Katharine Perera was my formal mentor when I was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Manchester in the early 1990s. She remained a colleague, friend and informal mentor.
Katharine was appointed to a lectureship at the university in 1977, having taught English language and literature in both secondary and further education before then. Her specific area of expertise was child language; her book Children’s writing and reading: analysing classroom language is a classic in the area and for many years she was the editor of the top international academic journal in the field, Journal of Child Language.
In the late 1980s her talent for leadership was recognised when Professor Brian Cox invited her to be a member of the important Department of Education and Science working group that was developing the national curriculum for English. When she was awarded an honorary doctorate, Professor Gerald Hammond referred to this as ‘Katharine found herself in the eye of a storm’.
She moved on to her first senior leadership role within the University in 1994, becoming Pro-Vice Chancellor of ‘Teaching, learning and academic quality’. She was promoted to Senior Pro-Vice Chancellor in 2000. In this role, she was a crucial member of groups working towards the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST. Katharine was an ideal person for this, combining a sharpness for identifying good organisational structure with empathy and an ability to communicate sensitively but firmly with everyone involved.
In the institution created by the merger Katharine took on a number of roles. The one most visible and most appreciated by colleagues across the university was equality and diversity. She was asked by the then President Alan Gilbert to take a lead on Women in Leadership, a project that made recommendations for changes to the university, and worked with women at all levels to support them in their career development. Until very recently, she had a leading role in the University’s preparation for the Athena Swan awards, which recognise the advancement of gender equality. In 2013 she received the University of Manchester’s most prestigious award, The Medal of Honour.
These are just a few of Katharine’s impressive formal achievements. However, she will be most remembered for the personal: the warm atmosphere she created and the support she offered to colleagues. There are many, many colleagues across the university, women and men, to whom Katharine made a difference, personally and professionally.
Kersti Börjars, Professor of Linguistics, University of Manchester