Alexandra Burslem
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Dame Alexandra Vivien Burslem (née Thornley; 6 May 1940 – 3 November 2023), also known as Sandra Burslem, was a British academic and educationalist.


Biography

Born in
Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, Alexandra Vivien Thornley was the daughter of Stanley Morris Thornley, the British
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to China. Sandra Thornley returned to England during the expulsion of the foreign nationals that occurred during the
Communist Revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution often, but not necessarily, inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, socialism can be used as an intermediate stage ...
. She afterwards attended the Arnold High School for Girls in
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
and was married in 1960. At the age of 28, she enrolled on her first degree course while she was a single mother at the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
(as a
mature student An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
) and took a
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
-class BA degree in Politics and Modern History. Following this, she became a
lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
at
Manchester Polytechnic Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
and rose gradually to be Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Academic Director by 1992. Her academic career culminated in September 1997, when she was named as
Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of
Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...
, where she remained until 2005.


Personal life and death

Her first marriage to James Lowe lasted from 1960 until 1971, from which she had two children, Eliot Lowe and Matthew Lowe. She married Dr Richard Waywell Burslem in 1977 and gave birth to her third child, Victoria. Burslem died on 3 November 2023, at the age of 83.


Honours

Burslem was appointed
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(DBE) in the
2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...
. She served as
High Sheriff of Greater Manchester The Office of High Sheriff of Greater Manchester is the ceremonial position of High Sheriff appointed to Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The appointment is made by the British monarch, in their capacity as Duke of ...
for 2006–2007 and remains a Deputy Lieutenant of the county. A building at the university's All Saints campus has been named the Sandra Burslem Building.Sandra Burslem Building
foursquare.com


List of posts held

Dame Alexandra Burslem has held a number of public and academic posts: * At Manchester Metropolitan University (formerly Manchester Polytechnic): ** Lecturer in politics and public administration (1973–82) ** Head, Department of applied community studies (1982–86) ** Dean, Faculty of community studies, law and education (1986–88) ** Assistant Director (academic) (1988–90) ** Deputy Director (1990–92) ** Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Academic Director (1992–97) * Justice of the Peace, Manchester Inner City Bench (1981–2010) * Vice-chair,
Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...
(2004–?) * Chairman, BBC North Regional Advisory Council * Member, BBC General Advisory Council * Deputy Chair,
Higher Education Staff Development Agency The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (LFHE) was an organisation in the United Kingdom providing support and advice on leadership, governance and management for higher education, based in Holborn, London. It was merged into Advance HE in ...
(HESDA)


References


Further reading

*''Operation of the Honours System: oral and written evidence, Thursday 23 April 2009 : Dame Alexandra Burslem, chair of the Education Honours Committee, Sir John Parker, chair of the Economy Honours Committee, Dame Steve Shirley, member of the Economy Honours Committee and Denis Brennan, head of the Honours and Appointments Secretariat, Cabinet Office / Public Administration Select Committee''. London: Stationery Office, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Burslem, Alexandra 1940 births 2023 deaths High Sheriffs of Greater Manchester Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of Manchester Metropolitan University British educational theorists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Educators from Shanghai Deputy Lieutenants of Greater Manchester English justices of the peace British expatriates in China