Former member of the Geology Department and Honorary Associate Grace Page (Dr Grace Dunlop), has sadly died aged 90.
Grace studied at the University of Glasgow for her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees before being appointed Assistant in the Department of Geology at Edinburgh University in 1954, the first woman to hold a teaching post in that department.
Grace joined the Geology Department at Bedford College in 1958 and quickly established herself as a popular lecturer in palaeontology and stratigraphy.
Grace retired in 1991 and a year later was inducted as an Honorary Associate to recognise her outstanding contribution to the life of the university. During her induction former Head of the Department of Geology, Professor Alec Smith, shared an account of Grace’s time as a member of staff.
“During her early years at Bedford College Grace had responsibility for the care of students in a number of College residences – Nottingham Place, then The Holme and Reid Hall. She took a prominent part in College affairs including BLOG (the Bedford Light Opera Group) through which she met her husband, Charles Page.
“Grace’s great contribution to academic life was the belief that student care should be central to the quality of any department. […] She filled the role of Departmental Coordinator with tact and firmness and no matter how large the new first year class may be she knew all the students within a very short time and their personal strengths and weaknesses within a month! She demanded from her colleagues that they always kept the students’ case firmly in mind.
“Her devotion to students was not only demonstrated in the lecture theatre and laboratory but also, and more particularly, through field work. She could ably shepherd her student flock across wild ground in awful weather – her favourite locality was Arran and Arran is not a kind place every Easter. The real joy for student and Grace alike came in the evenings when after change of clothes and a meal they would check with her their notes and the progress of their field mapping. Grace had the happy knack of bringing the best out of students – weak ones gained in confidence and overbearing ones could be reduced to a manageable size – often with no more than a glance!
“A token of the esteem in which Dr Page was held was amply demonstrated on her retirement when students spanning more than three decades gathered from all over Britain and further afield to demonstrate their affection.”
Grace is survived by her husband Charles, son Andrew and grandchildren Eilidh and James.
