Memorial event to Professor Steve Baldwin

A memorial event to celebrate the life of Professor Steve Baldwin, who died in the Selby rail crash, will be held on Tuesday 3 April at 1pm in the University of Teesside’s Innovation and Virtual Reality Centre Lecture Theatre.

If any representatives of the media wish to attend, could they please contact Nic Mitchell or Stephen Laing in the University's Press & Public Relations Office, e-mail pr@tees.ac.uk or telephone 01642 342015.

The event will include tributes to Steve from the University of Teesside's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Derek Fraser; Dr Dave Woodhouse, Head of Psychology at the University; Professor Paul Johnstone, Director of Public Health, Tees Health Authority and some of his students. Steve's sister, Jane Wilson, will also speak at the event.

Tributes to the Teesside academic and campaigner against the controversial drug, Ritalin, have poured in to the University's web site since Steve's tragic death. These can be viewed by visiting www.tees.ac.uk

Apart from the media could anyone wishing to attend the memorial event please contact Jan Norman, Manager of the School of Social Sciences, University of Teesside, on e-mail jan.norman@tees.ac.uk or telephone 01642 342323.

Notes to Editors

Steve Baldwin joined the University of Teesside as Professor of Psychology in 1998 and made a massive contribution to teaching and research. He was a popular figure around the campus, well respected for his inspirational support to both students and his colleagues and an influential figure within the international academic community, particularly in the fields of mental health and public health.

Steve Baldwin's research findings in the areas of drug, alcohol and cigarette addiction were published widely and he regularly spoke at major conferences, both in the UK and abroad. He was to have been a keynote speaker at an important seminar on whether psychiatrists 'over-mediate the exuberance of youth' on the evening of Wednesday 28 February at the Institute of Psychiatry in London.

Last year, he set-up a special clinic at the University of Teesside to help children and teenagers who had been prescribed the Ritalin drug as treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)- the first of its kind in the country. The Clinical and Counselling Training Units (CACTUS) clinic was set up with the specific aim of providing alternative treatments to the amphetamine drug Ritalin.

Prior to moving into academic research, Steve Baldwin worked as a Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Health and Social Security and with Sheffield Health Authority and also as a Senior Clinical Psychologist with Devon Social Services. Before moving to Teesside, he was Foundation Associate Professor at the Edith Cowan University in Australia.

In a tribute to Steve on the University's web site, Helen Pickering, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & External) at the University, said: "It was a feature of Steve that the people he touched felt they had made a friend. A man with a great sense of fun, a sympathetic listener, considerate in response, sharing credit for success and always a team player, which brought great popularity with staff and students alike across our university."

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