the May 2015 Alumni Newsletter

The Newsletter of The University of Buckingham Alumni Office | May 2015
Dear All,
I do hope you are well.
This month we are sending out the monthly update in a new format.
We would be very grateful for your feedback, and will continue using this layout, if it works
well for everyone.
Hoping to see you soon,
With very best wishes,
Anne
The University is delighted to welcome Sir Anthony Seldon as the new Vice-Chancellor! It
was announced this month that Sir Anthony Seldon has been appointed as the new
Vice-Chancellor of the University. Taking over from Professor Terence Kealey, Sir Anthony is a
political historian, commentator on education and contemporary Britain, and author. Sir
Anthony founded the charity Action for Happiness alongside Lord Layard, is governor at the
Royal Shakespeare Company, and has been connected with the University for many years,
since his father, Arthur Seldon CBE, helped to found the University.
Sir Anthony will take up his position as Vice Chancellor in September this year, taking over
from Professor Terence Kealey who left in the summer of 2014 to pursue other projects.
In Buckingham we have been hearing a lot about the terrible earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday 25th April,
affecting people from many different nationalities. On behalf of the Alumni Office staff and everyone at the University
we wanted to say that we are thinking of all of our Alumni and do hope that neither you nor your family or friends have been
affected by this disaster.
Yolande Hinson, Office Administrator for Economics and International Studies, sadly passed
away on Monday 27th April at the Florence Nightingale Hospice, Stoke Mandeville. It is hard to
put into words how we all feel but I have spoken to the family and expressed our deepest regrets.
She was a wonderful colleague to both staff and students and I know we will all miss her
enormously. Yolande’s funeral will be at 3:30, Tuesday 12th May at St Bernadine's Catholic Church,
Chandos Road, Buckingham. Note: this is likely to clash with the school’s coming out so parking
would be very difficult.
We are setting up a Memorial Fund to raise money for a Memorial Bench to be put outside
Yolande’s office window overlooking the river. Should the money raised exceed the cost we will
split the surplus between the Florence Nightingale Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support. Donations can be made either
through this office (Melissa Wiley, AdRB 013) or Reception, Yeomanry House.
Michael J. McCrostie
Head of Economics and International Studies
2nd June – Alumni Breakfast
Time: 8.00am – 9.00am
Venue: Royal Overseas League, Park Place, London SW1A 1LR
We are delighted that Federico Marescotti (Economics ’80) has kindly offered to give a talk on his career since he graduated
from Buckingham. Now CEO of VELA Capital Srl, his experience of working in the financial markets around the world will be
fascinating to hear.
Mr Marescotti worked at the beginning of his career in the Department of Finance and Corporate Bond of Hambros Bank
(London) and Finanziaria Indosuez (Milan). In 1986 he founded a company active in the field of environmental services, which
in 1990 was partially sold to RWE AG, serving until 1998 the post of CEO of RWE Southern Europe.
Mr Marescotti started a new career in PE with a Swedish fund and then became President and CEO of the Friulia, a € 1.5Bn
closed end fund investing in Northern Italy and ex Eastern European Countries. Today he runs his own PE advisory
company ,sits in the Board of two major Investment companies listed on the LSE :JP Morgan European Smaller companies
and Dunedin Enterprises . He also sits in the Board of one major German Family company, ADCO, and on an Italian one, Illy
Group and he is advisor of a US Based PE group.
Please book your place by emailing Lucy at [email protected] before the places are all gone.
19th June – Alumni Summer Party
Venue: R.S Hispaniola Bar and Restaurant, Victoria Embankment, London
WC2N 5DJ
Time: 7pm – midnight
Ticket Price: £40
Please join us aboard the R.S Hispaniola for this year’s Alumni Summer Party! There will
be a reception drink when you arrive, followed by a BBQ Buffet. There will also be a pay
bar and a disco after dinner, so you can dance the night away with your friends.
If you would like to buy a ticket, please click on the link below:
http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/event/alumni-summer-party-2015/
We will be adding a list of names of those attending. If you don’t wish your name to appear on the list, please do let us know.
Very much hope to see you there.
8th October - 1991 – 1995 Reunion Dinner
Time: 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Church House, Dean’s Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ
Ticket Price: £55
Please join us at Church House, Westminster, for the 1991-1995 Reunion Dinner.
If you graduated from the University of Buckingham between 1991 and 1995, then you are
invited to attend this year’s reunion dinner. The evening will consist of a drinks reception on
arrival, followed by a three course dinner. It will be a wonderful chance to catch up with your
fellow graduates, and current and former staff. A list of the names of those attending will be
posted on the website.
If you have any photographs from your time at Buckingham that you would like us to
share with other guests, we will be producing a small leaflet for the event and would appreciate it if you could send them over
to Lucy at [email protected]. We do hope to see you there!
To buy your ticket please click the link below.
http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/event/1991-1995-reunion-dinner/
The Alumni Office is reviving the old University of Buckingham Mentoring System. Whether you are a current student or
alumnus of the University you can contact us for help and/or advice in your chosen career path, and we will connect you with
a mentor. This service is designed to help our students/alumni to flourish. We currently have mentors in computing, marketing and English language skills.
If you are interested in connecting with a mentor, please send us an email stating which area you are interested in and what
kind of work you are looking for, and we will put you in contact with someone. Likewise, if you are an alumnus and would be
interested in becoming a mentor, please contact Lucy at [email protected] for more information.
Alumni are invited to nominate individuals for the Distinguished Alumnus Award which is presented each year to a
former student who has:
- Achieved distinction in their profession
- Who has given exemplary service to the University of Buckingham and/or the wider community
- Given outstanding personal or humanitarian service, locally, nationally or worldwide.
University of Buckingham staff and alumni may make one nomination each year. The deadline for nominations is Friday 22
May 2015. The award will be presented at the Alumni Summer Party on 19 June. Please complete the below form in order to
make your nomination.
http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/alumni-and-giving/distinguished-alumnus-awards
We’re delighted to announce that The University of Buckingham came 17th out of 113 in the WhatUni top University
rating! The list is based on over 20,000 student reviews submitted to the WhatUni website. For more information and to
view the full list of 113 Universities, please see:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/11555038/Top-universities-as-rated-by-students-the-list-infull.html
Students in the Psychology Department need your help to complete their research surveys! If you could spare a few
minutes to fill out some of the following surveys they would really appreciate it.

