Kirsty was the ADRC’s Disability Development Consultant and her role involved managing the ADRC’s disability training and consultancy provision for staff in the University and Colleges, coordinating the Specialist Mentoring scheme, as well as planning events. As a result of her wide-ranging role, Kirsty was well-known and highly respected across the collegiate University. Kirsty founded and developed the University’s series of Annual Disability Lectures, starting in 2003, and was rightly proud to have instigated such an important disability-focused event.

Very sadly, Kirsty died in January 2023. The lecture series has now been renamed the Kirsty Wayland Memorial Disability Lecture in her honour. The Kirsty Wayland Memorial Fund has been established in her memory to help ensure the sustainability and longevity of the lecture series (now in its 18th iteration in 2023). We are extremely grateful for any gifts given to her memory. These gifts will be used primarily to contribute to the additional costs required to ensure that the lecture is as accessible as possible (for example through the provision of British Sign Language interpreters, live captioning and live streaming). Any additional funds would be used to directly support training and events promoting equality of opportunity for disabled people, which was at the heart of Kirsty’s work.

Find out more about the Kirsty Wayland Memorial Disability Lecture.