University of St Andrews

Biography

Srdja Popovic is the Founder and Executive director of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS), a non-profit organization based in Belgrade, Serbia, that aims to teach the use of nonviolence to make a change.

He was born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia), in 1973. Popovic played the guitar in a rock band and graduated from the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade, holding a Master’s degree (MA) in animal ecology. Since his early 20s, he has focused on activism, democracy and human rights issues.

In 1998, Popovic founded the student movement “Otpor!” (“Resistance!”), which played a crucial role in ousting president Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian dictator accused of war crimes. After Milosevic was defeated in 2000, Popovic was elected to the Serbian Parliament, where he served from 2000 until 2004.

Following his career in the Serbian Parliament, Popovic went on to found CANVAS, acting as its executive director ever since. CANVAS was created with the intent of teaching people all over the world about how to be successful in nonviolent conflict. So far, the organization has worked with activists from 46 different countries, spreading the knowledge of the nonviolent strategies and tactics used by Otpor! worldwide.

Apart from being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, Popovic was listed as one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" of 2011 by the Foreign Policy Magazine. And in 2014 he was listed as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum in Davos. Popovic is also the author of the recent book Blueprint for Revolution.

Biography

Anne Pringle spent most of her career as a diplomat with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1977–2011). She was Ambassador to Russia (2008–2011), Director for Strategy and FCO Board member (2004–2007) and Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2001–2004). She had several EU policy jobs in Brussels and in London before then.

Since leaving the FCO, Anne has taken on a number of consultancy roles. Currently, Anne is a non-executive director on the Board of Ashmore Group plc, a specialist emerging markets investment manager and a trustee on the Board of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.

Anne began her term as Senior Governor on the Court of the University of St Andrews, her alma mater, in August 2016.

Biography

Sally Mapstone became Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews in September 2016. Her academic career before that was spent at the University of Oxford, where she read English Language and Literature and where she gained her doctorate on Older Scots literature. She most recently served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education (2011-2016) and was also Professor of Older Scots Literature in the Faculty of English Language and Literature. She was a Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She was previously Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Personnel and Equality at Oxford, and maintains a strong interest in equality issues. Professor Mapstone also has a long-standing engagement in European issues and has served on the steering group for the League of European Research Universities community of Vice-Rectors for Teaching and Learning; she is a member of the international advisory board for the University of Helsinki. Earlier in her career she worked as an editor in the book publishing industry.

Her research deals with literature in Scots and in Latin before 1707, with political literature, and with book history. She is Honorary President of the Scottish Text Society, an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies, and a Fellow of the English Association.

Biography

Garry Taylor is a structural biologist who received a BSc in physics from Queen Mary London and a PhD in biophysics from Kings London. He was an SERC research fellow in protein crystallography at Birkbeck College London before holding a research fellowship in Molecular Biophysics, Oxford, from 1982-1989. He subsequently took up a lectureship in biochemistry at the University of Bath, being promoted to Professor of Structural Biology. In 1999, he joined the University of St Andrews as Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Director of the newly formed Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, a position he held for 10 years. He was Head of the School of Biology from 2011-2014 before becoming Master of the United College in February 2014, Deputy Principal in October 2014 and Acting Principal from January 2016.

Garry's research focuses on the discovery of novel therapeutics for use in controlling respiratory disease. His group has developed host-targeted biologics (engineered multivalent proteins) that show great promise for the prevention of influenza caused by any strain of the virus. He collaborates with one of the world’s top flu groups at St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, USA.

He was a Sir Edward Abrahams JRF at Linacre College, Oxford, held a Royal Society Amersham International Senior Fellowship at Bath, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and is a visiting professor in the Nanlou Respiratory Disease Department of the Beijing 301 Hospital.

Biography

Adrian Greer has worked for the British Council since 1984, including nine years on the Executive Board, and is currently the Chief Operating Officer. More than half of his career has been spent living overseas, mostly as a Country Director and also as Regional Director for East Asia. His overseas experience covers Africa, Eastern Europe and East Asia. In 2004 he was awarded a CMG for his work as Country Director in Russia. A graduate of English Language and Literature from the University of St Andrews, Adrian is also a qualified accountant and worked for four years for the National Audit Office in Edinburgh and Glasgow. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a keen runner and swimmer. Adrian lives with his wife Diana in London and has four grown-up children.

Biography

Camilla Duke is the current Rector's Assessor, serving alongside Srdja Popovic from early 2018. In her role as Assessor, Camilla serves as the main point of contact between the University community and the Rector, as well as sitting on the University Court.

