Appeals

Current appeals are listed here:

• Professor Hugh B Sutherland Postgraduate Scholarship
• Glasgow Centre for International Development PhD scholarship scheme
• Steve Tiesdell Student Endowment Fund

Professor Hugh B Sutherland Postgraduate Scholarship in Civil Engineering

The University has launched an appeal to raise funds to establish a postgraduate scholarship in memory of Professor Hugh B Sutherland.

Hugh Brown Sutherland (1920-2011) was an alumnus who became the University's first Cormack Professor of Civil Engineering from 1966 to 1986 and an internationally-renowned authority on soil mechanics.

Hugh first joined the University of Glasgow as a lecturer in 1942, having completed his Civil Engineering training in 1940 and thereafter working on the design and construction of several Royal Ordnance Factories.

In 1946 he became interested in soil mechanics and applied for a scholarship to go to Harvard to work with the leaders in the field. Awarded the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship, he was involved in the Panama Canal Research Project, an examination of the potential effects of a nuclear explosion in the Central American waterway.

On returning to Glasgow he continued as a lecturer. His talents were identified by Gilbert Cook and his career continued at Glasgow, becoming Reader in 1957 and one of the first of the Titlular Professor appointments in 1964. The University Court noted his appointment as the first Cormack Professor of Civil Engineering in October 1965 and he took up the post in 1966. He remained in the Cormack Chair until his retirement in 1986.

Hugh had many external honours and indicators of esteem.  Two particularly worthy of mention are that he was Vice President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (1982-1984) and he gave the 1988 Rankine Lecture of the British Geotechnical Society – probably the most prestigious annual lecture in the world in Geotechnical Engineering, with the list of Rankine Lecturers representing a veritable Who's Who of the world's leading figures in Geotechnical Engineering.

Hugh was famous for his incredible recall about his former civil engineering students with whom he maintained lifelong and worldwide connections and friendships. He also developed close relationships with the students he met through his involvement in sport and his honorary presidency of Glasgow University Athletic Council.  Making him an ideal choice to become the first director of the Glasgow University Trust in 1987, he used these connections to build up a formidable network of contacts stretching back to people he had met in 1947. He received an honorary doctorate for his contribution to University life in 1991. 

Family, friends and colleagues are invited to make a donation in memory of Hugh to help establish a permanent postgraduate scholarship in Civil Engineering.

Donations can be made:

• Through our online giving form
• By completing and returning the Hugh Sutherland donation form

Glasgow Centre for International Development

The University of Glasgow Centre for International Development (GCID) builds on the University’s historical tradition of engagement with low-income countries through its unique range of expertise in the areas of human wellbeing and animal health, the economy, the environment, learning and citizenship. The aim is to use a strong interdisciplinary approach to make a significant contribution to international development through new partnerships with universities in the Global South and contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goals, linking with the UN and other stakeholders.

At present, the Centre is focusing its activities on developing and strengthening its longstanding associations and partnerships with African Universities and Institutes.

GCID’s Key Aims
To be an internationally recognised research centre in international development drawing on and bringing together the expertise available at the University of Glasgow in the fields of medicine; veterinary medicine; environmental management and development; sustainability; development economics; education and lifelong learning.

To promote and strengthen interdisciplinary research in international development within the University of Glasgow, within Scotland and in selected low-income countries of the Global South.

To promote capacity building and cultural exchange between low income countries and Scotland through shared collaborative research programmes, the provision of joint research training workshops and short courses, and the delivery of appropriate Masters and PhD degree programmes.

Key research themes:
The Glasgow Centre for International Development is divided into four key clusters:

• Health: incorporating researchers from medicine, veterinary medicine, biomedical sciences including infectious disease, immunology, sports science and epidemiology.
• Environmental management and infrastructure: researchers from geographical and earth sciences, chemistry, engineering and life sciences are working together.
• Education, lifelong learning & global citizenship: staff are involved in research and capacity building in Africa.
• Economic development: enhancing expertise in the University’s existing Centre for Developmental Studies and extending into governance and social policy.

Current Situation
A pilot for the GCID PhD Scholarship Scheme was launched with an extraordinary response. The Scheme is aimed at high achieving candidates who wish to pursue a PhD at the University of Glasgow, from the key countries in Africa and Asia where DFID monitors progress towards the Millenium Development Goals. With the support of a most generous donor three started this year.

The subject of the student’s research proposal has to be of relevance to development of the applicant's home country. It is expected that the student will spend a minimum of 12 months conducting research in their home country during the course of their studies.

It is hoped to secure the funding to support around 40 scholars in the four key clusters: Health, Education, Environment, Economics. The first round of applications demonstrated the high calibre and numbers of prospective candidates. With funding in place for the first handful of GCID Scholarships, we are now hoping to secure the substantial funding required to get the Scholarship Scheme running at capacity.

The first candidates are the best advocates of the Scheme.  Hear their stories here.

Cost
The cost of providing a scholarship will average £17,000 per annum for three years as one year will be spent in their home country and thus reduce costs. The Scholarship will include payment of fees and a monthly stipend for living expenses.

How can you help?
By making a donation to our Scholarships Fund. Anyone wishing to provide financial assistance to the students of today and tomorrow can make a donation either by regular or single gift. Please contact the Development & Alumni Office on +44 (0)141 330 4951 to discuss this further.

For more information about the Glasgow Centre for International Development please see the GCID website:

Web: http://www.glasgow.ac.uk/gcid/
E-mail: gcidadmin@gla.ac.uk

Steve Tiesdell Student Endowment Fund

The Steve Tiesdell Student Endowment Fund has been established in memory of Dr Steve Tiesdell (1964-2011), Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Glasgow and one of the UK’s leading academic urban designers, who died on 30 June 2011, aged 47.

Steve was brought up in East Anglia and studied at the University of Nottingham, from where he gained a BA in Architecture & Environmental Design in 1985, a Bachelor of Architecture in 1988 and an MA in Environmental Planning in 1989. He worked briefly for Tibbalds Munro, qualifying as a chartered architect in 1990, before then returning to Nottingham as a Lecturer in Planning (Design).  In 1998, Steve became a Chartered Town Planner. That year, he moved to the University of Sheffield and thence on to the University of Aberdeen in 2000, where he was appointed to a Senior Lectureship in Land Economy. By then, his expertise was becoming widely known in the UK and abroad. He gained his PhD in 1999, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2000, and held a Visiting Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania in the US in 2003. In 2005, he moved on to his last academic appointment at the University of Glasgow.

Throughout his career, Steve was at the forefront of re-interpreting and re-energising urban design as a means to transform people’s lives for the better by creating places in which they could thrive. His strong commitment to social justice was reflected in the importance he attached to urban regeneration and he viewed he viewed urban design as a specific illustration of public policy.

Although passionate about academic enquiry, he never took himself too seriously – his self-deprecating sense of humour was frequently used to good effect. So many people have remarked how much they enjoyed their lively discussions with Steve about academic matters and indeed much more, and will long remember those chances to share a drink or a meal and appreciate his company. In many ways, he was an old-fashioned conversationalist – keen to listen as much as to talk – but always liable to inject new insight and new direction into any discussion.  His widespread popularity among colleagues and students alike reflected his own generosity of time and his keenness to share and debate ideas. He was well known for his collegiality as a colleague.

The inaugural Dr Steve Tiesdell Student Prize for the best Masters student in Urban Studies was awarded in November 2012. The funds raised in memory of Steve will enable this prize to be awarded in perpetuity.  

Donations are still welcome to the Steve Tiesdell Student Endowment Fund and can be made:

• By completing an online donation form