Message from the Vice-President and Dean

12 Jan 2026

In her first message of 2026, Fiona encourages us all to ‘Start Well’ by looking after our wellbeing, reports on the next steps for our strategy to 2035, and celebrates the recognition of several colleagues and alumni in the King’s New Year Honour’s list.

Dear All

Happy New Year! I hope you had a good break over Christmas and that you have returned to work feeling rested and recharged. After enjoying a reception with some of our fantastic alumni in New York City, I spent the festive period in Boston.

I enjoyed a very interesting visit to a whaling museum in New Bedford in the south of Massachusetts, and had a couple of days in Maine. The coastline is gorgeous with all the lighthouses. It was super-cold, although I love the blue skies.

Starting Well

Having the chance to switch off and relax over Christmas is very important ahead of what can be a very busy January for many of us. Our Starting Well campaign looks to give colleagues the chance to prioritise their wellbeing by doing ‘one thing to support your mental health’.

I am going to renew my commitment to stepping away from the computer at regular intervals when I get the chance to work at home. I have the terrible habit of getting stuck in, losing track of time, and then wonder why I am all stiff when I go to make a cup of tea! I need to keep moving.

I encourage you to check out the Starting Well StaffNet page, including details of free wellbeing events taking place across the month. I think I will drop into the health check clinics on 14 January too.

Delivering on our strategy to 2035

As you will know, we are now moving into the initial delivery stage of the Manchester 2035 strategy, and I was delighted to speak at the strategy delivery conference yesterday, where the top 200 leaders from across the University gathered to discuss the first three-year work package.

I talked about six delivery principles outlined in the delivery handbook which you may have read already. These are not abstract principle that can be easily forgotten. They will be our approach to how we deliver on the strategy. How we deliver is very important to us all.

You can learn more about the three-year work package, which is clear about our priorities, and ask any questions you may have, at a town hall with Duncan and members of the University Executive on Tuesday 13 January, 10-11am.

Law review update

Following the external review of Law in SoSS, I am very pleased to hear that away days in the department were a success. Bringing the whole team together to agree shared values and clear departmental standards, these sessions have strengthened collaboration and set the foundation for positive change.

Colleagues will now focus on embedding these standards and maintaining momentum as they move forward with implementing the review recommendations. I am very grateful to Carolyn Abbot, interim Head of Department, who has led on this very important work. Working with Carolyn and Claire Alexander, as Head of School, we hope to be appointing a new Head of Department soon.

New Year honours

Many congratulations to Faculty colleagues and alumni who have been recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list. Tony Redmond, Emeritus Professor of International Emergency Medicine at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) received a Knighthood.

Craig Bennett, Honorary Professor of Sustainability and Innovation at AMBS and CEO of The Wildlife Trusts, was made OBE for services to the environment. Craig works closely with our Executive Education colleagues in AMBS and contributes to our programmes with clients.

Among our alumni, award-winning comedian, writer and actor Meera Syal received a Damehood for her literary, drama and charity work. Dame Meera studied Drama and English at Manchester and has gone on to become a multi-Emmy award winner, receiving a BAFTA Fellowship in 2023 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to UK creative arts.

OBEs were awarded to Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council; Ian Merrill, former Chief Executive of the Shannon Trust; and Gaynor Rennie, Governor and former Head Teacher of All Souls School, Heywood, for their services to local government, rehabilitation, and education respectively.

Piers Linney, Executive Chair and co-founder of Implement AI, was made MBE for services to small business, entrepreneurs, investors, banking and to diversity and social mobility. Best known as a former investor on BBC’s Dragon’s Den and from Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire, Piers graduated with a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Law in 1994, and has a professional background as a lawyer specialising in venture capital, and in investment banking and asset fund management.

Peter Farrell, Professor Emeritus in Construction Management at the University of Greater Manchester, received an MBE for his work in the construction industry and higher education. Peter graduated with an MSc in Management Sciences in 1993 and his academic work focuses on construction project management and management science, sustainable building design and building information management (BIM) among other disciplines.

A BEM was awarded to the Reverend David Ireland, formerly Chief Executive of Didsbury’s Francis House Children’s Hospice, for services to children’s hospices; and to Simon Walsh, Procurement Director at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, for services to the NHS and charity.

As we look forward to 2026, each of these honours is a wonderful reminder of the remarkable people who are part of our Faculty community. Their achievements are a source of great inspiration and pride to us.

Regards Fiona