GOLDEN ROBES 2020 WINNERS
Congratulations to everyone who won an award this year and to all those who received a nomination.
COLLEAGUE OF THE YEAR
Caroline Thomas
Registrar’s Office
Caroline works exceptionally hard in her role and has implemented lots of positive changes in her Timetabling role which have hugely benefited our students. Caroline’s approach to embracing change is inspiring to those around her.
Aidan Whitehouse
University Recruitment
Aidan’s nominations describe him as an outstanding colleague who had made a significant impact in his team. Consistently going that extra mile, his creative ideas and digital talent have led to a series of impressive international campaigns.
Ruth Newby
CARES
Ruth’s exceptionally high levels of customer service and her positive attitude towards everyone that she meets in her role in CARES stood out in the many nominations in this category.
Beth Roberts
IT Services
Beth’s many nominations reflect her fantastic, solution-focused attitude and dedication to the IT Services team. Beth’s subject expertise and conscientiousness makes her a deserved winner.
RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR
Lydia Isherwood
Leeds Beckett Students' Union
The judges felt that Lydia’s contribution and commitment to her research and progression was outstanding. Lydia is recognised by her colleagues for her high quality, in-depth research focus groups and data analytics. Her dedication to her work on significant campaigns which affect our students’ experience truly shone through.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Security Team
CARES
The CARES Security team work excellently together all year round and are currently doing a fantastic job during the COVID-19 lockdown. The judges felt that they were also deserving winners in this category for embodying teamwork, which strongly comes across in their nominations.
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO INNOVATION
Sana Waliyat
School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing
Sana has made a fantastic contribution to a great sustainability project. She has worked over and above her role to deliver a project which is beneficial to everyone's wellbeing.
LEADER OF THE YEAR
Dr Helen Fawkner
Leeds School of Social Sciences
Helen has provided student support which is second to none. She is an innovative Course Director, a stand-out colleague and an inspiration to those around her.
BEST LECTURER
Dr Akbar Sheikh-Akbari
School of Built Environment, Engineering & Computing
The level of support Akbar provides to his students, highlighted a number of times across many nominations, made him stand out in the eyes of the judges.
Marc Turu Porcel
Carnegie School of Education
Marc’s many nominations made it clear that he is a lecturer who is incredibly well thought of and inspiring to many of his students.
BEST COURSE TEAM
Youth Work & Community Development and Young People,
Communities & Society
School of Health & Community Studies
The course team supporting students on both Youth Work & Community Development and Young People, Communities & Society are clearly well respected and admired, taking the time to understand each and every one of the students and going above and beyond expectations.
BEST MODULE
Prison: Learning Together
Leeds School of Social Sciences
The Prison: Learning Together module has empowered students to be the best that they could be, developing their confidence along the way and has been described as an “incredible asset” to Leeds Beckett and a module “like no other.”
BEST FEEDBACK
Sean Dodson
Leeds Business School
Sean’s highly personalised and unique method of providing feedback stood out from the crowd making him a deserving winner of this award.
BEST COURSE DIRECTOR
Lisa Gorton
School of Events, Tourism & Hospitality Management
Lisa has worked hard to continually develop and improve all aspects of her Course, including assessments, teaching methods, educational trips and has made the views of students paramount to her efforts.
BEST DISSERTATION SUPERVISOR
Dr Alexandria Bradley
Leeds School of Social Sciences
As a dissertation supervisor, Alexandria’s professional, persistent, supportive and engaging nature shone through in the nominations and highlighted how much of a role model she is.
BEST ACADEMIC ADVISOR
Dr Nicola Worrillow
School of Health & Community Studies
Nicola is described as a ‘fabulous’ Academic Advisor who is an “absolute credit to the School”, instilling confidence and responding well to the needs of students. Her nominations describe someone who is always a phone call or text away, offering a safe place to chat and share which is welcomed, especially in relation to placement where students can sometimes experience difficult situations.
UNSUNG HERO
Richard Whitehead
School of Health & Community Studies
Richard’s many nominations describe a committed and enthusiastic colleague who is always on hand to provide help and support, going the extra mile to put students first.
CONTRIBUTION TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Sherry Iqbal
Leeds Beckett Students' Union
Sherry has made an excellent contribution to diversity and inclusion during her time here. She has worked tirelessly, contributing hugely to equality, diversity, and inclusion since taking up her role.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR
Ben Bolton-Grant and Jo Sandiford
Leeds School of Social Sciences
Ben and Jo won this award for leading a team of ten student volunteers from the Speech and Language Therapy course on a trip to India. This highlight shone through due to its significant impact on others, with far reaching benefits for those who participated in the trip as well as for our university and our international community.
POSTHUMOUS AWARDS
David Morby
David Morby received a significant number of nominations in the category of Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion. Colleagues and students nominating David spoke of his passion for equality, diversity and helping students to maximise their potential as well as showing a huge and genuine interest in the lives of the students. They spoke of David's enthusiasm, his ability to motivate others and his work to do good for the wider community. They reflected David's ability to make everyone feel comfortable and included in his teaching.
Dr Steve Wright
Dr Steve Wright was nominated in the category of Colleague of the Year. The nomination spoke of Steve's contribution to Leeds Beckett, bringing his experience and expertise to teach and inspire a generation of students, whilst also being incredibly friendly and humble. The nomination spoke not only of his contribution to Leeds Beckett but also to the world of politics and his ability to bring fun to others' work and study.
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