The recently appointed Lord Mayor of Leicester is something of an aficionado when it comes to De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
In fact, Councillor Dr Susan Barton, who was handed her chains of office in May and will spend 12 months in the ceremonial role, has a lifetime of memories visiting, working, studying, researching, and lecturing on the campus.
Dr Barton is dressed in the Lord Mayor of Leicester robes
Dr Barton, who currently works as an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow for DMU’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture, first remembers being on the campus in 1966 to see Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother open the Fletcher Building - where the Vijay Patel building now stands.
“I used to go to the Hazel Street School when I was very small and we were taken to the campus to see the Queen Mother.
“I don’t think I understood what the campus was at the time. I was just there to see the Royal Visit. But DMU soon became a big part of my life’.
Dr Barton had a difficult childhood, which included time spent in an open-air school in Switzerland recuperating from a long-term illness at the age of 11.
She left school at 15 but went on to educate herself by reading books during her breaks at a printing factory where she worked making labels for Dairylea cheese.
Dr Barton returned to the then Leicester Polytechnic, in 1979, for a part-time job in the campus dining rooms.
“A lot of students at that time were full-board so they had breakfast, lunch and tea at university,” Dr Barton explained. “Every building had a cafeteria. I remember the dining hall in the Fletcher building was called the refectory and took up an entire floor.”
Dr Barton studied a BA in Combined Arts, was a member of the Poly Poor Theatre drama group in the students’ union, joined the equestrian society, took part in public speaking and recalls gigs at the renowned DMU Students’ Union.
Dr Barton, a Labour Councillor for Leicester’s Braunstone and Rowley Fields ward, also saw her interest in politics sharpened at DMU where she attended weekly speeches and debates about national and international issues.
A Master’s in Computing followed - ‘everything we did was handwritten because word processing used up computer memory’ – and then, just as Leicester Polytechnic became DMU in 1992, Dr Barton earned her certificate for higher education teaching.
The studying at DMU continued – while a mother of two - with Dr Barton starting a PhD in the history of tourism while teaching travel and tourism at Hinckley College.
Dr Barton’s PhD questioned the traditional view that Leicester businessman Thomas Cook was responsible for the first tourist excursions in the 1840s for the working classes, when he took people on a train from Leicester to Loughborough.
Dr Barton argued that this had happened prior to Thomas Cook. The famous travel agents, that took the name of the renowned father of tourism, complained about the research!
As well as teaching at DMU, Dr Barton took on valuable research that has resulted in two separate archives joining DMU’s Special Collections.
Dr Barton in her ceremonial robes
One piece of research looked into the history of winter sports and tourism in Switzerland - a place Dr Barton was familiar with and revisited many times since first being there at the age of 11.
It resulted in the Ski Club of Great Britain donating its archive to DMU. It comprises not only of the administrative record of the organisation but also photographs, skiing equipment, competition awards, a library and a film collection dating from the 1930s to the 1970s.
The second special collection relates to the Special Olympics which took place in Leicester in 2009 (Leicester also hosted in 1989).
Dr Barton. DMU’s Prof Neil Carter and Prof John Williams of University of Leicester compiled research on the legacy of the event – Learning Disability, Sport and Legacy – which was unveiled in the Houses of Parliament, and Dr Barton’s papers are archived at DMU.
With such strong ties to DMU, Dr Barton is clear about what the university means to her.
“DMU contributes so much to the city of Leicester. The economic benefits are obvious but it is also a place of high-quality learning and research,” she explained.
“Its population reflects that of Leicester which, as a plural city, means people who come here from all backgrounds and religions are made to feel welcome.
“There is also the social side. Without so many students from DMU and the University of Leicester living and studying in the city, we probably would not have as many of the facilities we all enjoy.
“DMU is accessible and provides opportunity for many people. I was a mother when I joined DMU as a mature student. I couldn’t travel far from home and DMU was there for me to study, offer me employment and enabled me to carry out research that benefits others.
“I think my connections tell people you can achieve anything you want at DMU.”
The family connections with DMU extend to Dr Barton’s son, Max, who devises computer games for Fallen Leaf in Liverpool. Max previously worked for De Montfort Students’ Union (DSU). He is taking up the post of Lord Mayor’s Consort for the year.
Dr Barton’s daughter, research scientist Dr Marie Weston, is to be the Lady Mayoress.
Posted on Wednesday 14 June 2023