A fond farewell to Dr Cawood
I've had a very emotional afternoon as Dr Ian Cawood from Newman Univeristy is leaving this year for a new post at Stirling University. Ian's been at Newman for, literally, as long as I've been alive and to see him leave is an end of an era!
Ian's been a fantastic lecturer, head of department, and mentor for the three years I've been privileged to study under his guidance. He's had such an impact on the university, his department, and all his students that I can't believe he's leaving, it felt like he was a fixed feature of history at Newman. It's only through Ian's dedication and passion for history and the university that the history course is as fantastic as it is. In the last 10 years the programme has had 100% student satisfaction four times and never fallen below 95%, and the course is currently the 13th best in the country which is due to his hard work and love for his subject.
Despite the three hour tutorials, over running lectures, and countless trips to 'intellectually stimulating historical landmarks' (which are now just fields) in the rain, I'll never forget all the help and guidance he's given me over the last couple of years. If anyone reading this happens to be fortunate to have Ian as a lecturer at Stirling, remember how lucky you are in those three hours tutorials! I've never been interested in Victorian politics but Ian's vast array of knowledge and dedication to his students is astounding. Lecturers like him are few and far between and I'm grateful to have had the pleasure to study under his guidance.
So thank you Ian for everything you've done for me over the last couple of years, I'm incredibly grateful for the time you've spent helping me be the best academic I can and the knowledge you've shared about the most random of topic! Although you'll probably never see this, I wish you well with your career in the future and I'll eagerly be following your future publications to see what bizarre topic peaks your interest next!
