A LECTURER who pioneered a course to help women returning to higher education, has retired from Huddersfield University.
Throughout her 36-year career, Sylvia Gibbs has helped people who would not have previously considered university study to enter higher education.
One of the high points of her career was to pioneer the Women Into Technology and Science (WITS) course, which became one of the university’s flagship access programmes.
Sylvia, of Slaithwaite, retired as the university’s head of community development and widening participation.
She was a postgraduate of the London School of Economics, receiving her masters degree in economics in 1971. She joined Huddersfield Polytechnic the same year as lecturer in the department of complementary studies.
Later she went to work in the university’s business school, undertaking pioneering work in action learning and vocational education. She was then seconded to direct West Yorkshire’s widening participation initiatives in further and higher education.
She was appointed the university’s first head of widening participation and in 2006 had her efforts recognised by the Higher Education Academy as demonstrating national best practice.
She said: “Students from lower socio-economic groups are still the ones not entering higher education. The university has made major strides forward in addressing these issues, but there is more to be done.”
