Posted on 21 April 2010
Kate Sullivan
The University of Wales is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Kate Sullivan, who will assume the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor for Quality. Kate will be leading all aspects of the University’s work on the quality and standards of its awards.
Hailing from Northern Ireland, Kate originally trained as a nurse but made the transition to nursing education in 1980, where she reached the position of senior nurse tutor. In 1992, Kate was awarded the Department of Health and Social Services DHSS Northern Ireland PhD Nursing Research Fellowship. Midway through her doctoral research, Kate took up post as Lecturer in Nursing at the University of Ulster before finishing her studies there in 1997.
Having accrued a number of teaching awards and nominations, by 2001, Kate had achieved the status of Senior Lecturer. She spent a number of years working with many American institutions, lending her expertise to – amongst others - the School of Nursing, University of Hampton, Virginia and acting in an advisory capacity to the Faculty of Nursing, Cedarville University, in Ohio.
Her credentials are as distinguished in her native Northern Ireland as they are across the Atlantic. Kate has vast experience in interdisciplinary work in palliative care – an area of study which aims to reduce, or in some instances cure, the severity of disease symptoms, such as the side effects associated with cancer. Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support and Action Cancer are among the institutions to have benefited from her collaboration.
As well as chairing both cancer and palliative care research groups, she has also published research papers pertaining to these areas. Moreover she has led the development of both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in specialised palliative care in joint ventures between the University of Ulster and Northern Ireland Hospice; and Glyndŵr University and Nightingale House Hospice (NHHW), Wrexham.
Kate moved to Wales in 2005 to take up a position as Professor and Head of the School of Health and Social Care in the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (NEWI), before being promoted to Assistant Principal, Undergraduate Studies in the same year and to Pro Vice-Chancellor (Quality Assurance and Enhancement) subsequent to NEWI achieving University status as Glyndŵr University in 2008. On her retirement from Glyndŵr University in January 2010, Kate was awarded Professor Emerita of the University.
On assuming her new role, Kate said:
"I am delighted to be joining the University of Wales at a very exciting time for the institution. I am confident that my experience will enable me to contribute in a significant way to all aspects of the university’s work on quality and standards. The landscape of British universities looks set to shift dramatically over the coming years and I hope my input will ensure the university is well positioned to reap the rewards of the resulting opportunities."
Vice-Chancellor Marc Clement commented:
“We have been fortunate indeed to secure Kate Sullivan’s services for this pivotal post. She brings the mix of rigour, determination and flair which is needed to nurture the highest quality within our ever-developing student-centred environment and I am delighted that she has chosen to work with the University of Wales.”
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Notes to Editors:
For more information about the University of Wales, please visit: www.wales.ac.uk
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