A native of the Washington, DC area, Camilla is pursuing an MA Joint Honours degree in International Relations and Modern History to further her lifelong passion for politics and public affairs. Additionally, Camilla serves as the Communications and Social Media Director for the Democrats Overseas Society, is active in the Feminist Society, and volunteers for the University's StAnd Together: Got Consent? initiative.

Biography

From humble beginnings in Lochgelly, Jim started his career as a professional footballer with Dunfermline Athletic in 1970 and still holds the record of being the last player to score a winning goal for the Pars at Ibrox in 1972. When his playing career was cut short by injury, he moved into coaching and then management, proving to be highly successful in the latter and achieving promotion for the Pars from bottom of the Second Division to the Scottish Premier Division.

He has managed many clubs over the years and was the first manager to take two teams from the lowest division to the Premier League. Throughout his football career he has won six promotions, four as champions, two as runners up. He has received Manager of the Year awards four times and was the first manager to win 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Division championships. He is now a Director at Dunfermline Athletic FC, the club where he was the youngest manager (aged 29 at the time). Jim managed Livingston FC and took them from the 3^rd Division to third place in the SPL and the following season into the EUFA Cup, the only Scottish club ever to do so.

Jim is also well known for his charity work; the Mary Leishman Foundation, started in memory of his late wife, raises many thousands of pounds for local causes.

Over the years he has received many honours. In 2007 he was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty and in 2010 received a Great Scot Award and was made a Fellow of Carnegie College. He also has a street named after him in Dunfermline, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Radio Forth and was voted Scottish Sports Personality of the Year in 2010.

In May 2012 he was elected as Councillor for Dunfermline Central and two weeks later, as Provost of the Kingdom of Fife. He was re-elected to this role in May 2017 for a further five-year term.

Biography

Ken Cochran was raised in Fife, attending Bell Baxter High School in Cupar and the University of St Andrews. He graduated in 1979 with a BSc (Hons) degree in Computational Science.

After two years working for the computer manufacturer ICL in Dalkeith, Ken was recruited to the USA to work for AT&T’s research and development wing Bell Laboratories. He was involved in operating system software development for telecommunications equipment. In various divisions of AT&T, Ken worked on software development for NCR auto teller machines and network and systems management applications for internet service providers.

On returning to live in Fife in 2004 to care for his aging father, Ken established a small multimedia business working in web design and digital video production. Using these skills, Ken helps promote St Andrews businesses and tourism. Ken also taught multimedia and web design at university level.

In 2011 Ken was appointed as a non-executive director of NHS Fife as part of a directly elected pilot programme by the Scottish Government. He served on the Glenrothes and North East Fife Community Health Partnership, the Clinical Governance, Health and Safety, Endowments, and Primary Medical Services committees. Ken is secretary of his local community council and a director of Pilgrim Care (St Andrews) Ltd, a local charity providing healthcare and advocacy for the elderly.

Ken lives with his wife Debbie, in north-east Fife. They are active in their church. Both their children are graduates of the University of St Andrews.

Biography

Nigel Christie is a qualified accountant with over 30 years’ experience in UK, US and European corporate finance investment banking and nearly 7 years’ experience in UK and international NEC/NED roles. He has particular experience in corporate governance, strategy development, issues surrounding growth and change, mentoring, raising capital, and sensitive negotiations. As chairman of several audit committees, he has been pivotal in installing exemplary financial discipline and good governance across a number of organisations.

Nigel has been a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Smart Metering Systems Plc, Lottery Dynamics, Maple Energy Plc, Van Dieman Mines Plc, and is currently Chairman of Catcando Properties Ltd (a family investment company).

Nigel has an MA (Hons) in Political Economy and Medieval History from the University of St Andrews and has completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School. Nigel was elected General Council Assessor to Court in 2012.

Biography

Frances Andrews joined the Department of Mediaeval History in St Andrews in 1995 (now part of the School of History) and was appointed to a Chair in 2009. She studied History at the University of London and, after a few years working in Italy as a teacher and interpreter, also completed her doctorate in London, including a year researching as a British School Rome Scholar. She taught briefly at Birkbeck College, University of London and the University of York before coming to St Andrews. In 2007, she set up the St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies and later helped launch The Medieval Journal, published by Brepols. Her major publications include The Early Humiliati (1999), The Other Friars (2006) and several edited collections. She is the managing editor of the Medieval Mediterranean. Peoples, Economies and Cultures 400-1500, a book series published by Brill, Leiden, and the series editor of The History of Medieval Religion, published by Boydell Press.

