Category: University

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Solent university name new business and law suite after Lisa

On Tuesday November 16th at Solent University there was an official opening ceremony of the newly-refurbished business and law suite named in memory of Lisa Wilson. The area in the ‘Spark’ building was unveiled to over fifty guests, family, friends, students and university officials. Consisting of a teaching and informal area for students, this new area is now known as The Lisa Wilson Business and Law Suite.  

Kevin Rogers, director of Solent Law School, officially declared the area open for business. Afterwards he addressed the guests and thanked the Wilson family for their support for the students and the university over the last twenty years following Lisa’s tragic death in Australia.   

Clive Wilson then paid tribute to his lovely daughter who now has a lasting legacy at the university. In a moving speech he thanked his family and friends and supporters of the charity. He also paid a special tribute to his wife Trish for her amazing support throughout the years. 

With over one hundred students benefitting from bursaries provided by The Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund, he stated that having reached the age of 70 it was now time to pass the funds to the university to continue the work in Lisa’s name. 

He also paid special thanks to Geeta Uppal who has been the main liaison officer from the university over the last twenty years. Geeta closed the event with an emotional address thanking the family for the way they had turned such a tragic event into something so positive.

https://www.solent.ac.uk/news/university-remembers-solent-alumna-lisa-wilson

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Solent University to name facility in Lisa’s memory 20 years after her tragic death

Today, November 4th, is the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of our beautiful daughter Lisa.

Solent University, where Lisa studied and graduated, has recently finished the refurbishment of part of its ‘Spark’ building, and it will be naming it The Lisa Wilson Business and Law Suite.

There will be a naming ceremony at the university on November 15th which will be attended by the Wilson family and some of the recipients, along with friends , family, and supporters of the charity and officials from  the university including Vice Chancellor Karen Stanton.

Lisa graduated with a BA2-1 in Business Management and it is fitting that this area will carry her name.

In 2019 Lisa was awarded a posthumous honorary degree of Master of Business Administration for work in her name in the community.

To date, Lisa’s family has raised over £300,000 and over 100 students have benefitted from the charity. The bursaries given to the students are for £1000 per annum for up to three years. As every £1000 represents a year of a students life this means Lisa’s Legacy is over 300 years of education to date.

Now, after 20 years of fundraising the Wilson family will be handing over the funds from the charity to the university to ensure  the work in Lisa’s memory lives on.

This week, The Daily Echo published a piece about the naming of the building, which you can read here > https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/23093060.solent-university-building-renamed-crash-victim-lisa-wilson/

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Lisa Wilson receives honorary degree

The late Lisa Wilson has been awarded the honorary degree of Master of Business Administration by Solent University today (Thursday 11 July): Lisa’s father and mother, Clive and Tricia Wilson, received Lisa’s award.

Grit and determination, just some of Lisa’s amazing qualities, led her to study at Southampton Institute of Higher Education, now Solent University. In 1998, Lisa became the first ever member in her family to go to university. She spent three years at Solent working hard and as her father, Clive says, ‘standing on her own two feet’, which enabled her to graduate with a Second-Class Honours (First Division) in Business Management in 2001.

Her positivity and willingness to succeed, which led to her achievements at Solent, motivated Lisa to live a varied and independent lifestyle outside of university. Aside from her life-long ambition of travelling the world, Lisa loved sport and excelled at many, including golf, which saw her win the Gilbert Trophy at Wellow Golf club in 1997. Lisa was also a football fan through and through, and together with her family, held season tickets at The Dell at St Mary’s for five years. Her support for the Saints was recognised in 2003 when the family had a memorial paver put in place to honour Lisa’s memory.

Following Lisa’s tragic death in November 2002, when she was just 23 years’ old, the Wilson family set up the Lisa Wilson Scholarship Fund in memory of their daughter. Over the last 16 years, Lisa’s fund has enabled young people to access higher education who may not have been able to otherwise. Scholarships of £1,000 per year, for up to three years, have been available to Solent University students who have either overcome adversity or demonstrated the need for additional financial support with their studies.

Since Lisa’s death, an incredible £291,000 has been raised to support the educational needs of Solent students. In fact, almost 100 students have directly benefitted from Lisa’s fund, enabling them to fulfil their ambition to study and attend the same university that Lisa did, 21 years ago. Thanks to the support and dedication from Lisa’s family, her fund has made a major contribution to the development of the university and to the lives of many students.

Commenting on her award, Lisa’s father, Clive, said, “Receiving Lisa’s honorary degree is a huge moment for the Wilson family. I know that Lisa would have been very proud of not only this, but her fund which has allowed so many people to go to university and kickstart their careers.”

(Originally published on the Solent University website. https://www.solent.ac.uk/news/life-at-solent/2019/lisa-wilson-award)