In Memorium

Felicity Gilligan

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Felicity Gilligan, Programme Administrator in the School of Education from 2009 - 2016. Felicity passed away on 29th May at St Luke's Hospice following a short battle with cancer.

Felicity responded to the news of her diagnosis and the treatment she would need to undergo with her usual determination. She was inspired to start a fundraising campaign to raise money for Cancer Research UK and, with a love of shoes, she vowed to wear a different pair of shoes every time she received treatment. Posting on social media, Felicity attracted a response from across the world, raising hundreds of pounds for the charity. She is pictured here with the newspaper article featuring her fundraising campaign.

Felicity was a much valued colleague and we will always remember her love for life, her infectious smile and not least, her immaculate sense of style.

Felicity's tribute page has been set up to raise money for St Luke's Hospice here in Sheffield.

Jennifer Lavia

We were very sad to hear the news that Jennifer Lavia, an esteemed colleague on The School of Education's Caribbean programme, passed away on 23rd April 2019.

Jennifer was associated with Sheffield and the Caribbean programme from the start in the 1980s - as the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Teachers' Union she was one of the people instrumental in inviting Sheffield to work in the region. She did her PhD by remote location with Sheffield and then went on to be the organising representative, responsibile for the programme at first in Trinidad and Tobago and then in St Lucia and Jamaica. Eventually, in the early 2000s, Jennifer took up a post at Sheffield where she worked for a number of years directing the Caribbean programme and supervising doctoral students amongst other things. Her influence on the school in terms of raising questions about decolonising research was significant. When she returned to Trinidad she took up a senior post at the University of the West Indies/Roytec School of Business and Applied Studies.

Friend and close colleague, Professor Pat Sikes (pictured with Jennifer, bottom left), said "Since I first heard of Jennifer's death at around 5.30 I have been receiving messages from ex students throughout the world. News travels fast among Caribbean communities and Jennifer touched a lot of people."

Jennifer is pictured (top left) with Kentry Jean Pierre, an alumnus of The University of Sheffield and a holder of the Vice-Chancellor's Caribbean doctoral studentship.

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