Several of our very own academics involved in the discovery will be presenting talks to the general public about their contributions to the Search for Richard III.

In the coming weeks, Richard Buckley will be giving an evening talk about the Richard III excavation and how the team were able to identify the skeleton of Richard III. The Channel 4 documentaries will also be screened for all to relive the behind-the-scenes action from the only team allowed to follow the scientists on the excavation.

The events continue in June with ‘Dean Discussions’ from Leicester Cathedral, presented by Dr Turi King, Professor Kevin Schürer and Richard Buckley. Dr Jo Appleby will also be presenting a talk the same evening with particular emphasis on the battle trauma and identifying traces of violence on the skeleton.

Book tickets and view a full listing of all the upcoming Richard III talks and activities

• The Search for Richard III was led by the University of Leicester, working with Leicester City Council, in association with the Richard III Society.

A new article by a Leicester graduate and hosted by the Development and Alumni Relations Office provides an insight into the history behind one of the most prominent names in the University’s history.

The surname Clarke makes several appearances on the campus, most notably in the name of the Astley Clarke Building. In the Medical Sciences Building you will find a plaque dedicated to the opening of the building in 1977 by Sir Cyril Clarke.

Now, Caroline Wessel has written an article detailing Sir Cyril’s life and career, starting with his early years living just down the road from the University’s campus with his father Dr Astley Vavasour Clarke. Dr Clarke would be instrumental in the formation of Leicester University College, which would later become the University of Leicester, and made the first donation to the institution’s appeal fund. Sir Cyril’s work would take him to Liverpool University where he would undertake pioneering work into Rhesus Haemolytic Disease.

Caroline herself has several links with the University’s history: as well as completing a BA Humanities in 1999 and a MA in Victorian Studies in 2003, she is also the daughter of Harry Gee (nephew to Percy Gee) and is Sir Cyril Clarke’s cousin.

Click here to read the full article online.

Highlights from its Richard III Open Day on Saturday 29 June include talks from experts Professor Lin Foxhall, Head of our School of Archaeology and Ancient History, geneticist Dr Turi King, forensic engineering expert Professor Sarah Hainsworth, Renaissance literature scholar Dr Sarah Knight, and Dr Tracey Elliott of the School of Law.

There will also be drop-in sessions to the Department of Genetics and School of Archaeology and Ancient History, where guests will be able to participate in workshops, displays and demos.

The events are also part of this year’s Summer Reunion Open Day, held annually for graduates of the University both across the UK and worldwide.

There will also be a BBQ on the main campus, drinks in the 1923 Restaurant and children’s activities.

To book your place and for more information about the Richard III Open Day – which is open to the general public – visit here.

• Press release

The Search for Richard III was led by the University of Leicester, working with Leicester City Council, and in association with the Richard III Society.

The project will allow PhD theses, some of the most heavily used items in the Archive, to be visible to a wide audience in digital form.

The push towards the digitisation of PhD theses has been occurring across a number of other leading research universities.The University of Leicester Research Archive, when realised, will mean that Leicester boasts one of the most extensive digital thesis collections in the country.

All of the theses by our PhD students are to digitised automatically, so if you are a Leicester PhD graduate, were awarded your degree between 1997 and 2007 and do NOT wish your thesis to be digitised, you should email ethesis@le.ac.uk or write to:

Rob Melocha,
Open Thesis Digitisation Project,
University of Leicester Library,
University Road,
Leicester
LE1 7RH.

More information is available on the Library website.

Thorgerson, who graduated from the University of Leicester in 1966 with an undergraduate degree in English and Philosophy, designed album covers for many leading music figures including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Muse.

His most celebrated design is the iconic cover for Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year. The instantly recognisable design, which features a prism spreading a spectrum of colour across a dark background, is widely considered to be one of the greatest album covers of all time.

Storm Thorgerson, deemed ‘the best designer in the world’ by acclaimed science fiction writer Douglas Adams, provided the cover for the 2008 Graduates’ Review, the annual alumni magazine from the University of Leicester, which features am article on Thorgerson on page 10.

Many national media outlets are featuring obituaries and tributes to Storm Thorgerson today. The University of Leicester Alumni Association has also expressed their sadness over the loss of this talented and much celebrated artist.

The pair, who are both University of Leicester graduates and leading members of the Richard III Project Team, will speak on ‘The Search for Richard III – the Archaeology and the Genetics’ on Thursday 21 March.

