ONE of the top officials of the University of Huddersfield has retired.
Cathy Doggett, Head of University Campus Barnsley, is a passionate advocate for the widening of participation in Higher Education.
Wakefield-born Cathy left school at 15 and worked behind the counter at Boots the Chemist. Her elder twin sisters had become nurses, so Cathy decided to emulate them.
It was a decision that would lead to a successful, innovative career in health care, a roster of academic qualifications and a move into Higher Education that culminated in a top job at the University of Huddersfield.
She then moved into nursing teaching and studied for a diploma at the then Polytechnic of Huddersfield. Over the next few years she added a string of degrees from universities in the region, culminating in a doctorate that dealt with the development of skills and assessment in nursing practice.
When the West Yorkshire College of Health, where she had been curriculum manager, merged with the University of Huddersfield in 1996, she became principal lecturer, being promoted to Head of the Department of Nursing in 1998. She has headed the Barnsley campus since 2006.
