Susan Hunston

Susan’s long-standing connection with Birmingham began in the 1970s, when she studied for a Bachelors degree in English Language and Literature. She later completed both her Masters and PhD at the University. Although Susan’s life and career took her across the world, she returned to Birmingham in the 1990s, joining the University as a lecturer in English Language and Linguistics. Over more than 30 years, Susan has taught and supervised countless students.

What has been your connection to Birmingham over the years and how has Birmingham shaped you?

‘I first came to the University of Birmingham in 1971 as an undergraduate student studying English Language and Literature. In the following couple of decades I completed two more degrees from Birmingham, studying part-time, finally graduating with a PhD in English Language in 1990. This part-time study went alongside a career first as a teacher of English as a Second / Foreign Language, in The Philippines and then in Sandwell, and then as a lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at universities in Singapore and Surrey. I returned to Birmingham in the early 1990s to work on the Cobuild lexicography project. In 1996 I was appointed a Lecturer in the Centre for English Language Studies, and thirty years later I am still here as a part-time Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Communication.

‘Birmingham really shaped who I am as an academic and as a researcher. Although most of my undergraduate degree involved the study of literature, I soon realised that what really fascinated me was how language worked, and at Birmingham I was introduced to many of the new and influential ideas in this area. As undergraduates we were taught about the structure of spoken interaction from a book so new we were given it in proof form. For my PhD I was one of a group of people developing new ways of looking at written discourse. As part of the Cobuild project I gained expertise in the brand-new field of corpus linguistics. Since then I’ve written or co-authored six books, and dozens of journal articles and book chapters. I count myself extraordinarily lucky to have had a job where I could explore new ideas and pass my love of language on to students.’

Susan has pledged to leave a gift in her will to support future students at Birmingham, the place where she studied and later returned for a distinguished career in teaching and academia. Through a gift in her will she will continue to make a lasting impact for generations to come.

Why is giving back through your will meaningful to you?

‘I have made and re-made my will several times, and in the past it has always seemed foolish to leave money to an institution I work for – our relationship is of employer-employee, not charity-benefactor. In the latest iteration of my will, however, I started to think about the people and things in life that really matter to me. Family is the first priority of course, but my university family is also important, and a huge part of my identity. It certainly feels as though I have spent more hours on the campus than at home, over the years! I also thought about where money could make a real difference, and here two factors influenced my thinking. One is that I trust the university to use my bequest well. That is quite a big statement to make, and it is based on my experience of the university as an ethical, responsible institution. The second is that I strongly support the university’s various scholarship schemes that enable students in need to complete their degrees successfully. As someone who has benefitted so much from Birmingham myself, I really wanted to enable others to do the same.’

If you would like to explore legacy giving in further detail, please reach out to us at legacies@contacts.bham.ac.uk. We would be delighted to have a conversation.