Over 4,500 students will graduate from the University of Birmingham from 13 – 20 July at 16 degree ceremonies in the University’s Great Hall. They will be joined by the following honorary graduands:
Friday 13th July
10.30am Ceremony
Mr Hamish Brewer, Doctor of Science, DSc
Hamish Brewer is Chief Executive of JDA Software Group Inc, the demand and supply chain partner to the world’s leading retailers and manufacturers. Prior to JDA, he worked for four years at IBM as a retail specialist in sales and marketing and for a private retail company in England. He received a BSc in Production Engineering and BCom in Economics from the University of Birmingham.
1.45pm Ceremony
Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby, Doctor of Divinity, DD
Peter Selby was appointed Bishop of Worcester in 1997 and in 2001 was made Bishop to Prisons. He is a Church Commissioner and a member of the Commissioner’s Assets Committee. He has served on the Doctrine Commission, and the House of Bishops Theological Group and is Vice Chair of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group.
4.30pm Ceremony
Professor Jeremy Greenwood, Doctor of Science, DSc
Jeremy Greenwood has been Director of the British Trust for Ornithology since 1987. He has written widely on avian conservation science and its links to policy development. He is President of the European Ornithologists Union and past Chairman of the European Bird Census Council. He is Honorary Professor at the Universities of Birmingham, East Anglia and St Andrews.
Monday 16th July
10.30am Ceremony
Mr Derrick Anderson CBE, Doctor of the University, DUniv
Derrick Anderson CBE has been Chief Executive of the London Borough of Lambeth since 2006. Previously he was Chief Executive of Wolverhampton City Council. He is a board member of the Home Office Policing Ministerial Reference Group, a committee member of VSO UK, and a board member of Sport England, London Region. He was awarded the CBE in 2003 for his services to local government.
1.45pm Ceremony
Professor Elliott Lieb, Doctor of Science, DSc
Elliott Lieb is Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Princeton University and prior to that held the same position at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has twice served as President of the International Association of Mathematical Physics. He received a PhD in mathematical physics from Birmingham in 1956.
4.30pm Ceremony
Sir Ian Byatt, Doctor of Science, DSc
Ian Byatt is Chairman of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and Senior Associate at Frontier Economics. He has been a Member of the Public Services Productivity Panel for HM Treasury, Director General of Water Services and Deputy Chief Economic Advisor to the Treasury. He was awarded a Knighthood in 2000.
Tuesday 17th July
10.30am Ceremony
Mr Dennis Amiss MBE, Doctor of University, DUniv
Dennis Amiss has had a career in professional cricket spanning more than 40 years at both domestic and international levels. He gained 51 England caps between 1966 and 1977, scoring a total of 3612 runs. He was the Chief Executive of Warwickshire County Cricket Club between 1994 and 2006 and is now Director of the England and Wales Cricket Board. He was awarded an MBE in 1988.
1.45pm Ceremony
Professor Colin Carlile, Doctor of Science, DSc
Colin Carlile is Director Designate of the European Spallation Source in Scandinavia and is Professor of Physics at Lund University in Sweden. Previously he was director of l’Institute Laue in France during which time he initiated the refit of its nuclear reactor giving it operational life for a further 20 years. He was awarded the Glazebrook and Prize Medal by the Institute of Physics in 2006.
4.30pm Ceremony
The Rt Hon Sir Philip Otton, Doctor of Laws, LLD
Philip Otton retired as a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2001. He was appointed a High Court Judge (Queen’s Bench Division) in 1983, to the Court of Appeal in 1985 and to the Court of Appeal in Gibraltar in 2004. He continues to sit in the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal (on occasions). He is an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Judicial Administration at the University of Birmingham.
His Excellency, Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso, Doctor of the University, DUniv
Prince Seeiso is the present High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Lesotho to the Court of St. James. He is a member of the National Conflict Dispute Resolution Committee in Lethoso and is Joint Founder and Patron of Sentebale, a charity supporting vulnerable children in Lethoso. He is also Patron of Linking Lives, a London based charity helping less privileged people in Lethoso.
