In my relatively short time here at Wolverhampton I have been impressed to hear about the fantastic achievements of our alumni community. It’s wonderful to see so many of you headlining in this magazine.

Universities change lives, over generations. I was changed by a university very like Wolverhampton. My father, orphaned at 13, was raised by his older brother, became a carpenter and came to England as an Irish immigrant with my mother and baby brother in 1958. They went on to have two more children here. I was the first in my family to go to university.

The University of Wolverhampton has, in its various antecedent forms, been educating people for 196 years. In addition to coming through the Covid-19 pandemic, it has seen 45 prime ministers and two World Wars, and, four years from now, this great institution will enter its third century. No one could possibly dispute its resilience, its capacity to evolve, and its ability to inspire and serve its local and regional communities over those two centuries.

We are a university for and of the community, and I am very proud of the contributions that you as graduates make, living purposeful lives and making a real difference to communities here and around the world.

We are focused on raising aspirations and we want to ensure that our relationship with you is an enduring one. Our graduates are the innovators and leaders of tomorrow, and we hope that you will maintain the close links you have built with us, both as friends and as inspirational role models for the next generation to follow.

Our alumni have lifetime benefits to tap into for both peace of mind and professional advancement. We offer career support, social and professional events, networking through our mentoring scheme and ongoing access to campus facilities. The University also remains committed to mental health support services and delivering fundraising and complementary services for communities, both locally and internationally.

We are proud of our alumni and their successes and WLV Life is the perfect way for us to celebrate your achievements. I hope you enjoy this selection of alumni stories. We are always pleased to hear your stories, so if you have something to share, you can email us at: alumni@wlv.ac.uk

Professor John Raftery
Vice-Chancellor