The team
Dr Stan Taylor (Academic Development and Head of CARD)
Stan was educated at the Universities of Newcastle, Oxford and Warwick. He taught and researched in the social sciences at Warwick for many years before moving into an academic staff development role at that university. Subsequently he moved to Newcastle where he was Director of Quality Enhancement and Programme Director for the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. He moved to Durham in 2004 and has subsequently been responsible for supporting academic staff to develop and enhance their practice.
He is interested in all aspects of academic practice, but his specialist field is doctoral education, where he has a number of publications including (with Nigel Beasley) A Handbook for Doctoral Supervisors (RoutledgeFalmer 2005).
He is an Honorary Fellow of the School of Education at Durham, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a reviewer for Senior Fellowships, an external examiner for postgraduate certificates in academic practice, co-convenor of the Standing Conference in Academic Practice and an auditor for the Quality Assurance Agency.
Stan can be contacted at Stan Taylor. or extension 46525.
Dr Lowry McComb (Researcher Development and Deputy-Head of CARD)
Lowry completed a BSc and DPhil at the University of Sussex, and also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the Open University. He has held a series of teaching and research posts (mainly at Durham University) where he is currently responsible for early career researcher training and a Senior Fellow in Physics. He also teaches part-time for the Open University, mainly on undergraduate physics and astronomy courses.
His teaching interests are wide ranging. In physics and astronomy he is a firm believer in the value of practical work and much of his teaching is laboratory-focussed. His work with postgraduates (and formerly with undergraduates) has focussed on the skills and employability agendas. He has contributed to an undergraduate textbook on observational astronomy (Observing the Universe, ed. Andrew Norton, CUP, 2005). He is also an active researcher in very high energy gamma-ray astronomy.
Lowry is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is a reviewer for National Teaching Fellowships. He is a committee member of the Institute of Physics Higher Education Group. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal for Researcher Development.
Lowry can be contacted at Lowry McComb or on extension 44581.
Dr Eleanor Loughlin (Academic and Researcher Development)
Eleanor completed a MA in Fine Art and a PhD in Classical Archaeology at Edinburgh University. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the Open University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Online Tutoring from City University. She taught and researched at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities before moving into a graduate training role at the University of York. She moved to Durham in 2006 and has subsequently been responsible for supporting academic and researcher development.
She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a reviewer for Teaching Development Grants, and is co-author (with Elena Martin, Lowry McComb and Stan Taylor) of Induction for Postgraduate Research Students (SRHE 2010).
Eleanor can be contacted at Eleanor Loughlin or on extension 44678.
Ms Carolyn McAlhone (Programme Administrator, Researcher Development)
Carolyn joined the university in 2003 as PA to the Principal of Ustinov College and Graduate Dean. She later became programme administrator for the Graduate Training Team.
Carolyn is the first point of contact for the researcher development programme and undertakes a wide range of duties including managing the day-to-day running of the programme, maintaining the financial records, diary management, arranging venues, hospitality, producing workshop materials and recording attendance.
Carolyn organises events including postgraduate research student induction, the poster competition for postgraduate researchers, the local NE GRADSchool, the Enterprise School and the Durham Blueprint competition.
She administers the internship applications, conference and grant awards, business creation fellowship, and the bookings for the induction programme for postgraduate teachers.
Carolyn can be contacted at Carolyn McAlhone or on extension 44576.
Mrs Catherine Laidlaw (Programme Administrator, Academic Development)
Catherine began her career at Durham in 1994 and worked for Human Resources before transferring to the Academic Staff Development Office in 2004. She administers the academic staff development programme, including booking rooms, liaising with internal and external facilitators, arranging hospitality, maintaining financial records, making up packs for participants, and providing summaries of evaluations.
She also administers the University's awards for Enhancing the Student Learning Experience and for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and Doctoral Supervision respectively. Along with Carolyn, Catherine administers the induction programme for postgraduate teachers and the Durham University Learning and Teaching Award.
Catherine is the first point of contact for enquiries to support academic staff to develop and enhance their practice. Catherine can be contacted at Catherine Laidlaw or on extension 46109.
Please note that researcher development is also supported by: Dr David Heading (CIS); Mrs June Kay (Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre); Mrs Laura Jeffrey (Library); and Ms Janet Lavery and Ms Elaine Tan (Learning Technology Team, CIS).
The CARD office is located on the Lower Ground Floor of Rowan, Mountjoy Centre.