Fond farewell to long-serving colleagues

The School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC) has said goodbye to retiring colleagues Duncan Bloy and Tim Holmes.

Tim, who had recently been promoted to Reader, is retiring after almost 25 years of postgraduate journalism teaching.

Soon after joining the School, Tim took on the Diploma in Magazine Journalism (now a Masters) and, in a partnership with Jane Bentley and other colleagues, developed it into the most successful in the country with an exceptional run of awards from the Professional Publishers Association.

Tim taught hundreds of people now in industry, many of whom remember him with great respect and affection. He also set up the Mapping the Magazine global conference series.

Duncan’s association with the School reaches back even further, to the late 1980’s, when he agreed to spend two hours each Wednesday evening to work with the then Centre for Journalism Studies’ trainee journalists. He eventually become the School’s first in-house lawyer.

In addition, Duncan helped with the School’s international partnerships, an undertaking which took him to many countries, including to India where he and Tim helped set up the School’s partnership with the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ).

Head of School Professor Stuart Allan said, “Tim and Duncan both made major contributions to JOMEC’s successes over the years.

“Their dedicated commitment to innovative teaching, their passionate enthusiasm for scholarship, and their efforts to shape new curriculum initiatives were very much appreciated by colleagues and students alike.

“From everyone in JOMEC, we wish them both well-deserved retirements.”