She serves on the editorial board of Quaderni di Storia religiosa, Cristianesimo nella storia, Bollettino di storia patria per l'Umbria and Al-masaq. She has held research fellowships at Harvard (Villa I Tatti), in Berlin (funded by the Humboldt Stiftung) and at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study. Professor Andrews has had the good fortune to return to Villa I Tatti as a visiting professor and has won various awards including a fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust and a major award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). She has served on the Faculty of the British School at Rome and as President of the Ecclesiastical History Society (2014-2015). She is a member of the review panel for the AHRC and has frequently completed reviews for the European Science Foundation and other international funding bodies. At St Andrews she has served in various roles including as Head of Department and Director of Research and has had a large number of doctoral students. She was elected to the University Court of St Andrews by the Faculty of Arts in 2012.

Biography

Sharon Ashbrook received an MChem in Chemistry in 1997 and a DPhil in Physical Chemistry both from Hertford College, Oxford in 2001. After postdoctoral research at Exeter, she was awarded a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship in 2003, which she held at the University of Cambridge. During this time she also held the Charles and Katherine Darwin Research Fellowship at Darwin College. From October 2005, she was appointed as an RCUK Academic Fellow in the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews and was promoted to Reader in 2009 and Professor of Physical Chemistry in 2013.

Her research focuses on understanding the local structure, disorder and dynamics in the solid state, using a combination of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. She has been awarded the RSC Harrison Prize (2004), Marlow Award (2011) and Corday-Morgan Prize, and the RSE MakDougall Brisbane Medal (2012). She was elected as FRSE in 2016 and is the holder of a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (2015). She was awarded a Suffrage Science award (celebrating women in science) in 2017. She was one of the founding members of the RSE Young Academy and is also involved in range of outreach activities in her position as Vice Chair of the RSC Tayside Local Section. She sits on the EPSRC Facility Executive of the UK High-Field NMR facility, the RSE Fellowship and Education committees and was on the 2014 Hong Kong RAE panel.

Biography

Morven Shearer is based in the School of Medicine where she works in the area of medical ethics and healthcare policy, with a particular interest in global health.

She holds a PhD (Physiology, Cambridge), MSc (Pharmacology, Iowa), BSc (Hons) (Pharmacology, Glasgow), PGDip (Law, London), PGCertHE (Dundee) and is a Fellow of the HEA.

She arrived at the University in 2001 as a teaching fellow in the School of Biology and was promoted to principal teaching fellow and senior lecturer in 2008. She worked in the School of Biology for almost 10 years and held a number of positions during that time, including Advisor of Studies, Disabilities Coordinator and Director of Teaching.

Morven then moved to the School of Medicine in 2011 to further pursue her research and teaching interests in biomedical ethics. She chairs the School ethics committee, is deputy convenor of UTREC, a member of AWEC and part of the University research integrity working group. She has collaborated across the University on interdisciplinary teaching initiatives, set up a cross-school faculty learning community and received one of the inaugural University Teaching Awards in 2010.

Morven has worked with the NHS, WHO, QAA and HEA and is a trustee for Signpost International, a UK-based international development charity.

Biography

Derek Ball joined the Department of Philosophy in 2008 as a postdoctoral research fellow funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). He was appointed to a lectureship in 2010. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin and a BA from Whitman College. During his time in St Andrews, he has served as coordinator of the St Andrews and Stirling joint PhD programme in philosophy, and as director of the Arche Research Centre. He has held visiting fellowships at the Australian National University and the University of Oslo, as well as research grants from the AHRC.

His research focuses on understanding the mind and its place in the natural world, with special focus on the ways in which our thought and language are shaped by the environment. He is the co-editor of The Science of Meaning (Oxford University Press), and his work has appeared in Mind, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Philosophers’ Imprint, Inquiry, and elsewhere.

Biography

Donna Pierz-Fennel is a graduate of Manhattan College and New York Law School, and has a wide-ranging background in biology, basic medical science, law, education and the history of science. She spent seventeen years working in clinical and research laboratories before joining a medical malpractice and negligence litigation firm. After spending over a decade educating lawyers about clinical and research practice, and medical and research professionals about administrative law and policy, Donna became a teaching fellow with the New York City school system, teaching science in under-performing primary schools.

