A SPECIAL ceremony was held to honour a former staff member at UCS.

Sarah Meelan, former director of human resources at UCS, was finally able to receive her honorary fellow award from the university in a special ceremony held at the UCS Waterfront building in Ipswich after being unable to attend the formal graduation ceremonies in October.

Sarah was welcomed to a personal ceremony attended by friends and colleagues in celebration of the award, which recognises her contribution to the development of UCS, specifically during its transition from Suffolk College.

Sarah was the director of human resources at UCS from September 2006 until June 2012.

Having previously worked at Suffolk College as director of HR and estates, Sarah joined the UCS project team – a group of 20 people who helped to develop UCS as it is now.

During her service, Sarah oversaw the transfer of 360 staff to the new university, supported the recruitment of the present provost, developed a wide range of policies, procedures and practices and implemented structural change.

Sarah also contributed to the development of UCS through her leadership of a major capital works programme, which resulted in the completion of the James Hehir Building and the refurbishment of older buildings on the campus.

Others who received honorary awards from UCS in 2012 included John Burton, co-founder of World Land Trust, Britain’s former number one female tennis player Elena Baltacha, founding director of Bloomsbury Publishing, Liz Calder, and Michael Morpurgo OBE, author of War Horse.