Education Diary: Durham's bursar in the dock
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Print
Email
One rarely associates Britain's elite universities with the sordid world of crime. But a bursar at Durham University has recently found herself in the dock, accused of pilfering the tidy sum of £519,583.95 from the coffers of St Chad's College. Last week, Christine Starkey, 59, appeared before magistrates in County Durham accused of taking the money from the college's bank account and transferring it to her own between 18 April 2002 and 5 December last year. Starkey is also charged with converting criminal property, namely money, into goods and other items.
As bursar, Starkey was responsible for the financing of the college and the staff payroll, and one of our spies says that she ruled the college with an iron fist, even complaining about students giving away free drinks at the college bar. Starkey is now said to be concerned that she has been separated from her husband, and wishes to rejoin him in sunny Spain, where they had both been living. If convicted, she faces nine years in prison.
Last autumn, we reported that the newly appointed vice-chancellor of Warwick University, Professor Nigel Thrift, was looking to set up a rival to the Man Booker Prize. Well, here it is. The university is launching its very own £50,000 writing prize, creatively named the Warwick Prize for Writing. The biennial award will honour "an excellent and substantial piece of writing in the English language, in any genre or form", according to a press release. The theme will change every two years – for 2009, it is "complexity". The award seeks to identify excellence and innovation in new writing, and hopes to encourage writers to explore such questions as: "How does writing evolve? Where is its moving edge? Is all writing, at its best, a type of creative writing?" The winning submission will "represent an intellectual, scientific and/or imaginative advance and be written with an energy and clarity that make it accessible and attractive to a wide audience".
In addition to the £50,000 prize, the winning author will have the opportunity to take up a short placement at the university. To find out more visit: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/ prizeforwriting
Feeling low? Apparently, six million workers suffer "low points" in their jobs each day. Even more people get to the stage in their careers where they would like to "give back", but they can't face the pay cut. Well, how about this: the Vodafone Group Foundation is searching for four people to put their jobs on hold for a year and take their skills and passion to work for their favourite charities. Through the World of Difference programme, the foundation will pay four individuals up to £25,000 towards their outgoings as well as £20,000 in expenses. Applicants can either choose to work for organisations based overseas or in their local areas, as long as they are UK-registered charities. To take part, an online application form can be filled in at www.vodafonefoundation.org. Application closes on 31 July.
Then again, there is more to life than charity. An interesting project run by the City of London Corporation since 2005 is introducing 12- and 13-year-olds to life in the City. The City 4 A Day Scheme aims to stimulate children in under-performing schools around London by exposing them to the exciting world of banking. The plan is to raise their expectations and put them on the path towards good GCSE grades, higher education, and a job in the City. Visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/City4aday (see "regeneration projects") for more information.