Mathew Morris was Fieldwork Director on the Grey Friars dig and is an Archaeologist in the University of Leicester’s Archaeological Services; and Dr Turi King was Project Geneticist and Lecturer in Genetics and Archaeology in the Department of Genetics and the School of Historical Studies.

Mathew will place Grey Friars in the context of medieval Leicester and will look at how the University of Leicester’s Archaeological Services undertook the search for the Friary, what was found and explain what it tells us about Grey Friars. Mathew will then examine the archaeological and osteological evidence for identifying the skeleton as Richard III.

To follow, Dr Turi King will speak about her part as the Project Geneticist and the DNA analysis which contributed to the evidence that these were indeed the remains of Richard III.

With her background in both genetics and archaeology, Dr Turi King was brought onto the Grey Friars project early on.  Her role was to advise on the excavation of any remains deemed suitable for ancient DNA analysis and then to conduct such analysis as it arose.

The Alumni Lecture will take place on Thursday 21st March from 6.00pm in the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre, Fielding Johnson Building, South Wing.

The lecture is free and open to all. For more information and to book your place, please visit the Development and Alumni Relations Office website. You can also email alumni.relations@le.ac.uk or telephone: 0116 223 1071.

Wilkes, who studied in the Department of Geography at the University of Leicester, co-authored the award winning book with Chris Fleet and Charles WJ Withers.

The book, which looks at the way that maps reveal the nation’s history and how Scotland has been viewed differently over time, brings together many historic and unusual maps for the first time and includes:

• A Soviet map of Greenock pinpointing factories and military installations

• The first road maps from the 17th century

• Temperance maps showing the location of public houses

• Specially designed maps for blind people

• The extensive tram network in Glasgow in the last century.

The award, made jointly by the Saltire Society and the National Library of Scotland, is given to books that add to the knowledge and understanding of Scotland and the Scots.

Scotland: Mapping the Nation is published by Birlinn in association with the National Library of Scotland (NLS).

The former Psychology student, who won the Chiemento Employability prize in 2009, has been awarded this most recent accolade in recognition of her exceptional performance at Banbury based PR and marketing agency, Propel Technology.

Judy was managing a major account within just six months and has contributed significantly to the company’s annual turnover.

Propel Technology’s Director, Claire Dumbreck, said: “Judy impressed us from day one with her reliability, efficiency and meticulous attention to detail. She soon proved she was capable of big things.”

The award was presented at Bloxham Mill Business Centre by Sir Tony Baldry MP on January 25th, 2013.

She took up archery in 2003 and then subsequently the compound bow, where she made her international debut at the 2006 IPC (International Paralympic Committee) European Championships.

Danielle represented Great Britain at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and the London 2012 Paralympic Games, taking home a gold medal in both. In 2010 she won a team gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where she was the first disabled competitor to represent England in an able bodied discipline.

She holds ten Paralympic world records and has been awarded a MBE for services to sport in the New Years Honours for 2013.

Danielle has also received an award from the University of Leicester in 2012 for Outstanding Alumni Achievement.

Danielle Brown received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws at 3pm on Friday 25th January 2013 at De Montfort Hall, Leicester.

• Press release

• Graduation Ceremonies press information

Portillo visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon and interviewed Dr Chouhan about Shakespeare in the Victorian period.

During the interview she spoke about how Shakespeare became a prolific playwright and how, if the archives at the Trust did not hold a collection of plays published in 1623, we would not have any knowledge of the plays The Tempest, Macbeth and The Twelfth Night.

Dr Chouhan also previously completed her BA and MA degrees at the University of Leicester, and she now works at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

If you would like to watch the interview, you can watch it here.

Two people associated with the University were among the recipients in the recently announced New Year Honours list for 2013.

Michaela Butter, co-director of Embrace Arts at the Richard Attenborough Centre, the University’s arts centre is the recipient of an MBE for services to the Arts in the East Midlands. In addition to her work with Embrace Arts, the Nottingham Post reports that Michaela volunteers on the boards of a number of local and national arts organisations.

Also honoured was graduate Riaz Ravat, who studied for an MA in European Politics at Leicester. He has received the British Empire Medal for services to Interfaith Understanding. He is currently deputy director of the St Philip's Centre and has conducted interfaith work at a local and national level for a number of years.

