Staff

College Principal – Dr Sayjda Talib

The Principal is the senior member of the College responsible to the Council and the Senate of the University for the College finances and for maintaining the effective working and good order of the College.

Vice-Principal Research – Dr Paul Dolby

Paul has been a part of Graduate College in many capacities since he came to Lancaster to complete his MPhys in 1994, followed by his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics. Now working within the Faculty of Health and Medicine, Paul's role in the college focusses on academic-related activities such as the annual interdisciplinary Postgraduate Research Conference, PGRC Bitesize sessions, and 3Minute Thesis competition.

Vice-Principal Student Experience - Currently Vacant

Sayjda is our new Vice-Principal for Student Experience - working alongside other college teams and officers (such as the community assistants, college manager, accommodation team, postgraduate board etc.), and within the wider university to strengthen the postgraduate community and improve the overall student experience for postgraduates.

College Wellbeing

We are currently in the process of creating a College Advisor Team (CAT) - similar to the undergraduate colleges. In the meantime, please refer to the university's wellbeing webpage for guidance.

College Manager – Jane Hulland

The College Manager is responsible for running the College Office and updating the student news portal with news items, information and events of interest to postgraduate students. This in turn feeds into the regular MyLancaster email newsletters to postgraduate students. Jane is also responsible for the College’s social media (Facebook, Instagram) as well as the website. She works closely with the College Community Assistants - helping them to plan and deliver community focussed events and activities for all postgraduate students (on campus, off campus, and further afield).

Jane also manages the bookings in the PG Community Kitchen, and the Social Hub. Jane can be found in office A117 in Graduate College (next to the Porters’ in the Graduate College reception area), and via email, phone, and Microsoft Teams.

College Accommodation Office

The Accommodation office is responsible for all accommodation-related matters for postgraduate students on campus. Their office hours are 9.30am–12.30pm and 2.00pm–4.30pm. The accommodation office is on your left as you enter the college reception area (A Floor, House 10, Graduate College), next to the PGBoard/College Community Assistants office, and can be reached on 01524 (5)93342 and via email. If you are unfamiliar with the location of the college, MazeMap can help you navigate campus www.lancaster.ac.uk/maps

College Dean - Steve Mack

Steve joins the college team in January 2022 - bringing with him extensive experience and knowledge from his role as Senior Advisor in Bowland College. The Dean's role is to work within the senior college team, alongside the wider university disciplinary and wellbeing teams. Ensuring that any breach of University or College rules is handled in an appropriate manner, in keeping with the university's policies, procedures, and guidance.

College Community Assistants (CCAs)

The College Community Assistants are postgraduate students who work as a key part of the College team. Their role includes running events for the whole postgraduate community, supporting the Dean with disciplinary processes and mediation, and working on initiatives designed to improve the experience of all postgraduates studying at Lancaster.

They are the first people you should contact if you are having difficulties within your accommodation. We know it can be difficult sometimes living with new people who may not have the same lifestyle as you… people who may like things noisier or quieter than you do, or who eat, sleep and work at different times to you. The Community Assistants can help you and your flatmates talk through the problems and find a solution. Email the CCAs.

College Porters

The College Porters are available 24 hours a day for the majority of the year and are responsible for mail, room keys, and general security in and around the College. They are the people you should speak to first if you need help or information or if you have any sort of problems day or night.

The Herdwick

Gareth Ellis managed the bar in Graduate College from 2000-2021. He succeeded in having the bar listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide from 2003 onwards, and the bar became known for its selection of quality traditional real ales and Craft beers. Gareth established an annual Real Ale & Cider Festival, which relocated to the larger venue of Barker House Farm a few years ago. By 2019, it was becoming clear that having a bar below student accommodation was not ideal in terms of the student experience of the people living nearby. It was difficult to host events in the bar (such as live music nights and televised sporting events) due to the impact on the students living nearby. So when the bar was forced to close due to the covid-19 pandemic, it was decided that when it was time to re-open the Herdwick would do so in a new location - Barker House Farm.

At 'Barkers', we are able to have everything we loved about the Herdwick in a bigger, better space. The ales and craft beers, big screen sports, beer festival, and live music are supplemented with Starbucks coffee, more seating, more bar sports facilities, and food. And it's all still managed by many of the same team.

The Postgraduate Board (PGBoard)

The PGBoard is the elected representative body of the student members of The Graduate College of Lancaster University. All postgraduate students of the University are members, whether they live in Graduate College or not. They work alongside the senior college team and the Lancaster University Students' Union to ensure representation for all postgraduates and to provide opportunities for social interaction and activity. Current Postgraduate Board Officers include:

  • President - Michael
  • Vice-President - Vacant
  • Treasurer - Vacant
  • International Officer - Vacant
  • Wellbeing Officer - Hannah
  • Events Officer - Vacant
  • Sports Officer - Navin

The PGBoard can be contacted via their email address