Former lecturer honoured with lecture theatre named after him

Dozens of family members, friends, and colleagues gathered to remember the late Godfrey Moyo at a ceremony at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), where a lecture theatre was officially renamed in his honour.

Godfrey Moyo, 1953-2014

It is the first time the university has named a part of its campus in memory of a member of staff in this way, demonstrating the high regard in which Godfrey was held in by his colleagues and students.

Lecture theatre 0.28 is now known as the Godfrey Moyo lecture theatre, in honour of the man who taught at DMU for 15 years as a senior lecturer in Mental Health Nursing within the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

Godfrey’s widow unveiled a plaque commemorating her husband following some touching testimonies to Godfrey’s memory. He was celebrated as a hugely passionate and devoted lecturer and true friend to many members of staff and students throughout DMU.

In a heart-wrenching show of gratitude to her father’s peers, Godfrey’s daughter Denise said: “This is a great gesture in my daddy’s memory, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you so much. The best daddy in the world doesn’t exist anymore, that’s because he’s in heaven.”

Godfrey’s son Darren added: “He would have loved to have seen this; he cared about his job passionately.

“I speak for the whole family when I say this means the world to us.”

Dr Simon Oldroyd, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, said: “It’s a celebration. It’s a really important day for us because we’ve never done this sort of thing before – naming a part of the university after a member of staff.

“I didn’t know Godfrey but I came to learn of him. It’s a real testament to him that I heard so much about him. He was more than just well respected.

“He was talked about and remembered as a very good man and somebody who cared for others and his students in a very particular way. In the truest sense of the word, he has become a legend and what better place than a place of learning to remember him by.

“The next generation of nurses will be taking their step towards becoming nurses in this room and that’s the most fitting thing about it. He was an educationalist.”