Eleanor Draycott (1985-2023)

We are very sad to announce the death of our dear friend and colleague Eleanor Draycott, Head of Customer Experience and Service Delivery in Digital Technology Services (DTS), at the University of Reading.

Eleanor was recently diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and was with her family at the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford when she died peacefully on Monday 24 July 2023. Eleanor is survived by her parents, Terry and Gill and her fiancé Tom.

Education and career

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Modern History from the University of Liverpool, Eleanor started her professional career in IT support and service desk management but always in the Higher Education sector.

She worked her way up from service desk analyst to customer services management roles at the Universities of Liverpool John Moores, Oxford and Leeds Beckett before joining the University of Reading as an IT Service Desk Manager in March 2018.

She quickly made an impression and was promoted to Head of Customer Experience and Service Delivery and became part of the senior management team of DTS in October 2019.

Delighting colleagues and students

Eleanor was passionate about delighting the customer and had a real talent for it. Welcome week was where she shone the most with her enthusiasm, energy, wit, kindness, and infectious personality that many colleagues and students across the university had the pleasure of experiencing. She always wanted to make sure that first impression to our students was the best it could be.

Her work in DTS saw her secure a funding grant for a new laptop loan service for our students, put in a new contact centre to reduce call waiting times, support take-home exams, and host regular ‘ticket smash’ sessions, encouraging all members of DTS to meet virtually and try and move tickets to resolution. She made this so fun and engaging through that warmth and charisma.

Particular contributions Eleanor made included facilitating and educating on digital platforms, including the hosting of online events that allowed colleagues to stay engaged during the pandemic, and networking and relationship building with the Students’ Union and other staff groups.

Passion for equality, diversity and inclusion

Eleanor’s other passion was focused on equality, diversity and inclusion and providing people with opportunities that were not always possible in years gone by.

She became actively involved in the Women@Reading Network as a member of the Steering Group from October 2020 and then Co-Chair from October 2021. Her Network colleagues found her a joy to work with – always enthusiastic, encouraging of others and wanting to challenge existing attitudes to improve the experience of staff and students.

Externally, Eleanor collaborated with partners and charities on initiatives and events and championed women in leadership, having completed the Aurora programme. She was a very active member of the sector-wide UCISA Support Services and Women in Technology Groups.

Wit, insight and sparkle

She was a prolific voice on Twitter/X, she encouraged those who were just starting out on their career journey, and she entertained many through her lockdown quizzes and MasterChef and Bake Off competitions.

Eleanor touched many people’s working lives, both as a colleague and as a friend, she was full of wit and insight and the sparkle that she shared will be deeply missed.

She was thoughtful, generous, good-humoured and caring and we are proud to have known and worked with her. She brought a whole lot of cheer and fun to her colleagues, and she will forever be a shining star to us all.

Celebration of Life event

Eleanor’s family are inviting friends and colleagues to join them at Eleanor’s Celebration of Life event which will be held at St Mary’s Church, Charlbury on Saturday 2 of September at 14:00.

Details of any University of Reading campus-based memorial event will be available in due course.

Support is available from the University for those affected by this news. Colleagues can find information on the Employee Assistance Programme website (Login: URlogin and Password: wellbeing) and support is available from a range of charities, including Cruse Bereavement Support.