9.00 am: In deep. The day powered up immediately: consultations, negotiations, planning chats, references, and preparations for the remainder of the morning. The fast and the furious can be exhilarating. 10.00 am: The second and third year students attended their induction session. I began processing the returns from yesterday’s MA induction. 11.00 am: The first year students gathered in the main lecture theatre to be ‘induced’ into the cult of Information Services and semester 1 courses:
Dr Forster and I held forth the mysteries of the art-practice modules. A principle:
The quality of an art school is most tangibly demonstrated by the quality of its students. Therefore, if you want to belong to the best art school in the country, aim to be the best art students in the country.
12.45 pm: I convened the initial meeting with my Personal Tutees (who sound like fashion accessories). About half turned up. I suspect there was a conflict for joint honours students with their other department’s induction programme:
2.00 pm: We held what is probably our first ever welcome event for overseas students:
Strange fruit on offer (and I don’t mean the students). These are Italian in origin, apparently. But to an oik like me, they’re the previously unrealised ideal of the double-jammy dodger. Or else, edible cat’s eyes:
Late afternoon, I completed the first draft of the MA and PhD candidature listing for distribution to staff and students later this evening.
7.30 pm: Evening over Pen Dinas:
Following a hour and half of administrations, I concluded my week of new student encounters at Holy Trinity Church, where the Christian Union et al were enjoying the final course on their annual ‘grub crawl’. As of 9.40 pm, I’ve had my fill of finger foods for this week: