90th anniversary: additional events and celebrations
Monday, 01 February 2016
As you know, the University will be celebrating its 90th anniversary on Thursday 17 March. Along with the events taking place at Whiteknights campus on 17 March, there are several other ways that you can get involved with marking our significant anniversary.
Public lectures
This year, three significant public lectures are being held in honour of our rich academic history:
Public Lecture Series: 100 Years of Reading’s Weather
Wednesday 10 February, Palmer Building, 8pm.
Did you know that the University has been observing our weather for a century? This illustrated lecture tells the story of Reading’s weather over the past hundred years using a combination of archived logbooks, contemporary photographs and today’s sophisticated automatic weather measuring equipment.
The Public Lecture Series was established over 45 years ago, and aims to showcase a wide range of research highlights from across the University.
Edith Morley lecture: In Conversation with Karen Blackett OBE, CEO of Media Com UK
Tuesday 8 March, Great Hall, London Road, 7:30pm.
In 2014, Karen Blackett became the first woman to top the PowerList 100 of most influential black Britons, and was awarded an OBE for services to the media communications industry. She continues to be an influential figure today.
This special event is in memory of Edith Morley, believed to be the first woman to be awarded the title professor in a British university. Appointed as Professor of English Literature at Reading in 1908, Professor Morley believed that women should have an equal place in academia and society, and was an inspiring and motivating force for the young people around her. The lecture also celebrates the launch of the first publication of Edith’s memoir, which will be on sale at the event.
Annual Cole Lecture: Wild Life in a Warmer World: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?
Wednesday 23 March, Henley Business School, 7:30pm.
The School of Biological Sciences presents their annual Cole Lecture, in honour of Francis Cole (1872 - 1959), Reading's first professor of Zoology.
This year we are proud to host Professor Camille Parmesan, who as Lead Author, was an official contributor to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 for her groundbreaking work measuring the impact of man-made climate change on animal and plant life. In her Cole Lecture, Professor Parmesan will discuss the impacts of climate change on wild species, and the conservation and policy implications of a warmer world.
Please see the events page for further details on all events.
Share Your Stories
With being such a reflective year for us all, we want to hear your stories of the innovative and inspirational people that have helped make your time at Reading so memorable. We are looking to build a rich picture of the University’s social history, and so to accomplish this, we are asking staff, students, alumni and members of the community to share their stories.
To share your memories, please complete the form at our 90th anniversary website.
Extra Closure Day
The University Executive Board have granted all staff an additional closure day in honour of our 90th anniversary. This will take place on Friday 26 August, before the summer bank holiday on Monday 29 August 2016. Staff who work part-time and for whom this Friday will not be a working day will be credited with pro-rata additional leave automatically on their leave record on Employee Self-Service.
Don’t forget to keep checking our 90th anniversary website for full details of our upcoming celebrations.