2014 proved to be another fantastic year at the University of Essex. 

From re-confirming our positon as the best in Britain for politics research to staging our highly-successful 50th anniversary Homecoming celebration weekend, there were plenty of highlights which showcased Essex's reputation for excellence in research and excellence in education. 

But 2014 was also a time of great sadness and our thoughts went out to the families and friends of students Nahid Almanea and Hannah Witheridge who lost their lives in tragic circumstances.

January

• Dr Greg Brooke, from the School of Biological Sciences, is leading research into creating a “designer” protein that could be effective at treating prostate cancer. 
  
  
• Dr Chris Saker, from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, was named Lecturer of the Year in the Essex Teaching Awards.

February

• Internationally-renowned expert on British politics, Professor David Sanders, was appointed the UK’s first Regius Professor of Political Science. 
• Chief Dental Officer Barry Cockcroft CBE praises the University for its approach to dental health education.

March

• The Rossica Translation Prize 2014 was presented to Angela Livingstone, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, for her translation of Phaedra by Marina Tsvetaeva. 
• The University was awarded a new multi-million pound grant from the Economic and Social Research Council to further develop its policy relevant studies relating to individual and family behaviours and social change.

April

• Accountancy expert Professor Prem Sikka received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA). 
• Carried out by researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research, two Essex studies provided new insights into children’s achievements and aspirations. 

May

• Law student Yasmin Afina presented her work at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York after winning an international essay competition.
• The Lakeside Theatre worked in association with the world-renowned Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to stage the world premiere of Omeros by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott.

June 

• Inspirational teacher and outstanding scholar Roy Bailey from the Department of Economics received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
• Dr Pamela Cox returned to our TV screens to present a new BBC television series on the history of shopgirls.

July

• Professor Kristian Gleditsch was the only UK-based political scientist to be included in a prestigious international list of the most highly cited researchers in recent years, The Highly Cited Researchers 2014 list produced by Thomson Reuters. 
• Digital entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox was among those presented with Honorary Degrees at Graduation. 

August

• Dr Rachel Bragg was featured on BBC Radio 4 series Plants: From Roots to Riches about the therapeutic value of ‘green care’. 
• The University achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 91 per cent in the National Student Survey, placing Essex sixth out of mainstream English universities.

September

• Civil rights defender Shami Chakrabarti became our new Chancellor.
  
  
• The University celebrated its 50th birthday in style with more than 3,000 alumni, students, staff and members of the community coming to Colchester Campus to join in the fun at Homecoming.

October

• The first graduates from the pioneering Edge Hotel School received their awards at a special graduation ceremony.
• As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations we held our first TEDx University of Essex event at the Lakeside Theatre.

 November

• The University won a Grand Challenges Explorations grant, an initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue an innovative global health and development research project.
• Human rights organisation Minority Rights Group International (MRG) joined forces with Essex language processing experts to develop a new tool for accurately recording civilian-reported human rights abuses.

December

• The Prince of Wales joined 1,000 young people exploring science and technology at the Big Bang Fair held at our Colchester Campus.
  
  
• Essex re-confirmed its position as one of the UK’s elite research universities with our politics research ranked the best in Britain in the UK-wide Research Excellence Framework.