Dear colleagues,
I am very sorry to share the sad news that Professor Graeme Nixon passed away at the weekend following a period of illness.
Graeme worked at the School of Education for 19 years prior to his retirement at the end of February 24. He was programme director of the University’s MSc Studies in Mindfulness programme from 2011 and he practiced, published on and supervised research projects on mindfulness for many years. Of particular interest to him were debates about the possibility of secular mindfulness, Buddhist origins and criticisms of mindfulness.
Formerly a secondary teacher of Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies, Graeme retained an interest in the manifestations of meditation across multiple wisdom traditions, religious or otherwise. As a teacher educator he was particularly interested in the development of thinking skills in schools and he wrote on this, as well as delivered training for professionals on how to weave a suite of thinking skills.
In 2021 he was winner of the Principal's Excellence Award for Best Postgraduate Teacher, something which sums up how many of us, both staff and students, felt about him. Graeme was a friend to many, a brilliant educator, a respected source of counsel and a valued member of our University family.
Our thoughts are with his wife Jane and his sons, who were with him when he passed away.
Details of any funeral or memorial service will be shared once they are known. In the meantime, I would urge anyone affected by Graeme’s death to speak to your line manager or a colleague, or make use of the various University support services:
- The University’s Chaplain, Reverend Marylee Anderson at chaplaincy@abdn.ac.uk
- The University’s Counselling Service at counselling@abdn.ac.uk
- The University’s Confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) at Freephone: 0808 168 2143 | Web: www.carefirst-lifestyle.co.uk (Username: Aberdeen | Password: employee)
With best wishes
Catriona
Catriona MacDonald
Head of School of Education