Keele Society Advisory Committee
The Keele Society was founded on 1st July 1954. The Society was created by the Class of 1954 who were graduating with the very first degrees awarded by the University College of North Staffordshire. The Society intended to organise a reunion weekend, an annual newsletter and sporting fixtures with students.
Membership was open to "past members of the College (past undergraduates, graduates, past research students, past members of the Academic Staff, and past members of Senior Administrative Staff". In 1960 membership was extended to "members of the Brewhouse (i.e. senior secretaries and technicians) and senior permanent officials of the Students' Union." The Society was run by volunteer alumni and staff members, among whom Brian Stokes (1964) was prominent.
The AGM on 17th September 1971 showed an intention to "transfer control of the Society to the University." From that point, the Society was usually run part-time by a member of staff and alumni volunteers.
By 1999 a Development Office had taken over many of the Society's functions, which were summarised as "Updating the Record, Publications and Reunions". The Society was effectively discontinued at this point and the University took responsibility for alumni relations and frequently debated the idea of fundraising as an additional activity.
The North American Foundation for Keele University, Inc., was founded in 2001 (and renamed the Keele in the USA Foundation, Inc., in 2013) as a way to promote alumni relations and fundraising among American and Canadian alumni.
The Keele Society Advisory Committee was established by the University Council in 2003 as a successor to the Keele Society. It operated until 2015 as a means of formal liaison between the University and alumni volunteer representatives.
The first systematic fundraising appeal by telephone created the Keele Key Fund in 2007 and this became the main channel for UK alumni to support the university through their monetary gifts. Annual telephone appeals (photo left) followed from 2009 to 2013 when the active fundraising programme was scaled down. This was revived in 2017 with a new strategy to engage and involve alumni to support the mission of the University in many different ways.
Photo below: Three long-serving members - Dr Sibani Roy, Brian Walker, Sarah Huggins, at the Final Meeting 2015
Keele Society Advisory Committee Members (* Founding Member): Richard Float (1955) / Brian Walker (1966)* / Richard Frampton (1984)* / Helen Ogden (1991)* / Ximena Canter (1996)* / Chris Henshaw (1996)* / Sarah Huggins (1996)* / Emma Broome (2000) / Sibani Roy (2000) / Sarah Malcolm (2001) / Adunola Okupe (2006) / Matt Bowling (2008) / Chris Brand (2008) / Helen Rylands (2009) / Roger Weston (2009) / Samantha Gould (2010) / Richard Hill (2011) / Megan Jones (2012) / Olly Williams (2013) / Becky Snape (2014)
Keele Society Advisory Committee Chairs: Mr Simon Morris, Secretary & Registrar / Professor Chris Phillipson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor / Professor Marilyn Andrews, Pro-Vice-Chancellor / Professor Fiona Cownie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor
Keele Society Advisory Committee Secretaries: Ros Gallagher 2003-2005 / John Easom 2005-2014 / Emma Gregory 2014-2015
Photo right: Founding Members of the Keele Society Advisory Committee in 2003: Brian Walker, Sarah Huggins, Ximena Canter, Richard Frampton, Helen Ogden and Chris Henshaw
Alumni Relations / Fundraising / Development Team Members since 2003
1999-2003 Chris Wain / 2005-date John Easom (1981) / 2005-2007 Hannah Crush / 2005-2005 temporary Line Baardvik / 2005- 2006 Leia Bassett (2001) / 2006-2007 part-time Janet Caruso / 2006-2012 part-time Nettie Payn (Honorary 2012) / 2007-2013 Robin Cross / 2012-2014 Dawn Beeston (2011) / 2012-date Emma Gregory / 2015-date Lauren Huss / 2014-2016 Hazel Russell / 2015-date Stephanie Stanistreet / 2017-date Natalie Lloyd