University celebrates success at national awards ceremony

A University of Gloucestershire employee has won an international award for demonstrating outstanding commitment, dedication and passion to supporting colleagues and contributing to a positive learning experience for students.

Kerry Cox, Academic Services Manager for the University’s School of Education and Applied Sciences, has received The WOW! Award 2023 for Outstanding Management and Leadership at a ceremony in London.

The WOW! Awards recognise and celebrate organisations and employees nominated by customers and colleagues for delivering standards of excellence, with this year’s competition attracting 34,000 entries from around the world including Australia and Bermuda.

Kerry said: “I am absolutely thrilled and extremely proud to have won The WOW! Award 2023 for Outstanding Management and Leadership. 

“It’s really pleasing to be recognised for the hard work and dedication that I put into my role at the University – it’s a role that is both challenging and satisfying and I enjoy it immensely.

“I have been privileged to work alongside some very capable colleagues during my career at the University.  You need to work collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for the organisation and ultimately for our students. 

“I have fostered a culture of mutual trust and support, and professional respect within my team.  The knowledge and experience they have gathered over time is immense and my approach supports a willingness to share this with other newer team members to aid their development.

“I encourage my team to review processes and procedures which affect their daily work, which they feel could and should be better, either for students or academic colleagues, thus creating a cycle of continuous improvement.

“Some of the improvements may be small, some may be large, but they all make a positive difference to the service offered and improve the experience for our students.”

Core values

The University was also shortlisted for The WOW! Awards 2023 for Meeting Customer Needs and the Best Customer Feedback Strategy.

Julie-Ann Brooks, Director of Human Resources at the University, said: “We are immensely proud of Kerry for winning The WOW! Award for Outstanding Management and Leadership.

“We are absolutely delighted that as well as Kerry’s well-deserved success, the University was shortlisted in two categories.

“Our staff and students have been recognising and nominating members of staff across the University that they feel have demonstrated outstanding service, support and guidance in line with our core values and it is great to see this recognised not just at a local level but a national one as well.”

Image: Kerry Cox receiving the Outstanding Management and Leadership Award from WOW! founder Derek Williams