Read our positive stories...

We asked staff to tell us about people who have made an impression on them, maybe by ensuring their teaching appeals to a diverse range of students, because they are a role model or mentor to women in predominantly male areas, because they have made a service accessible to disabled people, or simply through their inclusive approach to life. Their examples may inspire you in helping to include people.

Jackie Gresham - ELTC

Since taking up this post she has revolutionised this department, innovating at the top level whilst making the time to care about the circumstances of individuals. As a member of staff, particularly a female member of staff, I feel encouraged, supported and inspired by example.

She has strongly supported flexible working hours, fully embracing the work/life balance approach. There are many women in this department who are able to work around childcare and other family commitments as a result. On the other hand, she has also fully supported and encouraged female staff to gain further training and skills, and take on responsibility.

Claire Baines - CPO

My reasons are numerous but mainly because as I am a full-time working Mum of a toddler, and I feel she has given me great support in terms of understanding my family commitments and also supporting me through training and development. I know that for other members of the team (both male and female) who have similar circumstances to myself that she shows great flexibility in working arrangements.

I find Claire a great inspiration because of this and in my opinion Claire is a great asset to this University.

Alan Phillips - Student Services

Alan chairs our departmental Equality Action Group which takes an overview of equality and diversity issues across the department. Alan has taken this group from its inception in 2005 to create a forum which has had a wide ranging impact on activities throughout the department, spanning strategy and planning, staff development, customer satisfaction as well as awareness-raising, information and resources. Alan brings a very practical and straightforward approach to the work, being very clear about the legislative imperative, but always ensuring that the issues are presented in an accessible and inclusive way. Alan recently reported to the Service Quality Team for Student Services on our work on equality and diversity.

Lois Burt and Elaine Dean - Library

I would like to nominate Lois Burt and Elaine Dean in the Library for their continuous work to provide better access for disabled users.

Micheline Beaulieu - PVC, HoD of ICOSS

Prof Micheline Beaulieu as an example to be recognised across the University. Not only did she come late to being a full-time academic but in a very short time she has achieved a significant academic reputation and now shows that a woman can succeed in her own right as the first female PVC at the University.

She promotes diversity in the University and continues to work hard to improve the position of women within the university. She recently gave her valuable time to run careers workshops at the Women's Network Day which I found particularly useful and inspiring. She is an excellent role model for women in academia and I would like to see this recognised.

Kathy Boxall - Sociological Studies

Kathy runs a module Involving Service Users in Research for Policy and Practice (SCS351) and also teaches and researches in the area of disability on the social work degree programmes. She is a fantastic role model and extremely supportive colleague.

Yasmin Farooq - Sociological Studies

Yasmin has helped me a lot with my PhD field work. She is the only lecturer in Sociological Studies with Asian background and I believe she is a good example for students with Indian-Pakistani origins. Based on her involvement with the Pakistani communities in Sheffield she has introduced me to some families here which has helped me to carry out my field work. She is an excellent example of having a good cooperative relationship with students, and her knowledge and familiarity with minority communities can be a good source for sociological studies.

Staff Cricket Club (nominated by Richard Ward – TLSU)

We have a thriving Club with many overseas and British Asian students joining us in what is for them a core social outlet. We also promote involvement from local communities and have opened our net sessions to teams such as Kashmir XI. An inaugural friendly is being considered for this June against Kashmir XI or a composite community-based side drawn from the local Asian community. We play several predominantly British Asian teams in the local mid-week leagues, but we are looking to use a friendly game setting to promote a social dimension to interacting with the University. The welcoming nature of the Club is clear and staff at all levels are represented.

Elena Rodriguez-Falcon – Mechanical Engineering

Elena Rodriguez Falcon is a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Enterprise Manager for the Diversity Award 2007.

Only 11% of the Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Sheffield are female and Elena is providing a positive role model for women who want to go into engineering, as students, and as lecturers. In addition, Elena is Mexican, so she is lecturing in her second language.

As Enterprise Manager, she has been responsible for the development of three degrees which aim at embedding enterprise and management in engineering. She is an innovative and exciting lecturer, as recognised by Senate Awards for Excellence in Learning and Teaching 2004/5 and 2005/6. Her passion and enthusiasm for teaching, and her subject, mean that she is a very popular lecturer with her students – `She´s the one lecturer who is able to connect with students and can come down to a student´s level in order to address their concerns.´ `When you see someone enjoy their work, you automatically feel the urge to do the same.´ – are just two comments from students. Her modules attract a high proportion of international students.

One of the modules Elena has designed is Technology, Strategy and Business Planning. In this 10 week module, the students are given a real world problem to resolve and then prepare a business plan to take the product to market. This year, the students are being asked to `Make Kieron´s life easier´. Kieron Norton, aged 7, suffers from cerebral palsy, and the students have been offered the opportunity by Elena to use their engineering skills to design a product which will make some aspect of Kieron´s life easier.

Senior Management Team, Clinical Dentistry

The Senior Management Team in Clinical Dentistry, led by Professor Trevor Walsh, encourage women to succeed in an area that, to date, has had a strong male presence. The School is making strong progress in encouraging women to seek promotions and to take more prominent roles in the academic management of the School. During the last year it has achieved a strong track record in supporting women in this way (and with notable success). The School is actively progressing change, and recognises that it has more work to do which it sees this as an important challenge.

Anthony Trippett - Hispanic Studies

I would like to nominate Dr Anthony Trippett for recognition during Diversity Week. Tony is the tutor responsible for mature applicants within the Hispanic Studies department and also Course Leader for our Beginners' Spanish course. He makes a special contribution to our department because he values people in all their diversity. Tony is often involved in time-consuming discussions to help applicants and students to decide which is the right course for them and which make them feel that their needs have been listened to with respect.

Fergal Davis - Law

Fergal has been a lecturer in Law at the University of Sheffield since 2001 and became the School´s first Disability Officer in 2002. Over the next 3 years he was influential in shaping School policy on issues as diverse as assessing students with disabilities to altering teaching practice on core modules in line with best practice for teaching those with disabilities. In particular the departmental shift to using webct as a means of delivering content and the reference on core modules for posting powerpoint slides on webct in advance of lectures was influenced by his desire to ensure that materials were accessible to students with disabilities in a form which met their needs.

Although the School transferred the role of Disability Officer to a member of admin staff in 2005, he has continued to promote best practice across the School, and he is an active member of the Special Circumstances Committee of the School. Colleagues continue to address questions regarding teaching and assessing students with particular needs to Fergal and he has become, in many respects, an informal departmental resource in this area.