Vice-Chancellor announces her 2020 medal recipients

History lecturer Dr Rob Lambert and history students Georgia Cavanagh and Courtney Clarke are awarded the prestigious medal.

The Vice Chancellor's Medal recognises the exceptional achievements of the staff and students who have delivered the most exceptional achievement or made the most outstanding contribution to our University community. For the entire university, there were just 21 medals given for staff and 14 to students, with two additional for a university team and an external recipient. 

A huge congratulations to the medal winners from History, as you can see below, they are very deserved winners. Other winners from humanities include Professor Jonathan Tallant, Head of School and Dr Catherine Hocking, Head of Music Programming.

Employed in two schools Dr Rob Lambert is a lecturer in Environmental History, Tourism and the Environment and is also a University Environmental Ambassador. In 2012 he co-founded A Focus on Nature which with more than 3,000 members is now widely recognised as the most important youth conservation network in the UK. Using his connections within the British wildlife constituency he garnered support for young people via mentoring, equipment donations, events and training; many young people seek his advice about conservation career pathways. His role as Vice-President of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has at its heart the reinvigoration of a 50-year relationship between University and Trust which benefits staff, students and city/county residents alike. In 2018, working with a colleague in Geography, Rob instigated and hosts the now annual Nottingham Environment Conference, showcasing the environmental research being done across the campuses as well as connecting up the University with key partners in the NGO business and government agency world. Rob has also appeared in major BBC TV and Radio environmental and wildlife documentaries while proudly displaying his University affiliation.

A Student Switch Off Ambassador and waste auditor for halls in her first year, and a speaker at the Nottingham Environment Conference in her second year, now in her final year Georgia has undertaken a number of roles, including: General Secretary of the Environment and Social Justice Network, President of Sustainability Society, Partner Relations Executive at Foodprint, a Groundwork Youth Network Mentor, and a volunteer at the Wildlife Trusts. She has grown the Sustainability society to nearly 200 members and has promoted the University commitment to green initiatives through work with People and Planet, the Wildlife Trusts, and the City Council. She has so far nearly raised £100 for both Foodprint and the Australian wildfires. For Foodprint, she has personally overseen the launch of Foodprint on Wheels. RECIPIENTS OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR’S MEDAL 2020 7 For the ESJ Network she has aided in furthering the university's environmental initiatives, resulting in the declaration of a climate emergency and Portland's Zero-Waste Shop. In her current internship with the University's Rights Lab, she is working on papers concerning new-found links between modern slavery and environmental degradation.

In addition to maintaining her very high standards of academic work as part of her degree, Courtney’s charity work in Tanzania with MEDILIFE, has also been recognised by the University for this prestigious award. MEDILIFE is a charity which aims to provide medicine, education, and development initiatives to low income communities across Africa and South America, and Courtney has set up a branch at university, writing a mission statement, recruiting, motivating and training her team. She did this in conjunction with her work for another charity, PhabSoc, where, as external liaison officer, she organises trips out for vulnerable young people. Courtney is an inspiration to her fellow students and academic staff across the School.