WELCOME TO THE MAY EDITION OF THE ALUMNI E-BULLETIN | UNIVERSITY NEWS Photo story: University of Aberdeen secures major science festival for northern Scotland. Read more... Aberdeen academic invited to join United Nations experts. Read more... Ancient meets digital as Aberdeen artefacts go online. Read more... Scottish first for Aberdeen law students. Read more... |
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ALUMNI EVENTS AND REUNIONS 27 May, London - There will be an informal gathering for alumni living in London on Thursday 27 May at The Kings Head, 10 Stafford Street, London. For more information or to book a place, email h.veitch@abdn.ac.uk. 1 September, Cromarty - There will be an exclusive event in Cromarty for alumni. Join us for a boat trip to view the local marine wildlife, and afterwards enjoy a tour of the Lighthouse Field Station. Professor Paul Thompson, Chair in Zoology, will give an update of the research undertaken at the Field Station. The evening will end with dinner at Sutor Creek. Tickets for the day are priced at £15 per person. To book your place, email h.veitch@abdn.ac.uk. 6 October, Fochabers - We would like to invite you to a reception at Baxters on Wednesday 6 October at 6.30pm. There will be a presentation from Ms Siobhan Convery, Head of Special Libraries and Archives. To register your attendance, please email h.veitch@abdn.ac.uk. 9 October, San Francisco - There will be an event for alumni in San Francisco on Saturday 9 October. Dr Alistair Mair, Chancellor's Assessor, will be in the area and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Details are still to be finalised but please save this date in your diary. 16 October, Philadelphia - There will be an event for alumni in Philadelphia on Saturday 16 October, Dr Alistair Mair, Chancellor's Assessor, will be in the area and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you. Details are still to be confirmed but please save this date in your diary.
 | VOCATION, VOCATION, VOCATION Aberdeen magazine will celebrate its tenth issue later this year. We want to hear from Aberdeen alumni around the world with interesting stories for a special feature on how a childhood dream became the blueprint for their career. We are looking for Aberdeen alumni who feel they have had a calling since their schooldays to make a difference in any field from medicine and government to the church and charitable causes. Please send us no more than 100 words on why you decided to follow your chosen career path and how Aberdeen University helped you achieve your goal. Don't forget to let us have your name, location and contact details (email and phone number) along with your occupation, and year of graduation. We will consider every story, and will contact you if we want to feature you in the magazine itself or on the alumni website. The closing date for submission is 25 June 2010. Please send your piece to Hazel Veitch, by emailing h.veitch@abdn.ac.uk and include Vocation in the subject bar. |
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GENERAL COUNCIL ASSESSOR ELECTION A postal ballot to elect two General Council Assessors to the University Court closed on 14 May 2010. Ms Jacquelynn Craw and Dr Maitland Mackie CBE were duly elected to serve as General Council Assessors to the University Court for a period of four years, commencing 1 October 2010. The candidates for the two vacancies on court were Ms Jacquelynn Craw (LLB 1989, DLP 1990), Mr Colin Duncan (MA 1969) and Dr Maitland Mackie CBE (BSc 1958, MA 1971, LLD 1996). |
UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN ALUMNUS ASSOCIATION At its meeting in the Linklater Rooms on 18 March, the Association was delighted to welcome Sir Duncan Rice, who was attending his last Association meeting as University Principal and Vice-Chancellor and Honorary Vice-President of the Association. University Chancellor and Association Honorary President Lord Wilson of Tillyorn was also in attendance. The evening began with an informal serving of refreshments. The photograph shows Sir Duncan, Lord Wilson and event organiser Alison Skene (MA 60). Lord Wilson then paid tribute to Sir Duncan's service to the University. Sir Duncan replied and also took a number of questions from members, expressing as always considered and thought-provoking views on a range of issues. The meeting then heard a most interesting and stimulating talk by Dr John Morrison, Senior Lecturer in the History of Art Department, on the subject of a number of the paintings on display in the Linklater Rooms and what they revealed about the contribution of Scottish art to developments in art generally in the 20th Century. The meeting was very well attended and enjoyed by all participants. If you are interested in membership to the Alumnus Association please visit this link. Alan Towns
Secretary |
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UPDATE FROM THE STUDENT PRESIDENT, ROBIN PARKER Hello everyone, It’s been a wacky weather week in Aberdeen with both hail flurries and wonderful sunshine. AUSA Elections are done and dusted for this year and I’m very pleased to have been re-elected by our students for another year; their belief in my steering is very much appreciated! However, the rest of the Sabbatical Team are newly elected and I’m very much looking forward to working with Megan, Jenny, Ciara, Drew and Andrew. We also celebrated our 10th Anniversary as a Students’ Association at our Annual Dinner. It was a tremendous event, and our best ever attended Annual Dinner, with former sabbaticals and other alumni of the Association out in force for the event at the Treetops Hotel. Simon Varwell, who was the first ever AUSA President, addressed the audience and spoke of how it had been a very difficult year to bring all the constituent groups together - the Student Representative Council, the Union Management Committee and the Athletics Union - but that there had been high hopes for what the combined organisation would achieve. I was able to comment on some of the things that we have achieved over the past year and it is certainly my feeling that we are achieving what Simon and his colleagues had envisioned; an organisation respected by the University and its members, a united organisation and one that makes a genuine difference to the experience of students at the University of Aberdeen. The night began with a tour of the new AUSA home in the Butchart building on University Road – the former sports facilities. The move has gone well and we are beginning to make ourselves at home. Exams will be taking place the week after next. Bookends, located up in the Gallery, is looking fantastic and our first theatrical play by our Centre Stage society is being held this week in one of the former squash courts. We also got involved with the UK General Election, reminding students to vote on the day and in the run-up to the election. We were pleased to have helped get 34 out of the 59 elected MPs in Scotland sign up to our pledge to ‘Vote against an increase in Tuition Fees in the next Parliament and campaign for a fairer alternative’. However, with a coalition government now formed it will be crucial that we get the Liberal Democrats in particular to stay true to that pledge. Finally, we’ve also held our Charities Fortnight. Our ever-successful Student Show and Torcher Parade continue to surpass themselves. ‘Back to the Teuchter’ was superb by all accounts and the weather held for a large Torcher. The money is now being counted up and I hope to be able to tell you soon if we have reached our £100,000 target. Robin
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