFACILITIES DIRECTORATE ISSUE THIRTEEN WINTER1999/SPRING 2000

Features

Fantasy Football 4

In Bob’s Honour 9

Man about Town 10

Spotlight on - The Gardening Team13

Giving SHU a Sporting Chance 15

Your editors areGill Redfearn and Carol Steed

to the Winter/Spring edition of

FD News. The new

Millennium sees a new look for

FD News, and a new look for

all of FD’s new promotional

material. So the style has

changed – but what about

the content? We want to

know what you think! From

our recent rough and ready

e-mail poll, 69% of respondents

said they read all of FD News,

with 31% reading selected

parts. But we want to know

more….tell us what you really

think. We will be carrying out

some evaluation in the next few

weeks, so if someone stops you

and asks you some questions -

please be honest!

Sprucing up FD’s image

by Carol Steed

A new set of brand images have beendeveloped for FD to help give a moreprofessional visual message to ourcustomers. The overall concept uses theSHU rose as the basis, giving us a strongrelationship to SHU where needed. It alsoallows our more commercial enterprises(such as Conference 21, Sport andRecreation, and Catering) to have a betterlook in the market place.

This concept was chosen from a range ofvisual ideas, which I showed to a widerange of FD staff. Many thanks for yourinput if you were involved. The stripesand the boxes were quite popular on theother styles, but this was the one mostpeople liked! For those who saw the firstversion, I hope that you can see anevolution (and improvement) in the designalready. Thanks also to the selected group

who advised on the detail of the finalconcept.

Although the overall concept has beenagreed, work is still being done to developeach image. A new raft of photography isbeing undertaken so that each image is asrepresentative as possible of our work.The style is flexible to allow the focus tochange depending on the application, forexample, the latest Househunting brochurehas this new design style, but uses imagesrelating to private sector housing – becausethis is what the publication relates to.

The implementation of these brand imageswill start after Easter, and will apply to allnew FD promotional material, webdesigns, general customer notices etc.Letterheads and other stationery will notbe affected as these are not logos – butbrand images! There are endlesspossibilities for how this could evolve … so watch this space!

Informal General MeetingsThe next informal FD General Meetingswill take place as follows

9.15am Tuesday, 6 June 2000 in theHoward Suite

2.00pm Thursday, 8 June 2000 in theHoward Suite

8.30am Friday, 9 June 2000 in MillersRestaurant

All staff are invited to attend whichever isthe most convenient

FD Quiz NightAfter the success of the quiz night held lastyear, another one is being planned onThursday, 22 June 2000. Teams of fourcan enter. More details from Dave Furnissin Estates, ext 3359.

Big Summer Day OutSports and Recreation Services areplanning a day of fun, sport (low key) andgeneral merriment one summer Sundayfor all FD staff and their families. Venuewill either be Abbeydale Sports Club orAurora Sports Club. Events to includerounders, 5-a-side football, snooker,children’s events, sitting in the sun, eatingand drinking. Further details to follow. Nosporting experience necessary!

Christmas Party 2000A date has been fixed well in advance thisyear for a Christmas Party for all FD staffand friends. Plans are going ahead forFriday 22 December 2000. If you want toknow more about it, please ring CathChapman on ext 4913.

For once – not such goodnews!by Roger Nunn, Deputy Director

The University has recently learned that it has been unsuccessful in its bid to securefunding in the latest round of the HEFCE Improving Poor Estate Initiative.

The Funding Council has awarded £74m for 31 projects, bringing the total fundingapproved so far under the initiative to £215m. Whilst this is disappointing news for us,we shouldn’t forget that Sheffield Hallam has already been awarded £3.9m in the firsttwo years and this has enabled extensive refurbishment and redevelopment work atCollegiate Campus to take place.

It is clear however, that the bidding process has become increasingly competitive and itmay be that the success and impact of our estate re-investment programme over the last7/8 years is now working against us to some extent when bidding for these funds,compared to other Universities.

A major review of estate priorities is currently underway and this will take into accountthe University’s academic and business strategy in the context of overall cash availability.

Time for a Warm Change!by David Holland, Project Manager (Estates)

The catering ladies in Rollers Restaurant have been celebrating the opening of theirrefurbished changing area on the link bridge between Rollers Restaurant and the MainHall Stage. The first request for this work came at the end of December 1995, but wasdelayed for approximately four years. Then, like a phoenix from the flames, it rose againand was passed through the system successfully.

Meersbrook Construction won the Tender and work began on 13 December 1999.Working to a four-week contract meant that the staff were to have a warm andcomfortable start to the new Millennium, which was the exact opposite to the conditionsthey had been used to previously.

The whole area was stripped and work began to incorporate two shower rooms, twotoilets, two areas for lockers and room to change. As the changing rooms are on abridge, all four sides are exposed to the elements which was the reason this area wasuncomfortably cold. And to make matters worse, the radiators only managed to get lukewarm, if warm at all. Time for a warm change…

Both sides of the link were insulated to eliminate heat loss and new radiators wereincluded (the type that get hot!). A new carpet was laid and the whole area was painted,with interior design and colour co-ordination chosen by Duncan and staff - True Blue forthe walls, Saxon Blue carpet and white gloss for the woodwork. With new lockers nowinstalled (we got the right ones in the end!) the new changing area is a positive haven forthe staff. Many thanks to everyone who trailed backwards and forwards to and fromtheir temporary area while works took place.

Dates for your Diary

A conclusion is simply

the place where you get

tired of thinking

2

Disinformation is not as good asdatinformation

Why do we need to use a model?

The model allows us to look in astructured way at what we are doing,looking at all parts of the Directorate, ateverything that is going on, and ateveryone involved. It is one of the mostpowerful ways for an organisation to clarifyits strategy, develop effective plans anddeliver real improvements in all areas. If wedo not use a model such as this, then keyparts of the organisation may be missed. Italso means that we can look at what we aredoing in a consistent way over time, ratherthan looking at different things at differenttimes, and never quite getting the fullpicture.

Are there any benefits to using thisapproach?

There are many benefits. The holistic viewgives a more focused approach toleadership, direction, planning and processimprovement. Its main focus is looking atthings from a customer’s view, and thenaligning all that we do towards thecustomer, whilst acknowledging theconstraints that we work within. It helps tointegrate policy and strategy development,it looks at the impact on performance andit looks at people related issues, in a similarway to Investors in People (IiP).

So is it the same as IiPthen?

No, it looks at much widerissues. One of theassessment areas is aboutpeople, looking at the valueof our people, their skillsand the need to developand reward staff at alllevels. Working throughEFQM can help FD toachieve/satisfy many of therequirements of IiP, whichmeans that effort is notduplicated.

Do we get a badge on the wall, ora logo to show we are following orhave achieved EFQM?

