We're sad to announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr Harriet Sturdy.
Harriet started work as the Centre of Development Studies' PhD Administrator in 2022, having previously worked as Headteacher at the Cambridge International School. Harriet co-founded the Cambridge International School in 2005.
Harriet will be remembered above all for her kindness. In her four years working for the Centre, she guided dozens of students through their PhD studies with unconditional patience, warmth and generosity.
Harriet was fond of cheese scones, Mike Leigh films, The Guardian website and international travel. When her colleagues asked each other what they did over the weekend, most would say that they stayed at home or visited friends and family. Harriet would scroll through her phone to show photos that she'd taken that Saturday in Paris or Rome. Harriet's friends, colleagues and students will remember the cheese straws that she brought to her PhD coffee mornings, her hatred of vegetables, her wry sense of humour, her distrust of Cambridge bus schedules, the glass mug that she used for tea (never coffee), the joy that she took from her trips to Australia and her love for her family. As Harriet would always leave the office at 1.30, her colleagues will forever remember that time of day as 'Harriet o'clock'.
We'll all miss Harriet and remember her with love.
Write a Tribute
Harriet's students, friends and colleagues are welcome to submit tributes to her memory. If you'd like to share a tribute, please email admin@devstudies.ac.uk and we will be happy to post it on this page.