When Tony Power attended an open day at CCCU to show his son around back in 2016, he didn’t expect to be the one signing up to do a degree. But that is a exactly what happened, and father and son went on to study together. Fast-forward 4 years and Tony is back at CCCU, but this time on the other side of the classroom, as an Academic Tutor for Law.

“I chose to study for my LLB (Hons) Bachelor of Law to add weigh to my experience. I had a lot of practical, on-the job-experience and expertise, and my degree brought all this knowledge together. It was a fun experience to study with my son – we had quite a few mutual friends, who were very surprised to find out we were related! It was an honour to graduate alongside him in 2019. And I feel privileged to be continuing my career journey with the university.”

Not only does Tony have a real passion for the law, but his professional experience helps bring the subject alive to his students.

Tony is a former Police Officer with over 16 years of experience at strategic and operational level, specifically around communication and managing conflict in dynamic environments. As well as his degree, Tony holds a PG Cert in Legal Studies from the University of Law in London, is a County Court Advocate and a CILEX Paralegal. He is a successful business man, delivering training and consultancy in the management and understanding of challenging behaviour primarily within residential care.”

He is one of a handful of accredited Expert Witnesses for both Civil and Criminal Courts in matters involving the management of challenging behaviour, use of reasonable force within residential care, physical intervention, and the training of these areas in the UK.

Did we also mention he started his career at Butlins, has black belts in 3 martial arts, is an entrepreneur with his own property investment business. Tony still has a great interest in the entertainments world from and is a fan of musical theatre, he is even considering writing a musical drawing on elements from his past careers!

Tony is an impressive character, determined, driven, supportive and engaging. And he is proud to be working with CCCU students sharing his knowledge and guidance, with his fresh ideas of how to enhance the student learning experience. “I would love to bring mock trials to the classroom. The cross-disciplinary learning opportunities could be huge – law, police, social services, politics, journalism and even drama students acting as witnesses for example. There a lots of possibilities which could benefit a far wider number of students, as opposed to just those doing Law. My role also looks to support students from a well-being point of view, ensuring they are engaged, committed and thriving on the course.”

“I am keen to find ways to also engage with our alumni community, and provide them with continuous learning opportunities. Through our connections to the Kent Law Society there are opportunities for alumni and students to network and share experiences. I am proud to be an alumnus of the University and have made some incredible contacts within the alumni community. As a staff member I am looking forward to bringing my students, alumni and law professional contacts together to support everyone in their professional development and knowledge exchange.”