No, EFQM is a framework which is notprescriptive. It provides guidelines whichwe can use that enables us to pursueexcellence on our own terms, taking intoaccount our own circumstances, andfollowing it at our own pace. It is a way oflooking at ourselves year on year, trackingimprovements, and eventually comparingourselves against the best in Europe.

How is the model implemented?

The usual route is to carry out a selfassessment. This asks searching questionsabout where we are in all areas of themodel. The process identifies strengths andareas for improvement, measures what weare doing and looks for actual evidence.The self assessment is usually carried outby internal staff, and covers the wholeorganisation or department.

What has been done so far?

Sheffield Hallam University is committedto improving quality across all areas of the

University. The Facilities Directorate is thefirst part of the University to pilot a selfassessment, which has given us a snap-shotof where we are now. Stage 1 has involveda Directorate wide assessment against thenine criteria of the model, sectionassessments using business drivers, and theviews of 60 employees obtained, also usinga business driver questionnaire. All thedata collected was analysed at a two dayworkshop, with a range of key actionsbeing agreed. The resultant document isdue to be scored in May by our in-houseteam of trained EFQM Assessors, whichwill give us a benchmark to compareagainst in future years.

What has happened to the list ofactions?

All the actions have been incorporated intoFD’s business objectives through thebusiness planning process and personalobjectives. Each action is ‘owned’ by asenior manager, and is being tracked tomake sure that it is undertaken andimprovements are actually followedthrough. This may mean more work in theshort term, but it is a necessary part ofmaking our operation more effective,efficient and customer focused in thelonger term.

So what happens next?

EFQM is gradually being embedded intothe business planning process, and shouldbecome a way of going about dailyactivities and tasks. There is still a long wayto go, so it should be remembered that thisis not something that will have a limitedshelf-life, but it will become a natural wayof working. The next stage is to monitorand evaluate the outcomes of the first selfassessment, and to prepare for the next selfassessment later in the year.

EFQM and FD – whatdoes it really all mean?What is EFQM?A number of you may have heard about EFQM, but what does it really mean?EFQM stands for European Foundation for Quality Management. EFQM is amembership-based not-for-profit organisation created in 1988. The EFQMExcellence Model is an internationally recognised framework that FD are using togive us a more structured approach to looking at what we are doing well, andidentifying where we can do things better.

3

by match commentator, Ann Oates

Yes, the great day hadarrived and there was noturning back, the beautifulgame played in all its gloryby two teams who were welland truly ‘up for it’. It wasa case of them and us, theoffice lads and thetradesmen.

The training had been done, the teams hadbeen picked and each man knew exactlywhat was expected of him.

It was time to show the opposition justwhat they were made of.

Although the weather was a little chilly forthe spectators, it could not have beenbetter for a football match.

Early strike

The game started very quickly with anearly strike on goal after 5 minutes bySteve Glover, which was equalled by agood save from Phil Walton. The pressurewas maintained by the office lads whoretained the ball well, until the tradesmenbroke away with a counter attack but werestopped with stout defending by DaveFurniss, it resulted in a corner to thetradesmen. Corner was taken by GlennCarson, who found Andy Tipple, but wasunlucky not to score when it went just pastthe post. Andy Collis was brought down afew minutes later which resulted in another

corner to the tradesmen which was easilycleared away by office lads. 12 minutes intothe game and still office lads with most ofthe possession. Ian Heath soon finds somespace but was unfortunate not to capitaliseon it. 15 minutes gone and David Hollandhas a shot on goal which just goes over thecrossbar, very unfortunate not to score.

Tradesmen continue defending very well,but not well enough it would seem, all theoffice lads hard work finally paid off in theform of a goal to Trevor Fox, which was setup with a lovely cross by Steve Glover on16 minutes.

20 minutes into the game and it wasapparent that frustration was setting in bytradesmen, due to a foul by Andy Tipple onTrevor Fox, lucky not to get a booking.Another chance went to office lads withRichard Mathers shot on goal forcing somegood defending by tradesmen, resulting ina corner to office lads which was taken byDavid Holland, but quickly cleared awayby Glenn Carson.Yet another shot at goal

Fantasy Football, orJust a Boot-i-full game

Know ITBy John Helm, IT Support Officer

As from the beginning of March 2000, we are running regular ITHelp Sessions and any member of staff is welcome to call in. Theytake place every other Thursday between 12.30 and 1.30pm,either in Unit 8, Science Park, or in the Learning Resource Centrein Room 1034, Owen Building.

What is IT all about?

These sessions are informal coaching sessions to help you get themost out of your software and applications - primarily at work,but also at home (there is no guarantee that we can solve yourhome PC problems or queries - but we will try to point you in theright direction)

• are you having trouble finding what you want on the Internet?

• have you got a spreadsheet that needs sprucing up but you areunsure how to go about it?

• do you need help in organising your e-mail messages andfolders?

• are you having trouble formatting tables and text in Word?

• have you got some information but you are unsure whether toenter it into Word, Excel, Access, etc?

Who will be taking the sessions?

The following people will be taking the sessions (main areas ofexpertise are underlined)

Frances Dowd - Outlook, Word, Internet/Web pages

John Helm - Access, Internet, Outlook, Word, general softwarequeries

Matt Hoole - Excel, Access, Internet/Web pages

Richard Mather - Excel, Access

How do I get help?

All FD staff are welcome to come along to these sessions.However, in order to make better use of your time we wouldrequest that you either e-mail (e-mail FD IT Support) or send(FD IT Support, Unit 8, Science Park, City Campus) yourquery by the end of the Tuesday preceding the next Help Session.This will give us time to look through your queries and preparefor the Thursday session.

Please bear in mind that the sessions only last one hour so we mayhave to schedule some time on another day if your request iscomplicated or is likely to take up a long time. Again by sendingyour query to us before the session we will be able to contact youto let you know whether you need to come along to the Thursdaysession or to book a time to sit down with you.

We look forward to seeing you there!

4

by Matt Hoole, wonderfully saved by PhilWalton on 25 minutes. Tradesmen weregiving it their all, and just about on thestroke of half time, some nifty tackling sawDarren Green having a shot on goal whichforced a good save by John Helm.

Tradesmen begin picking up thepace

Second half continued in a similar vein asthe first, with an early shot on goal byTrevor Fox. Things started hotting up andpassions were running high. After just 5minutes Matt Hoole was booked after arash tackle on Phil Walton. A minute laterand Trevor Fox was brought down with anasty tackle by Neil Andrews, a free kickwas awarded as a result. An Andy Collisstrike after 17 minutes into the second halfforced a good save by John Helm. A cornerresulted, taken by Glenn, but easily clearedby office lads. Ian Heath manages to findsome space after 21 minutes and makes anattempt at goal which is just wide of the

post. First substitution of the match seesMark Thomas off and Simon Blackburnon. Even though obvious signs of fatiguesetting in, both teams defending very well.Office lads still looking slightly the betterside at this point. Paul Browse starts off agood piece of set play by crossing to SteveGlover, who passes to David Holland andwith a shot on goal can only force a corner,taken quickly by David, which findsRichard Mather who makes a good header,but alas is safely cleared.

