STEPS 2022 - 22 Michael Waller, founding member of Russian Studies, passed away on 24 October 2021. When set up, the University of Lancaster planned to include the study of modern languages within humanities, and it is said that Michael persuaded Charles Carter (Lancaster’s founding Vice-Chancellor) to include Russian. He, therefore, took up a post on 1 September 1964 as the founding member of Russian Studies (subsequently Russian and Soviet Studies), and further additions enabled Lancaster to offer a cluster of East European languages. Michael moved to the Government Department at the University of Manchester and in 1993 to a Chair in Politics at Keele, where he became Director of European Studies. Yow Liang Keon (MA Operational Research, 1980, Lonsdale) passed away on 17 September 2021. After completing his course, Yow returned to Singapore where he took up a position with the Singapore Ports Authority where a long and successful career followed. Dr Tim Jeeves passed away on 10 September 2021, aged 42. Tim studied for his PhD in Theatre, graduating in 2017 with a thesis entitled Towards ‘Economies of Generosity’ in Contemporary Live Art Practice. For several years he was a much-loved seminar tutor and supervisor for practical work in Theatre and LICA. Alongside his academic successes, he was a highly respected professional performance practitioner with a focus on issues of health and disability and on the integration of politics and artistic expression in arts activism. Anne Dalton, formerly Secretary and Departmental Secretary in Religious Studies, Linguistics and IELE passed away on 6 September 2021. Anne had been diagnosed with cancer only a short time before her death and although the operation was a success, her heart struggled to recover from the trauma of the operation. Her years at the University, and the friendships she gathered, were ones she always treasured and she greatly missed the cosmopolitan atmosphere of campus once she retired. Niladri Narayan Gupta (MBA, 2014) passed away in August 2021 Niladri came to Lancaster to do an MBA in order to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and making a positive contribution to society. Following the completion of his MBA, he returned to India to turn his entrepreneurial dream into a reality and finally launched his healthcare at home business in 2020. During the global coronavirus pandemic, he helped many patients through his enterprise and made his contribution to India’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Jill Walsh passed away on 13 August 2021, formerly from the Department of Environmental Science. Jill joined the Department of Environmental Studies (later to become Environmental Science) as a technician in 1966, and was with the department for many years until her retirement in 1994. Professor M. Alexander Stewart, Professor of the History of Philosophy, died on 30 July 2021 aged 83. Sandy Stewart studied for his first degree at St Andrews and his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. He took up his appointment as Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy on 1 October 1965, and played a full part in departmental, college and university life. Louize Gibson (Marketing and Theatre Studies, 1988, Cartmel) died suddenly on 17 July 2021 at the age of 55, just a few days after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The marketing side of her degree provided Louize with her career in qualitative market research. Moving to London, she worked with leading research and marketing agencies before beginning a freelance career in 2002 as a consumer insight specialist. Karen Burns, UK Student Recruitment Manager from 2016 onwards, passed away in July 2021. She previously worked at the University of Cumbria. Emma Fitchett, LUMS colleague for over 20 years, sadly passed away in June 2021. Emma joined the LUMS community in 1999, where she initially worked with the reception team. From there she moved to the LUMS Undergraduate Office, before finally in 2014 joining the Professional Support team in the Department of Economics, providing invaluable support to the department’s postgraduate students on the MSc in Money, Banking and Finance, MSc Economics, and MSc Quantitative Finance programmes. Dr Cheryl Simmill-Binning passed away following a short illness in May 2021. After gaining her doctorate in 1999, Cheryl took up her post at Lancaster University the same year and spent the majority of her career in FASS as a Research Associate. She was later promoted to Senior Researcher and Co-Director of ‘ASSURE’ (Applied Social Science Unit for Research and Evaluation). She subsequently transferred to work in the Faculty of Health and Medicine in 2015, and later, Student and Education Services. She then joined the Health Innovation Campus team as a Senior Evaluation Fellow. Professor David Shotter died on 22 May 2021. After two years teaching at Magee University College in Londonderry, he came as Lecturer (and subsequently Senior Lecturer) to Lancaster’s recently opened Department of Classics in October 1966. In 1971 approval was given for the department to extend its range by the inclusion of archaeology. David played a key role in this development. He contributed widely to the University, including at the board of studies and on senate, as Principal of Lonsdale College, and as an enthusiastic cricketer. In 1989 the Department of Classics was laid down and David and John Creed were warmly welcomed into the Department of History. David was made Emeritus Professor of Roman Imperial History in March 2003. Stephie Barber, who worked in the Research Support Office from 2016-2019 passed away on 22 May 2021. She initially joined on a shortterm basis just ‘keep the grey cells active’ over the winter period when it was more difficult to enjoy her usual pastimes of hill-walking and utilising her pilot’s licence. Previously, Stephie worked for Stagecoach for 44 years, working her way up the ranks from ticket collector in Rochdale to become Managing Director based in various locations in Scotland, and her love of buses never left her. Kenneth Reid (Ken), formerly of the Department of Environmental Science, passed away on 20 May 2021. Ken started at Lancaster in the early days of the University in April 1968, as Chief Technician in the Department of Environmental Studies, later known as Environmental Science, and after 28 years of exemplary service retired in August 1996. Tom Clarke (MSc Human Resource & Knowledge Management, 2013, Business Studies, 2012, Grizedale) sadly passed away on the 18 April 2021 following a short illness. After graduation Tom joined the graduate scheme at Hewlett-Packard as a project manager within their IT team in Glasgow and then secured a position with KPMG in Manchester, working in consultancy. In November 2020 Tom was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and sadly lost his life at the age of 29. Throughout Tom’s illness, the friends that he had made at school, university and work rallied around to support him, but despite the best medical efforts of the Christie Hospital in Manchester, it was a fight that he could not win. Lewis Boyd-Hill (Philosophy, Politics & History, 2014, Lonsdale) passed away in February 2021. Despite being an ‘off-campus fresher’ due to that year’s over-subscribed intake, Lewis loved getting involved in University life including a radio show on Bailrigg FM, the paintball society, as well as regular “pint and politics” sessions after lectures. After graduation, Lewis returned to the North East, and after a few years as a teaching assistant, qualified to become a much-loved and highlyrespected history teacher at a secondary school in Teesside. For full obituaries and tributes visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/ alumni/in-memoriam
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