Donna moved to the UK in 2006 and spent three years at Bangor University as the manager of the newly formed Wales Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, working with Bangor, Cardiff and Swansea universities to achieve Welsh Assembly strategic targets for research, public engagement and knowledge transfer. Since 2010, Donna has been the manager of the School of Biology and works with the Head of School, academic, administrative and technical staff to develop the School's strategic and operational planning and ensure that the services and resources needed for providing teaching and research support are available. She is actively involved with the School's Equality and Diversity committee and Athena Swan application development, as well as being the School's Impact Officer, Health and Safety Coordinator and Library Liaison. She is also a member of the University Support Staff Mentoring programme.

Biography

Paloma Paige is the current President of the University of St Andrews Students’ Association, elected in March 2018. In that capacity, she is the chief representative of students and student interests to the local community, nationally and, alongside the Director of Representation, to the University. As President, Paloma’s remit includes the areas of student accommodation, encouraging ethical and sustainable investment and living, improving student relationships with alumni, increasing the diversity of the student body through widening access schemes, and overseeing community relations. She is also responsible for the strategic direction of the Students' Association.

Paloma was raised in Santa Barbara, California, where she was also home-schooled up until she was 18. Her interests have always centered around politics, current affairs, and international history. At the University of St Andrews, she read International Relations and was an active member of the Union Debating Society and UNA-UK-St Andrews. She also found creative outlet in groups including the Dance Society and the Students' Association Design Team; for the latter she was the Convener and sat on the SSC in her final year. An issue which has been consistently important to her is accommodation; she was on her hall's committee for two years, the second as the Senior Student. Beyond this, she was a student ambassador for the University for three years, presenting to prospective students and actively participating in WP projects.

Biography

Alice Foulis is the current Director of Education of the University of St Andrews Students’ Association, elected by the student body in March 2018. As Director of Education, Alice represents all students at the University of St Andrews in the areas of education, postgraduate study, and employability. Alice trains and supports over 400 elected academic representatives, including the School presidents and class representatives, to ensure the voices of all students are heard. She is the main liaison between the Students’ Association and both the Proctor’s Office and the University’s academic community. She also serves as a trustee of both the Students’ Association and the University.

Alice is originally from the north east of Scotland in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, but now visits her parents in their new home in Orkney. Alice is currently taking a sabbatical year out of her degree in Modern History between third and fourth year – when studying, she focuses on German history in the 20^th century and changing political systems. Elected as School President of History in her third year, Alice focused on postgraduate engagement, careers events, and fostering a sense of community within her school. In this role, Alice was part of the executive committee who established the annual History and Classics ‘Ides Ball’.

Biography

Tim Allan FRSA is a private equity and property entrepreneur with many outside philanthropic interests. He is CEO of Unicorn Property Group, leading the regeneration of Dundee’s waterfront, Main Board Director of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and Vice-Chair of the V&A Museum of Design Campaign. 

Graduating from the University of St Andrews in 1988, he served in the British Army for 10 years, including 2 years as Equerry to The Duke of York. Thereafter, he spent 7 years in private wealth management working for Citigroup and UBS with some of the UK’s most prominent entrepreneurs.

In 2005, he founded Unicorn, an award-winning Scottish property business with a commercial and residential portfolio across the country, particularly in the regeneration of Dundee. Unicorn’s City Quay project has completely reshaped this historic city’s image and waterfront. 

Since 2008, Tim has had extensive interests in the fuel forecourt sector, being a founder and director of Motor Fuel Group, the second largest independent fuel retailer in the UK with more than 370 stations, turning over £2 billion per year.

Outside his business, Tim was a member of the Scotland Committee of the BIG Lottery Fund since 2007, and was formerly the Chair of Young Enterprise Scotland, the leading business and enterprise education charity in Scotland.  

In April 2010, Tim was awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Biography

Pamela Chesters went to school in Edinburgh before going to St Andrews to read mediaeval history. She was President of the SRC and subsequently served as Rector’s Assessor in her final year. 

After graduating, she spent nearly 20 years with BP based in the UK and US and latterly was chief executive of Duckhams Oils. She then moved into the public sector working in health, housing and children’s services. 

In health, she chaired the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust for eight years and worked closely with UCL as a founder board member of UCL Partners. She then became Mayoral Advisor on Health and Families to Boris Johnson working on a pan London basis to promote his agenda with national government and key partners. 

She has served on various Housing Association Boards and currently chairs Anchor Trust, an organisation which specialises in meeting the housing and care needs of the elderly across England. She spent six years as Chair of Action for Children, a charity which meets the needs of the most vulnerable children and young people across the four nations, and was awarded a CBE for services to vulnerable children in 2013. 

She is a former local government councillor and Leader of the Opposition and served for a time on the Local Government Association’s National Education Executive. She is a former school and FE governor.