At 23 minutes, tradesmen make acomeback with a shot on goal by NeilBarstow which, unfortunately for him, goesstraight to the keeper. A minute later seesanother spurt by Dave Furniss who finds

some space down midfield, he passesquickly to Trevor Fox whose strike is justwide of the post. Another good piece ofplay by office lads sees David Holland witha shot on goal but again safely to keeper on25 minutes. Even play at this stage of thegame with all players giving it 100%.Tradesmen win another corner, taken byGlenn which sees John Helm having tomake an excellent save, tradesmen veryunfortunate not to score on this occasion.Another substitution on 26 minutes in theform of Neil Cameron on for SteveGlover. Office lads manage to force acorner in last minute of the game whichgives Matt Hoole a last chance at a shoton goal, only resulting in Phil Waltonmaking yet another superb save.

Immense pressure

Although there was just one booking it wasa physical game due to the determinationand passion of its players. Most of thepossession was with office lads, buttradesmen were unlucky not to get anequaliser. Every one of the playerscontributed, including the linesman, whoafter frantically waving his flag, it wasthought he was sending semaphore signalsto the flagship ‘Victory’. It was a very fairgame and the referee did very wellconsidering he was under immensepressure – after all he doesn’t wantmembers of staff boycotting his trainingcourses! There was an abundance ofspectators who stretched their vocal chordsto the absolute limit, all agreed that thegame was a joy to watch. After interviewing

several players after the match, it was clearthat they were all in agreement, that it wasa well played, well fought game. Somethought they played ‘shocking’, somethought they played ‘marvellous,considering their age’!, some admitted thatthey were ‘very tired’ and perhaps ‘theyshould have won’ and even one blamed theresult on ‘bad refereeing decisions’ butthen quickly added ‘I’m only kidding’ (youknow who you are).

The after match analysis was in full forcein the bar and there were cries of arematch – lets all get our breaths back firsteh?

A special thanks must go to the catererswho put on a lovely spread of sandwichesand sausage rolls – delicious. (Stillsearching for that cost code Mr Rutter?)Also, a special thanks to Sport andRecreation Services for arranging thefixture, and for Aurora for providing thefacility free of charge. And last but notleast, to Graham for giving up his time toreferee the match, although a stewards’inquiry is still continuing about just howmuch he was paid by the Tradesmen!

The teams have been approached forfuture fixtures with other departments – sowatch this space…

The teams

‘Office Lads’ ‘Tradesmen’

Trevor Fox Player/Manager John Soule ManagerJohn Helm Goal Keeper Phil Walton Goal KeeperPaul Browse Right Back Andrew Tipple Right BackBrian Badger Left Back Andy Lawson Left BackJamie Wilson Centre Half Mark Thomas Centre HalfRichard Mather Centre Forward Malcolm Sykes Centre HalfIan Heath Centre Forward Darren Green Centre ForwardDave Holland Right Hand Midfield Martin Crowther Centre ForwardSteve Glover Left Hand Midfield Neil Barstow Right WingMatt Hoole Centre Midfield Glenn Carson Left WingTrevor Fox Centre Midfield Andy Collis MidfieldDave Furniss Sweeper Neil Andrews Midfield

Neil Cameron Substitute Simon Blackburn Substitute

Referee: Graham Sykes Linesman: Mervyn Knutton

Match Facts

‘Office Lads’ ‘Tradesmen’

Goals 1 Goals 0Corners Won 4 Corners Won 5Fouls Committed Several Fouls Committed SeveralBookings 1 Bookings 0Man of the Match Trevor Fox Man of the Match Merv (for making the

wrong decisions!),followed closely by Phil Walton

Sendings Off 0 Sendings Off 05

Knowing IT Better …Because so many of our readers now know much more about ITthan when we started this regular feature – well done toeveryone!, we thought you might appreciate some amusing help-lines from some of the people who provide us with our ITsupport.

1. When the printer won’t print, re-send the job at least 20 times.Print jobs frequently get sucked into black holes.

2. When the printer still won’t print after 20 tries, send the job toall 68 printers on campus. One of them is bound to work.

3. Don’t learn the proper name for anything technical. We knowexactly what you mean by ‘my thingy stopped working’.

4. Don’t use on-line help. On-line help is for wimps.

5. If the mouse cable keeps knocking down the framed picture ofyour dog, lift the computer and stuff the cable under it. Mousecables were designed to have 20kg of computer sitting on topof them.

6. If the space bar on your keyboard doesn’t work, blame it on theNT upgrade. Keyboards are actually very happy with half apound of biscuit crumbs and nail clippings in them.

7. When you need to change the toner cartridge in a printer, callIT support. Changing a toner cartridge is an extremelycomplex task, and Hewlett-Packard recommends that it beperformed only by a professional engineer with a master’sdegree in nuclear physics.

8. When you bump into an IT person in Tesco’s on a Saturday,ask a computer question. We do weekends.

Stepping Back inTime…

Liz Mountain, Dee Jubb, Susan Walker, Betty Harrap and Gill Parton

The first weekend in December last year saw the staging of theVictorian Christmas Market at Kelham Island. Some of theCatering staff got into the spirit of things by dressing up in hiredcostumes (arranged by Gill Parton Team Leader, who works atKelham island).

It always proves to be an eventful weekend weather wise. 1998saw freezing temperatures and snow. 1999 brought high windsand lots of rain. But fighting against all the elements, the Cateringstaff took over £3,300 selling hot drinks, snacks and mince pies toweather beaten customers.

6

Staff Appraisal – A Quick GuideYou might find the table of performance measures below useful – or not!

Performancefactors

Far exceeds jobrequirements

Exceeds jobrequirements

Meets jobrequirements

Needs someimprovement

Does not meetminimumrequirements

Quality Leaps tall buildingswith a single bound

Must take runningstart to leap overtall buildings

Can only leap overa short building orone mediumbuilding with nospires

Crashes intobuildings whenattempting to jumpover them

Cannot recognisebuildings at all,much less jump

Timeliness Is faster than aspeeding bullet

Is as fast as aspeeding bullet

Not quite as fast asa speeding bullet

Would you believe aslow bullet?

