The King is dead. Long live the King!

Categories Science & Justice

Well, there we go then. #endofanera as I imagine the kids are saying… After three years in the hot seat, I’ve finished my stint as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Science & Justice. When I put my name forward to take over back in 2014, I did so partly because I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge, but mainly because Science & Justice has always been one of my favourite journals. Focused primarily on Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences members, it was…Continue Reading “The King is dead. Long live the King!” →

Comic Timing…

Categories HE Sector, Learning & Teaching

Last night, I was thinking a lot about giving lectures. This is not unusual, but this time it wasn’t the content that interested me, but the mechanics of lecturing. Three things happened over the past two days which brought this to the forefront of my mind. First, I’d come back from a fantastic 2-day leadership development residential; second, I’d just given four hours straight teaching, and; third, I’d just watched Jerry before Seinfeld. The leadership workshop was great. Run by the Leadership Foundation for HE…Continue Reading “Comic Timing…” →

Every new journey starts with a single step…

Categories HE Sector, Learning & Teaching

It’s been very quiet on campus recently (a little too quiet…), but that was all shattered last week as our new students arrived at Teesside. That’s right, last week was Welcome Week!  It also marked the first Welcome Week where I’ve been actively involved in crafting the week (well, I say ‘actively’ – it’s largely been our fantastic School Registrar Michelle Dickson and her team who have pulled together a workable week…). For me, this week is all about setting the tone for study and…Continue Reading “Every new journey starts with a single step…” →

Global Teaching Excellence Awards

Categories HE Sector, Learning & Teaching

Last night a team from Teesside headed down to the bright lights of the big city for the inaugural Higher Education Academy and Times Higher prize-giving for the Global Teaching Excellence Awards. The awards were devised to allow institutions to demonstrate their continued and innovative commitment to teaching excellence for their students. And unlike awards like the recently announced National Teaching Fellowships, these awards focus on institutional actions rather than the work of specific individuals. Following over 300 expressions of interest, 27 universities were long-listed…Continue Reading “Global Teaching Excellence Awards” →

“There Are Two Typos Of People In This World: Those Who Can Edit And Those Who Can’t”

Categories Science & Justice

I’ve been spending a bit of time this week working on Science & Justice. We’ve had some interesting new papers come in, there have been some useful reviewers comments to read through, and some decisions to make on manuscripts. Regardless of whether the decision is Accept or Reject, I never take these decisions lightly. I’m an academic myself, and I know what it’s like being on the receiving end of Editors’ decisions. Anyway, this post isn’t about editorial decision-making (as enthralling as that sounds…), but…Continue Reading ““There Are Two Typos Of People In This World: Those Who Can Edit And Those Who Can’t”” →

Associate Dean

Categories News & Updates

Well, it’s been four months since I made the move to, what I’ve since been told, is the dark side… I call it senior management, but apparently this is the same thing. Mind you, if it means I get access to a giant space-based laser weapon of unimaginable power, then I’m all for it… If you hadn’t heard, I applied for and was offered the post of Associated Dean (Learning & Teaching) in the School – and it’s something that I’m very excited about. I…Continue Reading “Associate Dean” →