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PALA Mary Ellen Ryder Fund

Members of PALA were shocked and distressed to hear of the sudden death of Mary Ellen Ryder in August 2008. Boise State University, where Mary Ellen was a Professor for twenty years, has set up a student scholarship scheme in her honour. Details can be found in a news release from the University.

All of the possessions of Mary Ellen and her partner, Peter, were destroyed in the fire. PALA members are collecting photos of Mary Ellen to help her family and friends, and to help us, to remember her. You can see the photos at http://tinyurl.com/maryellenryder. Please send any more photos that you have to martin.wynne at oucs.ox.ac.uk.

After consultation with Mary Ellen's family and friends, we have agreed to set up an opportunity for PALA members to contribute to a student scholarship fund to assist with attending PALA conferences and other events. Please click on the donate button below and follow the instructions to make a payment to the PALA Mary Ellen Ryder Fund. There are numerous payment options, and you don't have to be a member of Paypal.

For donations up to the value of £1,500.00 GBP an administrative charge of 3.4% + £0.20 is made by Paypal. PALA finds that this is the most convenient and cost-effective way to collect payments. However, if you prefer, an alternative way to pay is to send a sterling cheque from a UK bank by post to:


Dan Mcintyre
Mary Ellen Ryder Fund
School of Music, Humanities and Media,
West Building,
The University of Huddersfield,
Queensgate,
Huddersfield,
HD1 3DH.

The PALA committee will use the money to complement the existing small bursaries scheme. If you have any questions, please get in touch with the PALA Treasurer, Dan McIntyre, by emailing dan.mcintyre at huddersfield.ac.uk.

Students and friends of Mary Ellen have set up a Facebook group for remembering her, and have invited PALA members to join, or just read a few stories from her students. If you are a member of Facebook, you can view the group here.