Wounds self withbullets whenattempting to shootgun

Initiative Is stronger than alocomotive

Is stronger than abull elephant

Is stronger than abull

Shoots the bull Smells like a bull

Adaptability Walks on wateroccasionally

Walks on water inan emergency

Washes with water Drinks water Passes water inemergencies

Communication Talks with God Talks with theangels

Talks tohimself/herself

Argues withhimself/herself

Loses argumentswith himself/herself

The student accommodation office gotsome Brownie marks for initiative – andthe Brownies got them for doing a goodjob. The girls from the 148th Sheffield StJames group at Norton turned up to helpstaff in the office with a huge mail out.

Pam Snape, who works there and justhappens to be the 148th Brown Owl, says,‘The girls will get venture points for theirefforts. It was half term and I thought theywould actually enjoy the job.

Apart from its practical value it was a realinsight for them into the world of realwork.’

The girls were awarded their hostess badgeat the meeting following the mail out. Thiswas for making coffee and tea during theirtime in the office, setting the table for thelunchtime chips, and washing upafterwards. They also sent thank you notesto those members of staff whose desks theyhad used and apologised for any mess theyleft behind.

‘They didn’t want to go when it got to twoo’clock,’ Pam added, ‘they all enjoyed theircouple of hours here and we reallyappreciated the help. It turned out to be agood turn for all concerned.’

Taking NoNoticeHere are some signs andnotices written in Englishthat were discoveredthroughout the world

In a Bucharest Hotel Lobby

The lift is being fixed for the next day.During that time we regret that you will beunbearable.

In a Paris hotel lift

Please leave your values at the front desk.

In a Yugoslavian hotel

The flattening of underwear with pleasureis the job of the chambermaid.

In an Austrian Hotel catering forskiers

Not to perambulate the corridors duringthe hours of repose in the boots ofascension.

Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop

Ladies may have a fit upstairs.

In a Bangkok dry cleaners

Drop your trousers here for best results.

In a Rhodes tailor shop

Order your summers suit. Because is bigrush we will execute customers in strictrotation.

In a Rome laundry

Ladies, leave your clothes here and spendthe afternoon having a good time.

In a Norwegian cocktail lounge

Ladies are requested not to have childrenin the bar.

In an Acapulco hotel

The manager has personally passed all thewater served here.

From a brochure of a car rentalfirm in Tokyo

When passenger of foot heave in sight,tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiouslyat first, but if he still obstacles yourpassage then tootle him with vigor.

Graduation HonoursCongratulations to Mark Swales and Emma Staley (both from Unit 8) who graduated inNovember. Mark gained his MSc in Hospitality Management, and Emma was awardedHND Business Studies.

Brownies Lenda Hand

Melissa, Jade, Sophie and Rebecca

7

SportsUpdateStaff Football League

Following the success of the staff footballleague this semester, it is planned tocontinue over the summer. All thoseinterested should register their interest withChris Jordan in the City SRS Office(x2150).

Premier School of Sport

SHU’s Premier School of Sport has a longhistory of providing Governing Body awardcourses for students, staff and members ofthe community who are interested orinvolved in sport and coaching. Mostcourses are basic level 1 courses and thisyear are offered in Badminton, Basketball,Football, Hockey, Rugby, Swimming andTrampolining. Courses last between oneand three days and will be held in Aprilduring the Easter period. Full details areavailable from Kerry Hague in theCollegiate Crescent SRS Office (x4393).

Sporting Success

SHU teams have achieved the followingsuccesses so far this season:

Men’s Volleyball - BUSA ChampionshipWinners(Beat Loughborough 2-1 in the final,played at Loughborough)

Men’s Badminton - BUSA ShieldWinners(Beat Staffordshire/Stoke 5-4 in the final,played at Birmingham)

Men’s Rugby Union 3rd XV - BUSAShield Winners(Beat Leeds Met 29-12 in the final, playedat Worcester RUFC)

History –GCSE style!…more quotes supposedlytaken from real examscripts

Johann Bach wrote a great many musicalcompositions and had a large number ofchildren. In between he practiced on an

old spinster which he kept up in his attic.Bach died from 1750 to the present.

Bach was the most famous composer inthe world and so was Handel. Handel washalf German half Italian and half English.He was very large.

Beethoven wrote music even though hewas deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loudmusic. He took long walks in the foresteven when everyone was calling for him.Beethoven expired in 1827 and later diedfor this.

The greatest writer of the Renaissance wasWilliam Shakespeare. He was born in the

year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. Henever made much money and is famousonly because of his plays.

Writing at the same time as Shakespearewas Miguel Cervantes. He wrote DonkeyHote.

The next great author was John Milton.Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wifedied and he wrote Paradise Regained.

Real ChristmasCrackers!

The winning entrants display their Christmas creations

Staff in the City Catering team took part in a Christmas table decoration competitionlate last year. The competition was organised by Sue Kingman (who also provided theprizes). With over 16 entrants presenting displays of very high standards, with a widerange of artistic styles and creativity, judging was very difficult. But as ever, someonehad to win. After careful consideration, the winner was declared as Wendy Knott (TeamLeader) with the runners up prizes going to Maureen Hague, Linda Timms and YvonneNoble. Well done to everyone involved!

8

Computers make very fastaccurate mistakes

Best in ClassDennis Johnson, our Health and Safety Officer, is off to Londonto receive an award for achieving the top marks in the whole ofthe country in his recent Advanced Food Hygiene Exam.

Dennis knew he had done quite well, and definitely passed, but hewas amazed to hear the news. ‘I am delighted and very pleased. Itreflects well, not only on me, but also on Mayfield Training fortheir tuition and on the Directorate and the University whoemploy me’.

The Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene will bepresenting Dennis with his prize in April. Its good to know thatour advice on health and safety at work comes from the beststudent in the country. Well done, Dennis!

Our best wishes go to...Pat Roberts, a domestic assistant at City Campus, and her grand-daughter, Lauren. Lauren is now three months old and a bundleof joy for her family. She was born a couple of weeks prematurelywith no problems but, after getting home, suffered a broken bloodvessel in her brain. The condition was so serious that the familywere warned to expect the worst. But Lauren has other ideas andis progressing well.

Thanks to the domestic team at City for selecting Lauren’s wardat the Children’s Hospital to benefit from their usual Christmascollection and for making them £185 better off.

In Bob’s HonourAnyone who knows BobWilkinson, and most of usdo!, will appreciate howhonoured he was by the newshe received just beforeChristmas last yearconfirming that he was to beawarded the MBE (Memberof the Order of the BritishEmpire). He is now waitingfor the official invitation to godown to Buckingham Palaceto receive his medal from HerMajesty the Queen.

The New Year Honours are given out inalphabetical order, so poor Bob will be oneof the last to receive his, probably later inApril. However, he’s hoping that one of hiscompanions at the ceremony will beNorman Wisdom. He’s nervous aboutmeeting the Queen and thinks that ifNorman is there with him, it could be a bitmore relaxed or even a laugh a minute!

