Secretariat

P W Terence (Terry) Moreton

Very sadly, Dr Terry Moreton, former Lecturer in the School of Business and Economic Studies and Adviser for disabled students and staff died on 3 December 2006.

Born in 1937, Terry Moreton came to higher education by a somewhat unorthodox route. Having spent three years as a hospital porter in Derby, he joined Rolls Royce in 1957, where he was an industrial photographer. He also studied on a part-time basis for O and A levels and, in 1964, entered the University of Hull to read for a BSc in Economics. Graduating in 1967, he went on to complete a PhD on labour turnover, awarded in 1971. He had a brief spell in the aircraft industry as a systems designer but his heart was set on a teaching career and in1970 he took up a post as lecturer in behavioural sciences at the Hull College of Commerce.

Terry Moreton came to Leeds in January 1971, initially to a lecturership tenable jointly in the then Departments of Adult and Extra-Mural Studies and of Management Studies; in the following year, he transferred on a full-time basis to the latter department. From the outset, Terry Moreton proved an exceptionally dedicated and gifted teacher. Even after other duties took up an increasing amount of his time from 1987 onwards, he continued willingly to undertake an extensive raft of teaching and administrative responsibilities in what by then was the School of Business and Economic Studies, all of which he discharged to an extremely high standard. He also successfully supervised a number of research students. In addition, his experience as a professionally trained photographer came in very useful in devising means for the more effective presentation of the Schools work. (Photography remained a continuing interest of Terrys, his photographs being publicly exhibited on a number of occasions.)

From 1987 onwards, an increasingly large part of Terry Moretons time was taken up by a new role, as Adviser for students and staff with disabilities. What began as a quarter-time appointment in 1987 rapidly became a half-time one, and, in 1992, was transmuted into a full-time secondment although he continued throughout this period to retain some teaching in the School. Terry Moretons time as Adviser coincided with a marked expansion in the number of disabled students in the University; this could be attributed in considerable measure to his own efforts. He was indefatigable in seeking to ensure that the University offered appropriate support and facilities to those with particular requirements. The span of his responsibilities was a large one: counselling prospective students; the provision of care and continuing guidance and support to students once here; advice to departments on the design and modification of accommodation; contributing to the development of the RNIB and University Recording and Brailling Centre; and liaison with a wide range of external bodies, including local education authorities. Terry Moreton had an empathetic understanding of the needs of the disabled, born in part of the physical challenges he himself faced which had required him as a student to tape his lecture notes and to type his examination papers. During his time as Adviser, he also produced a number of publications drawing on his knowledge of and expertise in disability matters. In his work as Adviser, he was ably assisted by his wife, Barbara.

Ill-health unfortunately curtailed Terry Moretons career with the University and he retired at the end of 1996. Happily, however, he was able to go on to complete a Leeds MA in Theology and Religious Studies. In 2000, he became a fully accredited local preacher for the Methodist Church, on the Castleford Circuit.

As well as Barbara, Terry Moreton is survived by a daughter, Zo, from a previous marriage, and three grandchildren,