Professor Michael Arthur Professor Peter Mackie Professor Stephen Mobbs Mr Roger Gair University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT

Colleagues will be aware of the tragic loss of Professor Sally Macgill in the Asian tsunami on 26 December 2004. This message brings to your attention two initiatives which the University is undertaking to commemorate Sally's remarkable career at the University and to create a lasting memory of her work for the benefit of future students.

Sally graduated from our university in 1973 with a first-class joint honours degree in Mathematics and Economics. She read for a PhD in the School of Geography, where her principal supervisor was our previous vice-chancellor, Alan Wilson. From 1976 to 1991 Sally was successively research assistant, lecturer and senior lecturer in the School of Geography, where she developed a reputation as one of the most original thinkers in the management of energy resources, in environmental risk, and in public perception of risk. In 1991 Sally became the University's Director of Planning; in this role she oversaw the development of the University’s resource centre system which is still in place today. Sally resumed her academic career in 1995 in the new School of the Environment, developing a new group in Environmental Risk Management which grew into the Sustainability Research Institute. She led the development of the School's teaching and became a leader in multi-media teaching and e-learning. Her academic contributions were recognised in 2002 by her appointment as Professor of Integrated Environmental Management. She held many offices within the University, including Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Earth and Environment from 1997 to 2002. Following the school merger in 2004 with Earth Sciences Sally led the integration of the teaching programmes in the new School of Earth and Environment.

There will be a memorial event open to all present and past members of the University to celebrate Sally's many contributions to life in Leeds. This will take place at 3 pm on 12 May in the Great Hall and will be followed by a reception in the Parkinson Court. There will be speeches by Sally's friends, colleagues and family and music by the Leeds Sinfonia, in which Sally was a violinist.

Throughout her career Sally was an inspiration to students at all levels. This was never more true than in recent years when she was the driving force behind the rapid development of the Sustainability Research Institute. The University has therefore decided to raise funds to create studentships and scholarships in memory of Sally. These will help overseas and home students to study environmental issues to which Sally contributed so much during her career. We aim through this fund raising initiative to create postgraduate studentships or bursaries and undergraduate prizes. All members of the University are invited to contribute to this fund raising effort. Announcements of particular fund raising events will be made in the near future. Staff may contribute directly to the fund by a donation through the payroll, with the possibility of Gift Aid.

Through the memorial event on 12 May and the fund raising initiative, the University aims to create a lasting memory of our colleague Sally Macgill. We invite everyone to join us in this aim.

Donations can be made by sending cheques (made payable to "The University of Leeds") to Ann Kenny, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT. Please mark the back with "The Sally Macgill Memorial Fund".