Bob still finds it difficult to believe that thisis happening to him and sheds a few tearsevery time someone talks to him about it.He remembers a time when he could neverhave imagined finding himself honouredlike this. As a younger man, he worked inthe forge at Firth Brown before the steelindustry was hit by the recession of the1980s. In 1984, aged 49, he was maderedundant along with thousands of others.He was out of work for two years, beforefinally landing a job here in theEngineering workshops on Owen 7 for £67per week.

After a while of sitting at the Goodsentrance every morning taking deliveries ofnitrogen, he decided to apply to join theporters – they were earning just a little bitmore because of working Saturdaymornings and Bob had a family to support.Later on, when the security division wascreated, Bob transferred across and tookup his current role as Commissionaire atthe Hallam Square entrance to CityCampus.

Many people know Bob, not only as thefirst person you meet when coming intothe building, but also in two other veryimportant roles. The first is as car parksupremo and he most definitely deservesthe medal for that alone! But also you mayrecognise him as the mace-bearer at officialUniversity and City ceremonies. His dutyis to carry the ceremonial mace andaccompany the Vice Chancellor duringprocessions.

One day in 1986, Bob was summoned tosee Tony Davis, then the ‘big chief ’. As he

went into the office, he was genuinelyworried that he was going to be maderedundant again; but no. Someone hadpicked him out from the crowd and he wasasked if he wanted to be John Stoddart’smace-bearer. Bob said ‘If you tell me whatto do, I’ll do it’ and he has never lookedback.

He now has fourteen years of mace-bearing under his belt and has enjoyedevery minute of it. He particularly lovesthe ceremonies held in the Cathedral, withthe music and choirs. He takes part in theannual Sheffield Lord Mayor’s Parade andhas installed a new Chancellor and newVice Chancellor in his time. He is reallyproud of his job and feels it’s a greatprivilege to participate in these events. Hesays he seldom gets tired, even thoughthere’s a lot of hanging around, sitting onstage, and waiting about while on duty.

Good luck in London, Bob, and tell us allabout it when you get back!

9

Why is ‘abbreviation’ such a long word?

Richard has been seconded part-time sinceOctober last year to work with a team ofpeople who are responsible for developingand promoting Sheffield’s CulturalIndustries Quarter (CIQ). The CIQ is thearea of land surrounding City Campus,which houses the Leadmill, the Showroom,the National Centre for Popular Music,Red Tape Studios and potentially muchmore. Clearly, the University has a vestedinterest in seeing the neighbourhoodimprove and attract new businesses.

Richard’s role is to influence what happensin the future in a way which deliversbenefits to both the University and theCity. It’s about ‘economic regeneration’ forSheffield through building up its culturaland creative industries and the socialimpact of this development. OutsideLondon, South Yorkshire already has themost advanced cluster of these industries,giving Sheffield a national andinternational reputation to build on.

Richard says ‘I believe there is an excitingfuture for Sheffield through thedevelopment of these industries. Sheffieldis into ‘production’ – it is important torealise that we’re not just talking hereabout ‘services’, ‘retail’ or ‘tourism’ – theCIQ is about creating jobs and increasingwealth through making and selling ‘things’.These ‘things’ might be films, photographs,paintings, theatre sets, radio programmes,fashion items, audio-visual equipment,CDs, multi-media packages, whatever.’

The creative and cultural industries sectoris the second highest growth area in thenational economy after the business andfinancial sector. It is projected to grow by adifferential of 20% over the next five years.And this is recognised by Europe as can beseen by the readiness to invest money inthis expansion through grants, such asERDF funds, the SRB and Objective 1projects, all of which should help Sheffieldpick itself up after the decimation of thesteel industry and improve the city’seconomic future.

Richard is particularly pleased to beplaying a part in the re-birth of the cityand feels the secondment gives him aunique opportunity to apply his experienceand knowledge of working in both the artsand the housing fields to achieve mutualbenefits for all partners in this enterprise.The University is a key player and not onlycontributes to developing the CIQthrough, for example, collaborativeresearch projects, but also benefits from itssuccess through attracting more students.

Richard describes himself as an ‘urbananimator’ – ‘My job is to work inpartnership with lots of different peoplewho all want Sheffield to succeed as athriving community in the future. We needto create real jobs through attracting andkeeping new businesses here. The effort atthe moment is going into bidding for fundsto get things up and running so that in fiveyears’ time Sheffield will be a self-supporting European Centre for CreativeEnterprises and Sheffield HallamUniversity will be at the heart of it.’

Latest News onthe WaterlessUrinals…by Charlie Bartlett

As reported in the last edition of FDNews, the waterless urinals trial wascompleted and the results carefullyanalysed. The key facts from it have led toSHU making significant water savingsthroughout the University Estate.

Although we will not be adopting waterlessurinal technologies, the trial hashighlighted the immense use of waterduring urinal flushing. This can besignificantly tapped back, whilst stillallowing the same level of service.

Many thanks to Chris Kemp and her teamfor all their help with this worthwhileinitiative.

Police Address‘Beggar’ ProblemFrom the ‘Serving You’ paper,South Yorkshire Police

People often feel sorry for beggars, sittingin the street looking miserable. But arecent investigation by police in SheffieldCity Centre discovered there were nogenuine beggars. All but two were gettingbenefits and most of them had somewhereto live. Police officers spoke to all thepeople begging in the street and in allissued 71 warnings about begging. Wherepeople did need help, Social Services werecalled in to offer advice. Nine people werearrested and threatened with court actionwhen they carried on begging regardless.The decision to target the beggars followedrepeated complaints from local businessesand shoppers. The result - there are nowvirtually no complaints and many of thebeggars have disappeared.

ManAboutTownDid you know that Richard

Motley, commonly known as

Residential Development Manager

and father of two, is actually

leading a double life? He is now a

‘man about Town’.

Diplomacy – the art of lettingsomeone have your way

10

New Plants Needed forOld Folks HomeThe University’s participation in the tenth‘National Spring Clean’ is focused on aproject by the Student Community ActionGroup. On 27 and 28 April this year theywill be cleaning up and re-modeling thegrounds of the Primrose View RetirementHome in Upperthorpe. This is a chance forall FD staff with green fingers toparticipate. The Group needs rock plants -do you have any cuttings you could spare?If so please contact Peter Downey who willbe co-ordinating this for FD. If you don’thave any plants, but would like to supportthe project, then any donations to helpwith the purchase of plants would also begratefully received.

Thanks to…Thanks to all the FD staff involved withthe Science and Maths Biological SciencesSubject Review in November. They wereawarded 22 out of a possible 24 points!

Sue Cummings

In December last year it was agreed that amember of non-academic staff shouldserve as a staff representative on the Boardof Governors. All AP&C, Technical andSupport staff are eligible to participate.