Wednesday 18th July
10.30am Ceremony
Professor Geoffrey Boulton OBE, Doctor of Science, DSc
Geoffrey Boulton is Regius Professor of Geology and Vice Principal at the University of Edinburgh. He is Chair of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s Research Committee, and since March 2004 he has been a member of the Council for Science and Technology, the governments leading advisory body for science, technology and policy. He was awarded the OBE for his contribution to science and higher education.
1.45pm Ceremony
Dr John Joubert, Doctor of Music, DMus
John Joubert’s composing career began at school in Cape Town. In 1950 he graduated from Durham University and was then appointed to a lectureship at Hull University. His music soon became widely performed, published and broadcast. He continued his academic career at Birmingham, and took early retirement in 1986 to concentrate on composing. John’s works include the operas Silas Marner, Jane Eyre and Under Western Eyes and the oratorios The Rising of Lazarus and Wings of Faith.
4.30pm Ceremony
Miss Sajida Madni, Young Alumna of the Year 2007
Sajida Madni is a professional organiser with Birmingham Citizens, working on systemic issues of social justice for the benefit of organisations, families and their communities. Previously Sajida worked as a teacher at Sheldon Community School becoming head of English within three years whilst also coaching the official Girls’ Rugby and Football Teams. She captained Aston Villa Ladies’ Team until 2002.
Thursday 19th July
10.30am Ceremony
Dr John Kelly OBE, Doctor of Medicine, DMed
John Kelly is a an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with world-wide acclaim in the treatment and prevention of obstetric fistulae in developing countries. He was instrumental in securing funding for and establishing the first fistula hospital in Ethiopia in 1969. He has continued to work there each year and since his retirement in 1996 spends 7 – 9 months each year running programmes across Africa and Asia. He was awarded the OBE in 2005 for services to Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the developing world.
1.45pm Ceremony
Professor Sir Richard Feachem, Doctor of Engineering, DEng
Richard Feachem is Professor of Global Health at both the University of California, San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Founding Director of the Institute for Global Health. From 2002 to 2007 Sir Richard served as founding Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He was knighted in 2007.
Major General Alan Hawley OBE, Alumnus of the Year 2007
Alan Hawley was appointed as Director General of Army Medical Services in 2005, having previously served as Director of British Forces Germany Health Services. He has completed operational tours in Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He holds honorary academic appointments at the Universities of Liverpool and Birmingham as well as with the Royal Society of Medicine and the Society of Apothecaries.
4.30pm Ceremony
Sir David Omand, Doctor of the University, DUniv
David Omand retired in April 2005 after more than 35 years working for the UK Civil Service. He was the first UK Security Intelligence Coordinator between 2002 and 2005, was Permanent Secretary of the Home Office between 1997 and 2000 and was Permanent Secretary of the Government Communications Headquarters between 1996 and 1997. He is a Trustee of the Natural History Museum and Vice Chairman of the Windsor Leadership Trust.
Friday 20th July
10.30am Ceremony
Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE, FRS, FREng, Doctor of Science, DSc
Julia Higgins is the Principal of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London. She is Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, a Trustee of the National Gallery and the Daphne Jackson Trust. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering as well as a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering in the USA. She was awarded the DBE in 2002 and a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2003.
Mr David Nicholson CBE, Doctor of the University, DUniv
David Nicholson has been Chief Executive of the NHS since September 2006. He has devoted over 25 years to a career in the NHS holding positions such as Chief Executive of the new Strategic Health Authority for London, Chief Executive of Birmingham and the Black Country Strategic Health Authority from 2003 and of West Midlands South and Shropshire & Staffordshire Strategic health Authorities from 2005. He was awarded the CBE in 2004 for his services to the NHS.
Ends
Notes to Editors
There will be an opportunity to photograph each honorary graduand in the 15 minutes prior to each degree ceremony. Please telephone the press office for accreditation.
For further information
University of Birmingham Press Office contacts:
Kate Chapple, tel. 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164.