Study exploring factors that influence whether people choose e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapy when they
try to quit smoking — https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ecnrtQ

Investigation into the relationship between mindfulness, personality, emotion regulation and relationships with others
— https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PTRKMJQ

Exploring the relationship between body self-esteem and eating behaviours — https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
VJ2KRDR

Study investigating the relationship between your attitudes towards looking muscular, your personality and your
exercise routine — https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DVNG7CM
The Commercial Square has opened at Buckingham! A number of new businesses have opened on the University
campus, including Hairspirations, an Afro-Caribbean hair salon, and a new branch of Santander Bank. We also have a book
shop on campus which sells a selection of books and University merchandise.
The University of Buckingham Alumni
Annual Fund has paid half of the cost
of a new mini bus for the sports
department. Stefan Ridley (sports
officer) and Callum Roberts (assistant
sports officer) are thrilled and on behalf
of the SU and all current students, wish
to thank everyone who donated to the
Alumni Annual Fund. The mini bus will be used not only by the sports teams, but also for
other trips and outings and will benefit students and staff hugely. If you are interested in
donating to the Alumni Annual Fund please look at this link:
https://extranet.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet/ubf-aaf.aspx
The minibus has already been used to transport the University football team to away
fixtures in the North Bucks & District Football League. According to the Sports Officer, Stefan Ridley, “it’s great to finally have a
mini bus as it opens up the opportunities for organising events and activities for our students and staff”.
Mr Tino Santonocito and Dr Gurcharan Singh will be promoting the University and attending several events
in Ghana and Nigeria in June. Please see http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/international/overseas-trips/ for more
information on our overseas visits.
Dr. Frances Robinson, Director of Collaborations, visited Pakistan this
month to represent the University at the UK Education expo. Whilst there Dr.
Robinson reunited with some University Alumni and some of her past
students. Thank you to all who attended! Details of her trips can be seen here:
http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/event/pakistan-3/
(Pictured to the right is Dr. Robinson with alumnus Farah Zeba Ishtiaq, Management
Studies 2008)
This photograph was taken in the 1970s in the Franciscan Building, (this area has since become the library).
We love the fashion and can spot a few fresh-faced staff members, but would love to hear from you!
Are you in this photograph or do you recognise any classmates or lecturers? Can you remember the year it was
taken?
Email your answers to [email protected]
Tameka Burrows-Forbes (Law 1996) has been featured in the newsletter of the International Women’s Forum. Please
follow the link for more information: http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IWF-NewsletterMarch2015.pdf
Many congratulations to Suhel Abo-Hatab (MA Security and Intelligence Studies 2011) and
Mei Matsuoka on the birth of their son Calid (Cal) on 16th April 2015.
BookTaxi are offering University of Buckingham Alumni 10% discount on their taxi services in several
countries and locations. Please take a look at the link below for more information and to take
advantage of this offer!
https://extranet.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet/servicesOffers.aspx#taxi
The University of Buckingham is offering a 33% discount on course fees for all Taught Postgraduate programmes for
home and overseas applicants who hold a bachelors degree with first class honours (the degree must be recognised to
UK standards). Please call the Finance Office on 01280 820393 For more information.
If you have anything you would like to be included in the next update, please let us know.
If you are accessing this via our website and would like to receive the alumni newsletter via email, please send your
email address to [email protected] and we will send the monthly newsletter to you directly.
Anne Matsuoka
Head of Alumni Relations & Graduation
Tel:
+44 (0)1280 820338
Mob:
+44 (0)7850 645103
Email: [email protected]
Pam Lindsay
Data Coordinator
Tel:
+44 (0)1280 820133
Email: [email protected]
Lucy Cato
Re-unite on AlumNet: www.buckingham.ac.uk/alumnet
Alumni & Graduation Office Administrator
Add us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UniBuckingham
Tel:
Or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/UniBuckingham
+44 (0)1280 827522
Email: [email protected]