A Golden Globe Award-winning actress, China’s Athlete of the Century and the founder of the first women's Hall of Residence at the University of Nottingham are among those whose pictures will hang in an exhibition to diversify portraiture at the university.
The exhibition, which is launched on International Women’s Day, will be on display in the University’s Trent Building for the next year.
It is the start of a wider campaign led by Professor Jeremy Gregory, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Arts, to raise the visibility and profile of women in Nottingham including students, graduates, academics, managers and professional service staff.
It builds on the success of Wonderful Women, a video which celebrates women’s achievements and emerging female leaders at the University, and the appointment of Professor Shearer West, the first female Vice-Chancellor at Nottingham.
The 14 photographic portraits feature aspiring women with a strong connection to the City and the University such as Florence Boot, former partner at Boots the Chemist and a campaigner for women’s rights to Higher Education. She provided the first hostel for University Students in Nottingham and the first female hall of residence at the University – Florence Boot Hall.
BBC presenter Emma Barnett, a University of Nottingham alumna, said she was proud to be part of the campaign. She said: "It's a real privilege to have my mug photographed alongside such an illustrious group! Up the women I say. "It may be 100 years since the first group of women won the right to vote in this country - but we still have a long way to go until full gender equality is achieved in society, not just the law. Huge thanks to Nottingham University for nurturing my love of debate and challenging the status quo."
Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping, actress Ruth Wilson, Brigitte Scammell -Professor in Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, and Georgina Wilding the first Young Poet Laureate under the UNESCO City of Literature, also feature.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West said:”I am delighted that the University of Nottingham’s past, present and future leaders are being represented in this way. Successful women featured in prominent places are great role models for younger women and it is right that we celebrate them."
Professor Gregory said: “We were fortunate to have a long list of women to choose from for this exhibition. This is just the beginning of a new project to diversify portraiture and raise the profile of women who contribute to the success of the University working across many different roles in professional and academic services, alongside our talented student and alumnae community. We intend to commission more portraits in the coming months.”
The project is one of a number of initiatives taking place at the University, and at its campuses in China and Malaysia, in celebration of International Women’s Day. A conference is being held with Nottingham Trent University along with the launch of the Nottingham Women Expert guide and network, and a Women in Sport dinner.
Georgina Wilding, UNESCO City of Literature Young Poet Laureate, is set to read a poem written to celebrate the event. At the formal launch members of Nottingham New Theatre will perform an excerpt from the play Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale, and choir Coro Sorelle, conducted by second-year Music student Katie Temple, will sing a special composition by third-year music student Madeleine Pettit ‘Dear Mother’.
After the exhibition ends the portraits will appear on the walls of relevant Schools and Faculties as a constant inspiration for those living, working and studying there.
The full list of sitters is as follows:
- Daphne Priestly OBE, JP, DL - BA Sociology 1954
- Dame Mary Marsh DBE –BSc Geography 1968
- Ruth Wilson – BA History, DLitt, 2003
- Professor Karen Cox – PhD Nursing 1999
- Dr Deng Yaping DLitt, MRes Contemporary Chinese Studies 2002
- Kelly Vere – MA Higher Education 2011
- Stacy Johnson
- Professor Brigitte Scammell -MmedSci Clinical Education 2008
- Emma Barnett – BA History & Politics 2006
- Hannah Reid – BA Art History & English Studies 2011
- Dr Amanda Horton-Mastin – PhD Chemistry 1988 & BSc Chemistry 1983
- Georgina Wilding – BA Creative & Professional Writing 2015
- Florence Boot
- Dr Janet Folkes
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Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…