The Board of Governors is responsible fordetermining the University’s educationalcharacter and mission and overseeing itsactivities. In addition the Governors areresponsible for ensuring effective andefficient use of resources within theUniversity, approving annual estimates ofincome and expenditure, the appointmentand associated responsibilities ofdesignated senior staff, and setting aframework for pay and conditions of allstaff. Being a Governor is an importantrole for any member of University staff.

At present there are twenty one memberson the Board. Sixteen of these areindependent of the University, possessingexpertise in an area of relevance to the

University’s activities. They are appointedinitially for a four year period, althoughthey may serve a maximum of eight years,and the appointments are unpaid. Theremainder of the Board consists of the ViceChancellor and representatives of studentsand academic staff, nominated by theStudents’ Union and Academic Boardrespectively. The Board normally meetsfour times a year between 4.30pm and6.30pm in the University.

A Governors’ development programme isbeing drawn up to ensure that Governorsare fully informed of their legal and otherresponsibilities and to enhance theirunderstanding of how the Universityoperates. This includes both initialinduction and continuing development.

The election process will be decidedshortly, so look out for further details ifyou are interested in submitting anomination.

Paper Recycling UpdatePaper recycling is coming to SHU. The introduction ofpaper recycling into offices throughout city campusstarted with the Howard building in March. The initiativewill help to address one of our significant environmentalimpacts – waste, in particular waste paper.

We use 52,000,000 sheets of plain paper every year at SHU, and the majority of this willend up as waste. This waste is currently either landfilled or incinerated, which adds to theeffects of global warming,

Charlie Bartlett, the co-ordinator behind the initiative commented: ‘Recycling is a betteroption to what we do currently, although it’s not the gold standard. Not using it in thefirst place is the very best option. If you do have to use the paper then reusing it beforedisposal is the next’. He added; ‘the City Campus scheme will be rolled out building bybuilding, month by month, ending up with the Adsetts building before the studentsreturn in the new academic year’. Plans for similar initiatives at Collegiate and Psalter arebeing finalised as well.

The scheme will be administered by our domestic staff, who will at their discretion emptythe recycling boxes as and when they fill up. This takes the onus off key individuals whoto date have administered local schemes in conjunction with local paper recyclers. Theseschemes have failed in some cases because of inconsistencies in collections, which thenew initiative should resolve.

For more information or tips about this initiative or how you can help our environment at SHU, please feel free to e-mail ! Environment (Estates), or phone Charlie Bartlett on 4477.

Letters to theEditorsDear Editors

Just a quick note to let you know howmuch I enjoyed reading your latest FDNews. It’s really useful to have so muchinformation on what’s going on in theDepartment.

Well done.

Sally NeocosmosUniversity Secretary

Dear Editors

I was pleased to hear recently that FD hasbeen successful in its post-recognitionreview for Investors in People and that theIiP assessor has made some extremelypositive comments. This is really excellentnews. Please give my congratulations to allstaff and encourage them to keep up thegood work! They are a role model for therest of the University.

Professor Diana GreenVice Chancellor

11

Ever stop to think, and forget tostart again?

Non-academic StaffRepresentative on the Board of Governors

Moves andChangesSince the last edition of FDNews we have welcomedthe following staff into theDirectorate.

Five new members of staff have joined theCity Campus Cleaning team – KarenOldham, Janet Williams, Dacia Wasden,Pauline Keen and Elizabeth Lilley.

Steve Catton has started as the new Headof Sport and Recreation (see article page15).

Brenda Goodison has joined the StoddartCatering team as a General Assistant.

Joan Kempton and Sharon Howard, whoare already Facilities Cleaning staff, havebranched out to provide support asGeneral Assistants, also with the StoddartCatering Team.

David Rutter, Anne Frank and DebbieTitterton have all joined City CampusCatering team, while Valerie Morris, WendySmith and Lindsey Vause have joined theCollegiate Catering team.

Michael Egan, who is studying for his MAin Housing, has joined the Housing andAccommodation team on a temporarybasis, three days a week, to cover RichardMotley’s secondment (see article page 10).

Todd Thompson, Anita Smith, JayneConiston, Jill Barnard, Julie Watson, LeslieHodkin and Graham Whittaker have alljoined the Collegiate FM team.

Terry Walker has moved from Purchasingto work with Ian Cann and the City FMteam.

Frances Dowd, temporary Admin Assistantin Unit 8, is now working full-time andhelping the IT Support team.

Amanda Gopaul-Cartwright is now one ofthe Sports Attendants working in Sportand Recreation.

Samantha Jackson has returned toConference 21 from maternity leave.

Over the period, we havealso said goodbye to somelong-serving members ofstaff who have retired andothers who have left to goto pastures new, including

Geoff Lindley, widely known for his unionactivities as Shop Steward for GMB, whoworked as a porter, mostly in Dyson Houseuntil its closure last year.

Bryan Answer, Joyce Fowler, CarolHorsefield, Mary Kissack, Curtis O’Neilland Stuart Kitchener, all from CityCampus FM team.

Julie Booth, Joanne Hill, Victoria Smith,Jodie Johnson, Susan Rosewarne andNicola Fox have all left City Catering.

Samantha Scott, Tracy Shutt, SusanBeeken, Anna Birks and Francesca Bebahave left Collegiate Catering.

Julie Richardson has left the Finance team.

Candice Mills, Modern Apprentice, left theDirectorate in March to take up full-timeeducation and study for ‘A’ levels inSeptember.

Christine Platts, Patricia Eccles, FredaVessey, Patricia Brookes, Craig Aldersonand Joyce Hukins have left the CollegiateFM team.

Alistair Coates left Sport and Recreation inJanuary to take up a post in Japan teachingEnglish. Alistair graduated from the Schoolof Leisure and Food Management with adegree in Sport and Tourism last year andhad been working with Sport andRecreation Services for the past two yearsas a part-time Sports Attendant.

Congratulations to Carol Steed who will betaking up a two year secondment asOrganisational Excellence Manager from 2 May (working alongside Mike Pupius,the University’s Director of OrganisationalExcellence). Carol will be implementingEFQM across the University andmanaging the national HE sector projectfor EFQM.

Apologies to anyone who we have missed – ed.

Smile andthe worldsmiles withyouSmiling is infectious,

You catch it like the ‘flu.

When someone smiled at me today,

I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner

And someone saw my grin.

When he smiled, I realized

I’d passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile;

Then I realized what it’s worth.

A single smile, just like mine,

Could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin,

Don’t leave it undetected.

Let’s start an epidemic quick

And get the world infected!

Anon

Congratulations …To Kathryn Brewin, Management Accountant, who gave birth to her first child – a baby boy, called Ollie – on 9 February 2000.Kathryn is currently on maternity leave, her job being covered by Richard Mather until her return.

To Lance Stancliffe, from Security, and his wife, Lorraine, on the birth of their baby daughter, Rebecca, last October.

