In Memory of Professor Rosemary Deem, OBE

Rosemary made a lasting impact on the Council. During her time as Chair, she famously took the 2017 UKCGE Annual Conference to Porto, Portugal, creating space for significant discussion of postgraduate education and research across European borders.

She was a strong advocate for doctoral candidates and an important mentor to many undertaking research into doctoral studies, higher education and equality in educational settings. Rosemary remained actively engaged in the work of the Council after her retirement and continued to contribute generously to UKCGE events and conferences until very recently. She was the first woman to Chair the UK Council for Graduate Education.

Dr Gill Houston and Professor Pam Denicolo, former UKCGE Chair and former member of the Board of Trustees, remember Rosemary:

“Rosemary was our colleague and friend for many years. We admired her dedication to higher education, to supporting postgraduates, and to advocating for women. We will miss her directness, generosity and willingness to stand up for what she thought was right. Higher education has lost a wonderful advocate and we a sincere and stimulating companion-in-arms.”

As the current Chair of UKCGE, and the third woman to hold this role, I recognise the path Rosemary helped to forge. Her groundbreaking work shaped doctoral education in both policy and practice. She defended with ferocity the distinct needs and identity of the doctoral community, refusing to allow doctoral education to be subsumed within the concerns of taught higher education. She was equally committed to advancing women into leadership, to the civic mission of universities, and to the potential of the doctorate to help enact that mission.

Rosemary leaves an important legacy in UKCGE and across the wider doctoral education community. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family, friends, colleagues and the many doctoral researchers she taught, mentored and championed.