A leading advocate for lifelong learning has returned to the 51视频, the place that helped kickstart her higher education career more than 30 years ago.
Mary Mahoney (left) with 51视频 Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor David Green on her visit
Dr Mary Mahoney praised the transformation of the University since her time on the teaching team in the 1990s and said she was impressed by the way that it had helped in the City’s growth and regeneration of key areas.
Her return visit included the 51视频 Arena, The Hive, Severn Campus, City Campus, Art House and School of Law, as well as one of the rooms she used to teach in.
“It’s a joy to come back after all these years and see the growth and development without that sense of loss of community which was such a strong feature of the University then,” said Dr Mahoney. “It’s friendly, homely, applied, it’s everything you want from a university. It is clear that careful thought has gone into every development but with a strong focus on growth and relevance of Worcester as a city.”
Dr Mahoney, who is a governor at Walsall College, has worked in higher education, mostly teacher education, for more than three decades.
She is secretary and a trustee of the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), a body that represents the higher education lifelong learning sector to government departments, funding bodies and national organisations across the UK.
After obtaining a degree in home economics education in her Tasmania homeland, Dr Mahoney came to Worcester in the late 1980s to learn from the well-known home economics department and gain experience of teacher education in UK higher education.
However, she ended up becoming part of the team at Worcester. That experience shaped her ambitions to develop a professional career in the UK and switching focus from education to healthy public policy to show the crucial role that learning plays in all aspects of life.
Although she has visited a couple of the University’s facilities in the past, her visit has given her the overall context, she said.
“Universities talk about their role in their place but, having been here in the 1990s, it’s become a university of a place,” said Dr Mahoney. “It’s a major employer, a major contributor to the economy of Worcester and its growth.”
“It is incredible and a testament to the longevity of David [Green]’s tenure as the Vice Chancellor and his vision and his ability to work in partnership, to see the extent of the developments and the opportunities that it provides for Worcestershire in terms of the employment needs.
“And also, the University’s ability to identify what it needs to do and then purchase properties and regenerate key areas of the City. This is a deliberate strategy to take the University into the City, to help grow the City and regenerate assets. It’s just wonderful.”
She praised the University facilities. “The Arena is beautiful,” she said. “There is a sense of an inclusive environment everywhere you go, everyone is welcome in this community resource and inclusivity is part of the design of facilities, for example, the Art House where a ramp that accesses the upper level is integral to the beautiful design.”
She added: “In The Hive lifelong learning is evident everywhere and is subtle. All ages are having fun and learning. The University students are working alongside members of the public. The learning is public and shared and they are influencing each other. This is a proper lifelong learning story – every age, all learning and at the heart of it a carefully thought through shared environment to facilitate a journey through life where learning is the norm. It has been a delightful and inspiring journey back to the university.”
For information on courses at 51视频 visit or for application enquiries telephone 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk