Biography
Dr John Conway joined the academic staff at the RAU in 1983 as Principal Lecturer in Soil and Earth Systems Sciences. He is now a member of Senior Management Group, International Advisory Group and Academic Board. John is also Programme Director for the very successful MSc in International Rural Development, which has been running for since 1999 and the MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security.
John created the Disability Service in 1999 and has been Disability Officer since then, dealing with all issues around organizing support and adjustments for dyslexic and disabled students; as such he is an ex officio member of the Learning Teaching Enhancement Committee, and the Equality and Diversity Committee.
Having completed a PhD in soil science, Dr Conway's research and consultancy interests cover a wide range of environmental and soil management topics, including major studies on nitrogen losses (an eight-year project on the University's conventionally managed farm at Coates, and a six-year project on the less intensive farming experiment at Harnhill), P & K sources for organic farming and innumerable Agricultural Land Classification and Soil surveys. giving him wide experience of soil conditions across the southern half of Britain.
John originally trained in earth systems and is currently focused on research into climate change and its impacts on agriculture and land management. As such he represents the agriculture sector on the South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership, a regional body under the auspices of UKCIP and has organized conferences on Transition Agriculture.
His passion remains in geology and he is a Director of Geomon, the Anglesey Geopark which recently won UNESCO status, and has presented invited papers at several international conferences on geoconservation. He has written a field guide to Soils in North Wales and has a new book on the coastal geology of Anglesey. John is currently a partner in the bid to achieve Geopark status for the Cotswold Hills.
John is well known through the world of disability support in Higher Education with several external posts. including Chairman of the STEM Disability Committee [managed by the Royal Society] Director of the National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP) and is a member of the National Executive of the Association of Dyslexia Specialists in Higher Education (ADSHE).
University Positions
- Member, Senior Management Group
- Member, International Advisory Group
- Member, Academic Board
- Member, Ethics Committee
- Member, Research Committee
- Member, Learning and Teaching Enhancement Committee
- Disability Officer
- Member, Inclusion, Equality and Diversity Committe
External Involvements
- Director, National Association of Disability Practitioners [NADP]
- Member, National Executive of Association of Dyslexia Specialists in HE [ADSHE]
- Director, GeoMon - Anglesey Geopark
- Member, Global Geopark Coordination Committee
- Partner, Cotswold Hills Geopark planning group
- Member, UK-Eire Limestone Pavement Group
- Ex-chair, Association Welsh RIGS groups