Budget: A method of goingbroke methodically

An elephant is a mouse built to government expectations

12

Whether you call them ‘thegardeners’ or ‘groundsmaintenance’ or morepopularly ‘groundforce’, wesee the results of their hardwork all around us every day.Nigel Thurlow, the Head Gardener, is veryproud of his team of staff and is keen topromote and explain the wide range ofservices they provide for the University.

He feels it is important that other staffknow, appreciate and respect the work theydo. In fact, he invites any member of staffto come and job shadow to see what reallygoes on in the life of a professionalgardener. If you’re interested, just give hima ring on ext 2460.

Creating the right impression

Nigel believes passionately that firstimpressions count. As he wrote in hisNEBSM project ‘When people come on toa campus to work or visit, they do not shuttheir eyes until they get to where they wantto be. They are taking in everything theysee and forming an opinion on theUniversity, at the end of which it candetermine how they work, study or acceptthe University.’ Because of this, he hasconcentrated a lot of effort on raising theprofile of the gardening service since hejoined the University in 1997. He hasencouraged the staff to undertake NVQsand specialist skills training, to have moredirect contact with customers and, throughsharing compliments, to take a pride intheir work.

The gardening team

The team consists of seven men (a womanwas once offered a job, but couldn’taccept!) and Nigel.

Steve Dyche is our groundsman based atNorton Playing Fields. He is responsiblefor the upkeep and maintenance of twofull-size football pitches, one rugby leaguepitch, one junior pitch, a cricket squareand a newly refurbished pavillion. Thesports facilities are used on a regular basisby local community groups, as well as staffand students of the University. Forexample, Sheffield United School ofExcellence has its home at Norton, playingas many as four junior football matcheseach Sunday.

Three gardeners are based at CollegiateCampus, who are Andrew Tipple(affectionately known as ‘Ronnie’), AndrewLawson and Tony Craig. Their primeresponsibility is to maintain and developthe gardens on that campus, which is nosmall job, with 417 trees on site, many ofwhich are rare species and subject to aconservation order, lawns, shrubs andflower-beds surrounding 48 buildings, 28drives, 24 paths and 21 car parking areas.

And three more gardeners form the mobilegroundforce team who spread their timebetween City Campus, Psalter Lane andNorfolk Park Student Village. They arePete Hattersley, Darryl Sargeant and BrianPursehouse, who were originally based atTotley until the site closed. The wonderfulindoor planting in the Atrium and thespring bulbs flowering in among the shrubedges to paths and buildings are just someexamples of the contribution they make toour everyday working environment, bothinside and around our buildings.

Dealing with litter

When asked what the biggest problem wasfor the gardeners, there was no doubtabout the answer. It’s litter. In order tocreate a tidy, attractive impression of theUniversity within the community, theyspend a lot of their time keeping theamount of visible litter down to aminimum. This is time which could bebetter spent on other more creative jobs, ifonly people (that is all of us - staff,students, visitors, as well as members ofthe general public) would take theirrubbish home with them or use the litterbins. It also presents a health and safetyrisk for the men, as, unfortunately, all typesof litter, for example used syringes dumpedunder bushes, have to be dealt with anddisposed safely.

Other problems which theteam deal with includestopping vandalism, cuttingback shrubs and bushes toremove hiding places fortrespassers and make it saferto walk through, cleaning offgraffiti when it occurs,searching out the owners ofvehicles parked on grassverges or blocking driveways,constantly removingadvertising posters and flyersfrom tree-trunks (one ofNigel’s pet hates), clearing up

fallen leaves, and dealing with snow and iceto keep drives and paths safe and usable.

The University owns 50 hectares ofgrounds and routine maintenance includesregular grass cutting – our mowers run forsix hours a day, five days a week, eightmonths of the year, hedge-trimming, weedcontrol through the use of eco-friendlyherbicide applications, and tree surgery –six gardeners are now fully trained to use achain-saw. Through training anddeveloping the skills of our own staff,reductions in contractors’ costs for some ofthese tasks have been in the region of£5,000 over the last two years.

More than just cutting grass

Nigel is keen to develop the gardeningservices even further and has recently beenworking with others involved in upgradingthe facilities for the University’s Nurseryon Broomgrove Road through a completere-design and landscaping of the gardenarea. Now that the groundwork has beendone on all sites to tidy things up, he isplanning to do some new, creative plantingaround the buildings in order to introducemore colour to the scene. The abundanceof indoor planters and specialarrangements prepared for events, such asGraduation, conferences, public lectures,etc, is yet more evidence of the expansionof the service.

Gardening is a notoriously low paidprofession. The magazine ‘ManagementToday’ recently featured the ‘EarningCurve for Gardening’ and it felldramatically from TV Groundforce’sCharlie Dimmock’s salary of £500,000 ayear, to £60,000 for the Chief Executive ofthe Royal Parks Agency, to a mere £9,000for a public sector gardener. All ourgardeners are on low pay supplement andreceive family credit where appropriate.Nigel believes that his men work hard andlong for such a wage, out in all weathersand at all hours, often trouble-shooting,able to create great beauty and delivering ahighly skilled and professional service.Theirs is one of the ‘cinderella services’ inthe University – perhaps not fullyappreciated, but would be missed if notthere!

Spotlight on... The Gardening Team

13

Andrew Lawson, Anthony Craig, Nigel Thurlow,Darryl Sargent, Andrew Tipple, Brian Pursehouse,Steven Dyche, Peter Hattersley

Carol Steed, who completed a two dayEFQM Assessor Training course,completed the entire case study workbookand has been awarded a licence to train asan in-house EFQM trainer. In the opinionof the EFQM Assessor, the standard ofCarol’s workbook was such that she hasalso been granted an open-market licenceto train. Carol is only one of twomembers of staff across the University tohave been awarded this licence.

Carol has also just been awarded her MScin Marketing Management, and will begraduating in November.

Matt Hoole, Mark Swales, Gill Redfearnand Sandra Stephens have also completedthe EFQM Assessor Training Course.

Carolyn Jolley (previously Matthews) andJill Hitchenor of Conference 21 have bothpassed their Basic Food Hygiene coursewith honours.

Michael Barrett who has been promotedfrom Demi Chef to Chef de Partie atCollegiate.

From the Stoddart cateringteamMartin Baker and Stephen Jones havecarried out their Fire Marshall training

Martin Baker has also obtained his CraftTrainer Award

Brenda Goodison, Joan Kempton andSharon Howard have got their Basic FoodHygiene certificates

Brenda Goodison, Claire Bratley-Kendalland Louise Kitching have all done theirWorking Safely

and Claire Bratley-Kendal has achievedher NVQ2 in Food Production.

From Collegiate CampusTwo team leaders have both achieved theirNVQ1 in Cleaning Building Interiors –Sylvia Davies and Ann Gibson.

