Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln has found a Vice Chancellor to replace the present role keeper after retirement.
The Rev Professor Peter Neil will succeed Professor Muriel Robinson OBE in April, once she retires after 10 years at BG.
Professor Neil is currently Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, Health and Social Sciences in the University of the West of Scotland.
He is highly regarded in Scottish education within the fields of education and theology. He will begin his new role in May 2013.
Professor Neil said: “I am delighted at this opportunity and feel very honoured to be given the responsibility of leading BG at this exciting time in its history.
“I have followed the progress of this gem of an institution for many years and I very much look forward to working with the staff and students through the next phase in its development.”
The Chair of BG’s University Council, Haydn Beeken, said: “Peter stood out amongst a strong field of candidates for his academic and leadership track record.
“His passion for BG’s ethos shone through the selection process and BG’s governors are confident that he is the right person to lead the university through the next stage of its development.”
The Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, who was also involved in the selection process, added: “This is an excellent appointment which will ensure that BG continues to develop in its valuable role as a Church of England university and to play its part in the life of the city and region.”
Neil has a PhD in Education from Queen’s University Belfast, where he has also been a senior lecturer in Education. During this time, he also started studying theology.
In 2003, he landed the role of director of Education and Lifelong learning at Aberystwyth University, then later became Head of the School of Education at the University of the West of Scotland.
BG Lincoln VC Professor Muriel Robinson said: “I shall be sad to leave BG in April but will take with me very fond memories of exceptional staff and students, and a feeling of great pride in all we have achieved together.
“It is wonderful to feel that the university will be in such capable hands for the future.
“Peter will be a real asset to the city and brings enormous experience of working with communities in relation to higher education. I wish him every success in taking BG to the next stage of its future.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite