January 2025 – WEST

Honorary Graduate Patrick Doyle’s Five Best Film Scores

29Jan

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Honorary Graduates

Honorary Graduate Patrick Doyle’s Five Best Film Scores

Patrick Doyle’s five best film scores – including his pick of an undiscovered gem David Scott, University of the West of Scotland Scottish musician Patrick Doyle is an acclaimed composer of over 60 feature film scores with many attendant accolades, honours and awards. I first met him in 2001 while making a now long-vanished series on movie music called Silverscreen Beats for BBC Radio. I visited him at his office on the Shepperton lot in Surrey. There, I watched, enchanted, as he flitted between desk and piano bringing his creativity to life with his incredible musicality and riotous humour illustrating scores like Carlito’s Way (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Gosford Park (2001). So years later, when the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) presented Doyle with an ...

Graduate Named Caledonia Gladiators Head Coach

28Jan

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Alumni Stories

Graduate Named Caledonia Gladiators Head Coach

UWS graduate and former team captain, Jonny Bunyan, has been appointed Head Coach of the Caledonia Gladiators men’s basketball team. BSc (Hons) Sport Development graduate Jonny was a pivotal figure in the team’s achievements during his career with Caledonia Gladiators and was awarded a testimonial last summer for his service to the club. The club said: “We are pleased to announce that Jonny Bunyan has been appointed as Head Coach of the men’s team. “Jonny’s long-standing experience within the club makes him well-placed to guide the team through this period of transition. “The former point guard steps up from his current role as Club Development Officer and will lead a coaching team that will provide the necessary stability and focus as we look to move forward both on and off th...

24Jan

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Profiles

Alumni interview: Linda Brooks

"Paisley was not just an education for me, it was a life experience allowing a great chance to transition to an adult capable of taking on a career in science." To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on 11 February 2025, we are shining a light on an inspiring graduate who is paving the way for future generations of women and girls to succeed in the field of science and STEM. International Day of Women and Girls in Science is an annual observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, to promote the full and equal access and participation of females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In this alumni profile we hear from Biology graduate (1987) Linda Brooks who is Research Services Manager EMEA at Thermofisher Scientific. Tell us ...

Professor John Struthers: A 46 year career at University of West of Scotland

24Jan

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News

Professor John Struthers: A 46 year career at University of West of Scotland

This month we hear from recently retired Professor John Sruthers about his career at the University. It is with some trepidation that I write this piece about my long career at the university which commenced in December 1978. How is it possible to sum up such a long period of time in just a few words? I will attempt to do so. I arrived at the then Paisley College of Technology after almost two years spent as a young lecturer in economics at the fledgling (and now highly ranked) University of Ilorin in Nigeria where I had been instrumental in helping to establish a new economics department. The difference in the weather (and the culture) was striking. Everyone in Africa greets you. No-one in the UK did so, which I found strange although in 2025 Britain, the impact of multiculturalism ...

International Graduates’ Book Based on their Experiences in Scotland

23Jan

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News

International Graduates’ Book Based on their Experiences in Scotland

Two UWS graduates have written a book about their time studying abroad in Scotland which is due to be published in March 2025. Author Karen Spears Zacharias and poet E.J. Wade, both US citizens, met while studying at UWS Ayr Campus in 2022 and their new book called The Devil’s Pulpit & Other Mostly True Scottish Misadventures is part travelogue, part memoir, part poetry, and in outlandish Scottish storytelling tradition, a wee bit of winging it. Karen commented: “This book is a compilation of people we met and adventures we took while studying on the Ayr campus. “We began work on this project as part of our coursework in Media Studies and we are very excited about the book.” E.J. and Karen roamed from the depths of Finnich Glen to the outcroppings of Dunure Castle. Som...

23Jan

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News

A Burns Celebration

University of the West of Scotland was delighted to host alumni and friends for the annual Burns Celebration recently at UWS Paisley Campus. Following a welcome drinks reception, guests were seated in the Chancellor’s Hall to enjoy haggis, neeps & tatties, poetry and musical performances. Dr Billy Kay, renowned Scottish writer and broadcaster from Ayrshire who has dedicated his career to celebrating Scotland’s cultural heritage, performed Burns’ ‘Tam o' Shanter’ to an enthralled audience. Known for his work on Scots language and literature, Billy has spoken extensively on Robert Burns, including a prestigious lecture at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Billy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from UWS in 2009. As tradition dictates, the haggis was piped into the hall...

Alumni Celebrated in The King’s New Year Honours List

7Jan

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Alumni Stories

Alumni Celebrated in The King’s New Year Honours List

Graduates from University of the West of Scotland (UWS) are among the unsung heroes recognised for making outstanding contributions to their communities in The King's New Year Honours List for 2025. Graduate and former Chief Executive of NHS Lothian, Calum Campbell, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Healthcare in Scotland. Calum studied at the then University of Paisley, now UWS Paisley Campus, where he gained a Diploma in Professional Studies in Health Visiting and a BA (Hons) degree in Health Studies. He started working with the NHS in 1984, initially as a nurse, and then health visitor before moving into general management, retiring in the summer after 40 years of service. Commenting on his award, Calum said: “Whilst I am s...