Others associated with the University who were honoured this year are:

• Phelim John Joseph Brady, Graduate of the University (BA Sociology (1972)). Deputy Principal, Farnborough College of Technology. He received an MBE for services to Further Education.
• Danielle Brown, Graduate of the University, (LLB Law (2010)). Paralympic archer. She received an MBE for services to Archery.
• Penelope Jane Egan, Graduate of the University,( BA Combined Studies (1972)). Executive Director, Fulbright Commission. She received a CBE for services to international education
• Dr Alan Hatton-Yeo, Graduate of the University, (PGCE Special Education (1976)). He received an MBE for services to Promoting Inter-generational Practice
• Dr Vina Mayor, Graduate of the University, (BSc Health and Science (1987)). Chair, Nursing and Midwifery Council Fitness to Practice Panel, Bedfordshire. He received an MBE for services to the NHS.
• Ms Carolyn Robson, Graduate of the University, (MEd (1985)). Headteacher, Rushey Mead School and lately Executive Headteacher, Fullhurst College, Leicester. She received a CBE for services to Education.
• Iain Tuckett, Graduate of the University, (MSc Education (1973)). Group Director, Coin Street Community Builders. He received an MBE for services to Architecture and Regeneration.
• Lisa Vernon, Graduate of the University, (MA Museum Studies (1996)). Chief Executive, Derbyshire Learning and Development Consortium. She received an MBE for services to Learning and Skills.
• Professor Muriel Anita Robinson, Member of Court. Vice-Chancellor, Bishop Grosseteste University. She received an OBE for services to Higher Education.

The University congratulates them all for their achievement.

• Full New Year Honours List 2013

• Leicester Mercury: New Year Honours: Leicestershire's heroes are named today

Michael Satchell, who studied in our School of Law, will travel to Nicaragua in March 2013 to work on the development programme for 10 weeks.

Michael will team up with Nicaragua volunteers to tackle some of the problems facing the local community, after getting a place on the government funded International Citizen Service (ICS).

ICS allows young people aged 18-25 to contribute to long-term development projects in countries like Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Nepal. 

The scheme offers young people the chance to develop personally and learn about team working and leadership on projects that are of genuine value to communities around the world.

On return to the UK, ICS volunteers undertake an ‘Action at Home Project’, ensuring that their new skills also benefit their local communities.

To sponsor Michael Satchell visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/mlsatchell

To find out more about ICS or to apply, visit www.ics-uk.org.uk or call 0208 780 7400.

• Press release
  

Some of the University’s most promising sports stars have claimed our first set of sports scholarship kits.

A group of 10 talented students were awarded a sporting boost from the University this term. They will receive scholarships with a value in excess of £1000 per year, which will provide them with access to sports facilities, training, physiotherapy, and advice.

The prospective students, undergraduates and postgraduates were selected after impressing a panel of selectors from the University’s Sports and Recreation Service and Student’s Union, who have introduced the scholarships for the first time this year.

Among the recipients are archer Kieran Slater, American football player Samuel Taylor, squash player Chris Beevor, dodgeball player Brett Koenig, runner Sarah Johnson, hockey player David Boddy, cyclist Mary Evans, Rugby Union player Ebeneezer Ikediashi, rower Rebecca Clephan and horse rider Olivia Deane.

The University is extremely grateful for the support of University of Leicester Alumni, who help fund these scholarships through their generous donations each year to the Student Opportunities Fund.

• University press release

• University of Leicester makes biggest ever investment in sport

Above left: Archbishop Tutu is greeted by Professor David Wynford-Thomas, Head of the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology

Above left and right: Archbishop Tutu meets the team behind the Search for Richard III, and is given a presentation on their work.

Above: (Left to Right) Professor Lin Foxhall, Richard Buckley, Dr Turi King, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr Jo Appleby, Professor Mark Jobling, Professor Julian Ketley, Dr Flaviano Giorgini and Dr Julie Morrissey.

Above left: (L-R) The Bishop of Leicester, the Right Reverend Tim Stevens; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the University's Co-ordinating Chaplain Stephen Foster; and the Very Reverend Derek Hole.

Above right: The Very Reverend Derek Hole and Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess with Archbishop Tutu.

The Archbishop arrives at the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre (above left), and the Vice-Chancellor delivers an introduction to the lecture (above right).

Above: Archbishop Tutu's lecture in progress.

Members of the audience put questions to Archbishop Tutu (above left) before the lecture is brought to a close with applause (above right).

• Watch the video and listen to a podcast of the lecture