Biography

Ken Dalton retired at the beginning of September 2011 from the position of chief executive of AECOM Europe and latterly chief executive of AECOM global building engineering. With 4,500 employees in Europe and 45,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a professional design business in buildings, transport, water and environment.

Following graduation from Strathclyde University in 1970, Ken has more than 40 years in professional consultancy and contracting experience both throughout the UK and internationally. From 2001-2008, the company was recognised in The Sunday Times and The Financial Times as the best company to work for and a foundation member for Tomorrow’s Company which promotes leadership with all stakeholders.

Ken has served as master of the Merchant Company in Edinburgh, chairing the education board, and is currently lord dean of guilds of Edinburgh and chairman of the St Andrews Business Improvement District.

Biography

Professor Stuart Monro OBE, BSc, PhD, Hon DUniv, Hon DSc, CGeol, FGS, FHEA, FRSSA, FSA Scot, FRSGS, FRSE

Stuart Monro graduated with first class honours in geology at the University of Aberdeen in 1970 and has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. He spent much of his career with the British Geological Survey (BGS) but for many years has been heavily committed to public engagement with science. He holds the part-time position of Scientific Director of the Scottish Consortium for Rural Research, which brings researchers together across the field of rural research in universities and research institutions. He was the founding Scientific Director of Our Dynamic Earth, facilitating a better public understanding of the processes that have shaped the Earth. He was also a tutor in Earth Science with the Open University, a trustee of the National Museums Scotland and the first independent co-chair of the Scottish Science Advisory Council, advising Scottish Government on science policy.

He has been a member of Court at the University of Edinburgh and its vice-convener. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh and a non-executive director of the Edinburgh International Science Festival.

He was awarded an OBE for services to science, the Distinguished Service Award of the Geological Society, honorary doctorates from the Open University, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh and an honorary fellowship from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Biography

Nigel Morecroft lives and works in Edinburgh. He helps a number of charities and foundations.

He retired in April 2012 as a partner in the investment management firm of Baillie Gifford & Co where he had a broad range of managerial, commercial, marketing and client responsibilities. Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford is one of the ten largest privately owned asset management firms in the world. His first book about investment was published in April 2017, titled “The Origins of Asset Management from 1700 to 1960".

Prior to joining Baillie Gifford in 1999, Nigel worked for Foreign & Colonial, Lloyds Investment Managers and Wood Mackenzie & Co. He has specialised in institutional asset management throughout his career advising clients both in the UK and also internationally.

Nigel attended the University of St Andrews and graduated in 1980 with an MA in Modern History. Fiona, Nigel’s wife, and Gavin, his son, are also alumni of St Andrews. Additionally, Nigel worked with the University in a professional capacity for over ten years up to 2012. In terms of other academic experience, Nigel holds a diploma in Japanese from the School of African & Oriental Studies and has attended courses at Insead, Harvard and Princeton.

Biography

Eve is a director of Whiteburn Projects, responsible for the delivery of their Residential and Build to Rent businesses. She started her career as a Laing Civil Engineering sponsored Quantity Surveying student and studied at South Bank University. She has had a varied and diverse career within the construction industry. She qualified as an MRICS Quantity Surveyor in 1995. Eve was on Hillcrest Housing Associations' Committee of Management from 2012-2017.

Eve lives in Dunfermline and spends her free time walking her springer spaniel and keeping herself fit and active.

Biography

Following undergraduate and postgraduate study in theoretical physics at the University of Edinburgh, David Wallace continued research at Princeton University as a Harkness Fellow. In 1972 he was appointed lecturer in the Physics Department, University of Southampton. In 1979 he returned to the University of Edinburgh as Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics. He was also Director of Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre. He was Vice-Chancellor at Loughborough University for 12 years from 1994. In Cambridge from 2006 he was NM Rothschild & Sons Professor of Mathematical Sciences & Director of the Isaac Newton Institute to 2011, and Master of Churchill College to 2014.

He is a former Vice-President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, President of the Institute of Physics, and Treasurer and Vice-President of the Royal Society. He served on the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, and as an Expert to the European Commission. More recently he has served as Chair of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences in the UK, and on the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. His non-executive directorships have included the Scottish Life Assurance Company, Taylor & Francis Group plc and UK e-Universities Worldwide Ltd. He has received honorary doctorates from Heriot Watt, Edinburgh, Leicester, Loughborough, Southampton and East Anglia Universities. He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire from 2001 to 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. He was awarded a CBE for services to parallel computing in 1996, and knighted in 2004 for services to UK science, technology and engineering.