Dr Lara Meischke
Director
Lara joined Student Services in 2007. Since then, she has worked in and managed many areas of the service including
- Academic Advice
- Student Conduct
- Disability
- Money Advice
- Wellbeing Advice
- Wardens and Residential Support
- Managing systems and processes for Student Services but also the wider University
- Training for the unit and wider University, including the design and delivery of a Mental Health Toolkit
Lara has a background in research and teaching in Biological Sciences. She studied Zoology at Bangor University. She specialised in water balance in sharks and fish muscle physiology at the University of St Andrews. She contributed extensively to teaching and learning within the Schools of Biology and Medicine. This included providing teaching support to students with special needs. She was also involved in science outreach activities. She has published and presented her work, receiving several awards for science communication.
She has 13 years of experience working in the Wardennial system. This gave her a breadth of knowledge of the student experience outside of teaching.
Lara also worked at the University of Stirling as Head of Student Support Services. She managed the counselling, disabilities and money teams, and helped to shape a more integrated service.
Lara particularly enjoys speaking to students about their experiences. This helps her to find out what they love about the University, and which areas they’d most like to see changed. She has a strong ethos of continuous improvement, and is regularly involved in projects to develop the student experience.