The Association of University Chief Security Officers (AUCSO), the industry body for higher and further education security people, announced the winners of its Annual Awards during its 2022 conference at an unseasonably wintry University of Leeds’ city centre campus.
As in pre-covid years, the awards celebrate the work by security teams at their institutions. The winners were announced at a gala dinner in Leeds city centre on the final evening of the conference. The winners are:
Security Officer of the Year: Phillip Barnett: University of Queensland, Australia
The judges commented “This individual continually shows dedication and passion in their role supporting staff, students, and the wider community.”
Security Manager of the Year: Terry Branch: Imperial College London
The judges commented “The individual is described as a forward thinker, exploring new technology, methodology on intelligence gathering and identifying potential risks.”
Security Team of the Year: Security Day Team: Staffordshire University (pictured)
The judges commented “Highly professional and always seeking to provide the best possible service to enhance and protect the student experience.”
Security Initiative of the Year: Imperial College London: Health & Wellbeing
The judges commented “The winning initiative is believed to be an industry first, aimed at improving the physical and mental wellbeing of the security team.”
AUCSO Chair, Les Allan said afterwards: “We have been so impressed by the extremely high calibre of the award entries this year, especially as it has been one of the most difficult years in recent memory. All of the shortlisted entries were very worthy winners as they have all shown consistently high levels of professionalism, integrity, dedication, and passion and they are all a credit to their profession.”
And AUCSO Chief Operating Officer, Julie Barker, added: “As Les said all of the entries were worthy winners and it was a tough call for the winners to choose the winners.”
Pictured courtesy of AUCSO; Staffordshire University (Tom Callow, Jason Cooper, David Howells, Thomas Meredith and Cheryl Pritchard). Second left is Julie Barker, AUCSO COO and on the right is Les Allan, the head of safeguarding services at Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh. AUCSO’s 2023 conference is due to be at Heriot-Watt including a social event at Edinburgh Castle.
More on the AUCSO Leeds event in the May and June print editions of Professional Security magazine.
