Our latest Wonder Winner...

This Warwick Wonder Award recognises a long-serving member of our community as a trusted leader and a symbol of resilience.

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John Pitman | Community Safety

As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, it’s only fitting to honour those who have shaped Warwick's legacy. Among them stands John Pitman, Operations Manager for Community Safety, whose unwavering dedication over many years has made him a cornerstone of our community.

John brings "a voice of reason and security, and a wealth of invaluable knowledge."

For over 30 years, John has been instrumental in building and strengthening the Community Safety team, ensuring the well-being of students, staff, and visitors alike. His deep institutional knowledge, calm presence, and strategic foresight have made him a go-to figure in times of uncertainty and change.

Transcript

Professor Stuart Croft: For today's Wonder, we are at Westwood on a beautiful sunny summer's day. We're here by the cafe. We've got the Music Centre here, Centre for Teacher Education there.

We're going to go and surprise someone who is an institution of the University, because people can be institutions of the University as well. And this is going to be John Pitman.

John's worked at this University for 33 years. He joined in 1992 and he's seen us grow and develop and change over that period of time. John works in the Community Safety Team. He's responsible for so much of the work with our students to support them on their journeys, to make sure that they're really safe while they're here on this campus.

So let's go and give him the surprise of his life.

This fine gentleman has done something amazing.

John Pitman: Have I?

Professor Stuart Croft: Yes. Yes. And I know you're going to complain, but you're not allowed to. You just have to be quiet for a minute.

You see, we have our wonderful Wows and Wonders awards and people are put forward for all sorts of reasons. For the Wonders Award, the things that they do, the people that they are, the contributions they've made.

And if you can tell, everybody here has worked out. What do you think that is? They worked out that you, sir, are the winner of our Wonder Award because of your service, because of your steadfastness, because of your calmness, because of your amazing common sense to get things done.

This man is the winner. So first of all, because you've got to compose yourself. Applause, come on, come.

(Applause)

You've seen enormous changes, of course, across the campus and who we are in that period of time.

John Pitman: Definitely. Yeah. It's been one of the positives really because change is good and working with students over that period of time, it's been really, um, yeah. Lot of nice people around - staff, students and some of our staff.

Professor Stuart Croft: And we've grown and we've developed and you know, we've become even more international in that period as well. Yeah. Fantastic.

Now we have some little things to mark the occasion. We first of all have it in writing. It's in writing, and therefore it has actually really happened. You are wonderful.

Uh, but most importantly, most importantly, who's the star? Who's the star? John Pitman is the star.

Has that ever been said before?

John Pitman: No. I've been called a few things.

(Laughter)

Professor Stuart Croft: Well done, John, brilliant!

What sets John apart is his rare ability to blend time-tested principles with modern approaches. His leadership style is both grounded and forward-thinking, inspiring those around him to grow while staying true to the core values of safety and service.

The Wonder award not only honours his years of service, but the profound impact John continues to make every day, keeping our community safe.

John's nominator told us:

"Having worked alongside him for nearly 20 years, I have personally witnessed his exceptional leadership and adaptability. The ability to evolve and adapt to changing times, while maintaining a strong foundation of experience and wisdom, is a rare and invaluable quality."

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