From SecurityDave Couldwell, Bob Glen and AndrewFoster have done their First Aid RefresherTraining.

Specific security training sessions,including ‘covert operations’, have beenundertaken by Dave Allen, Ernest

Bloomer, Dave Couldwell, Bill Hartley,Matt Smith, Steve Bacon, Greg Carnall,Shaun Colliver, Patrick Maddock, DawnMeates, Paul Salmen and Dave Weaver.

From the Estates maintenanceworkforce, heating andgrounds teamsGlen Carson, Mervyn Knutton, SimonBlackburn and Darren Green for achievingCity & Guilds 2391 Inspection, Testingand Certification of Electrical Installationsto BS 7671

Paul Browse for achieving City & Guilds2400 Design, Erection and Verification ofElectrical Installations

Paul Browse and Mark Thomas forqualifying to carry out Portable ApplianceTesting (PAT).

Martin Crowther and Dave Athorn forpassing ACOP Gas Safety elements as partof their CORGI registration

Brian Pursehouse, Darryl Sargeant andTony Craig for Chainsaw operation andmaintenance.

and Brian Kirk, Neil Andrews andMalcolm Sykes for CITB AccreditedUnvented Hot Water Systems.

On Yer Bike…A competition was recently run at all catering outlets at the City Campus. Thepromotion was to encourage people to buy healthy food including fruit maincourse dishes, healthy cakes and drinks. Anyone purchasing a complete healthymeal was eligible to enter a free prize draw to win a mountain bike.

The lucky winner was Owain Confort who was awarded his prize by Wendy Knott

Well done to ...The following staff (and anyone else we have forgotten!)who have gained awards or qualifications

14

For people who like peace andquiet – a phoneless cord

Giving SHU a Sporting Chance

by FD’s new Head of Sport andRecreation, Steve Catton

Since the Sport and Recreation Servicejoined FD from Student Services lastAugust, there has been a renewedemphasis on the role of sport andrecreation at SHU. This is highlighted bythe appointment of a new Head of Sportand Recreation and I am pleased tointroduce myself to readers in that role.Although I have been at Hallam sinceNovember 1999, I consider myself fairlynew to the task, and am still finding myway around the University, meeting newpeople and discussing the ways in whichSHU can re-establish itself as a major forcein local, regional and national sport.

Why am I here?

For many years the Sport and RecreationService was run by Graham Solley andJohn Warnock, but since both retired a fewyears ago the emphasis on sport hasgradually faded. It is now time to kickstartthe programme again and pull together amajor strategic overview linking the keysports delivery elements within theUniversity into a united strategy whichprovides opportunities for all students andstaff to participate in their chosen sport atwhatever level they aspire.

Sport is healthy, and, when combined witha good diet, even basic exercise canincrease levels of fitness and generalwellbeing. For students, sport is a naturaloutlet for latent energy and physical talentand contributes significantly to the overallstudent experience. Participation in sportis still regarded by many employers as asign of a well rounded education and thiscan play an important role when studentsgo looking for their first job. For staff,sport can provide healthy competition andsocial interaction with work colleagues,increased levels of wellbeing, andultimately, less time off work due to illness.

My role, therefore, is to look at the way weare providing sport and recreation tostudents and staff at all levels and todevelop a co-ordinated strategy forprovision and growth in the future, takingaccount of all our customer needs andaspirations.

What am I doing?

Well...firstly, getting to understand thecurrent problems, assessing the currentprogrammes and provision, and seekingmany views on sport and recreation atHallam both internally from staff andstudents, and externally within Sheffieldand other Universities.

Secondly, developing a strategy thatencompasses the following three aims

• to provide high quality sport andrecreational opportunities to enable allcurrent students and staff to participatein their chosen sport to whatever levelthey aspire;

• to play a key role in the marketing ofSHU to prospective students,particularly those with a sporting bias,and especially those of high sportingachievement or potential;

• to give SHU an excellent reputation forsporting provision and excellence atlocal, regional, national andinternational levels.

The production of a strategic 5 year planfor SRS will become the major focus forpulling together these aims and themechanisms and processes necessary todeliver them. Working alongside theAthletic Union, the School of Leisure andFood Management and the new SportsScience Research Institute will ensure aco-ordination of sports delivery within theUniversity.

Thirdly...delivering the strategy!

Career Profile

1959 Born in London, moving toSheffield at age 16.

1980 - 82 Sports Officer at PortsmouthPolytechnic Students Union

1982 - 85 Assistant Secretary, UniversitiesAthletic Union

1985 - 92 Competitions Manager, HockeyAssociation, London

1991 Hockey Event Director, WorldStudent Games, Sheffield

1992 Hockey Event Director, WorldCorporate Games, London

1992 - 93 Games Director, UK SummerSpecial Olympics, Sheffield

1993 - 95 General Manager of a Sheffieldbased print and designcompany, running sports side.

1995 European Youth Olympics, Bath

1996 National Co-ordinator to theOutdoor Basketball Initiative,Sheffield

1996 - 98 Chief Executive of the EnglishBasketball Association, Leeds

1998 - 99 MBA at Sheffield BusinessSchool

1999 Head of Sport and Recreation,Facilities Directorate.

And finally...

I take on this role at an exciting time forsport at Hallam. Renewed enthusiasm forsport at all levels has already broughtsignificant investment in the SportsScience Research Institute. An everexpanding network of academic taughtcourses in sport and sports related topicsbrings more students to the city with adesire to achieve well in the classroom andon the playing field/sportshall/gym/swimming pool etc.

The pulling power of a good sportsprogramme, combining research, taughtcourses and recreational provision,efficiently delivered in modern purposebuild facilities cannot be underestimatedwhen new students are being tempted toUniversity. Loughborough, Birminghamand Bath are probably the top of the treeat the moment, but with the rightinvestment, the right programmes and aco-ordinated strategic approach to sport,Hallam will soon be able to join thesporting elite and contribute fully to the‘City of Sport’ title Sheffield richlydeserves.

15

IIaann’’ss NNeewwAAddvveennttuurreeNo prizes for guessing what Ian might beup to with this new activity …

I used up all my sick days, so I’mcalling in dead

Shin: A device for finding furniturein the dark

If at first you DO succeed, try notto look astonished!

NoticeboardWhose knees are these?Just for fun… see if you can match up the team members in the two football teams to the knees on thesephotographs!!

Competition WinnerWell done to Andrew Cupitt who correctly identified the photograph in the last issueshowed Rother Valley Country Park. Gill and Andrew entered the Christmas spirit whenAndrew’s prize of a bottle of wine was awarded just before Christmas.

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Contact Lee Mansell 0114 2650 439 or extension 4508

16

Get even – live long enough to bea problem to your kids