Manchester United's Chief Executive and the BBC Director of Sport are amongst those who will be receive honorary degrees from the University of Birmingham graduation ceremonies.
Manchester United’s Chief Executive and the BBC Director of Sport are amongst those who will be receive honorary degrees from the University of Birmingham graduation ceremonies.
Honorary Graduates are as follows:
Wednesday 13 July 2011
3.30pm
Barbara Slater - Doctor of the University
Barbara Slater is BBC Director of Sport and is responsible for coverage of the London Olympic Games in 2012. In 2010 she oversaw coverage of the Winter Olympics, World Cup, F1 and Crown Jewel events such as Six Nations Rugby, the Grand National and Wimbledon and, has also competed as an international gymnast for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976.
Thursday 14 July
10.30am
David Gill - Doctor of the University
David Gill is Chief Executive of Manchester United FC. As Chief Executive he oversees the business as a whole, with football and management staff reporting directly to him. David is also a member of the board of the Football Association, the European Club Association and UEFA.
1.45pm
Sarah-Jane Marsh - Alumna of the Year
Sarah-Jane Marsh is Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, a position she took up at the age of 32 making her the youngest ever Chief Executive of a Foundation Trust. In her career Sarah has worked in a number of planning, development and managerial roles for Worcestershire Hospitals, Redditch and Bromsgrove PCT, Walsall Hospitals and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
4.30pm
Professor John Casken - Doctor of Music
John Casken is one of the UK’s leading music composers. John has written music for the 1992 BBC Proms and BBC Singers. In 1996 he was awarded a FRNCM (Fellow of the Royal Northern College of Music). In 2009 he won the British Composer Award for vocal music.
Friday 15 July
10.30am
Professor John Hick - Doctor of Divinity
Professor John Hick is one of the most prominent philosophers of religion in our time. He has written eighteen books, which have been translated between them into sixteen languages. He is vice-president of the British Society for Philosophy of Religion and of the World Congress of Faiths and, has doctorates from Oxford (D.Phil) and Edinburgh University.
1.45pm
Professor David Phillips OBE - Doctor of Science
David Phillips is Professor Emeritus, Senior Research Investigator and Senior Science Ambassador for Schools. He is also President-elect of Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK and was awarded an OBE at the Queens Birthday Honours in June 1999 for his services to science education.
4.30pm
The Hon Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma - Doctor of Laws
Geoffrey Ma is Chief Justice of the Hong Kong Judiciary. He was called to the English Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1978, the Hong Kong Bar in 1980, the Bar of the State of Victoria, in Australia, in 1983 and the Bar of Singapore in 1990. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993 and made an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn in 2004.
Monday 18 July
10.30am
Mr Murugappa Subbiah - Doctor of the University
Murugappa Subbiah is Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), with a mandate to skill 150 million young people in India. He is Board member of Axis Bank and serves as the Managing Trustee of the Family Foundation, which operates four schools, four hospitals, a Polytechnic college and a Research Centre.
1.45pm
Dr Huqu Zhai - Doctor of Science
Huqu Zhai has been President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) since 2001. As President he is responsible for the organisational design and reform, and developing guidelines for research and educational organisation. Between 1995 and 2001 Dr Zhai served as President of the Nanjing Agricultural University and in 1997 he was awarded the title of “Outstanding Young Specialist of the Ministry of Agriculture”.
4.30pm
Dr Chris Henney - Doctor of the University
Chris Henney is involved in all entrepreneurial aspects of the biotechnology industry. He co-founded a number of biotechnology companies, one of which developed the first immunotherapeutic vaccine approved for the treatment of cancer and the best selling drug world-wide for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Tuesday 19 July
10.30am
Mr Terence Bramall - Doctor of the University
Terence Bramall is Director of Doncaster Rovers FC and Trustee of the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation. He was Chief Executive of market-leader Keepmoat PLC which provides new and improved homes across the UK. He was also Vice Chairman of the Dearne Valley Partnership and in 2004 was awarded the National Masters Entrepreneur of the Year.
1.45pm
Dr The Hon Ahmed Rashid Beebeejaun - Doctor of the University
Ahmed Rashid Beebeejaun is Deputy Prime Minister of the Mauritius Labour party, Minister of Renewable Energy and Public Utilities for the Government of Mauritius and has served as a Government Consultant in Child Health. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London.
4.30pm
Professor John Ludden - Doctor of Science
John Ludden is the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey (BGS). He was Associate Director for the Earth Sciences at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He served as Director of Research for the CNRS in France and, served as President of the European Geosciences Union and EuroGeosurveys.
Wednesday 20 July
10.30am
Professor Jo Bradwell - Doctor of Science
Jo Bradwell is Chairman of The Binding Site - a biomedical development company. He is currently involved with clinical trials with patients who have multiple myeloma and are in renal failure. He is studying immunotherapy in patients with parathyroid carcinoma and maintains strong research links with the University’s Medical School.
1.45pm
Professor Chris Pollock CBE - Doctor of the University
Chris Pollock is currently Chair of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies and of the Institute of Biology. He is a former winner of the British Grassland Society Award and was made a CBE for services to the environment in 2002.
4.30pm
Professor Sue Hill OBE - Doctor of Science
Professor Sue Hill trained as a clinical physiologist and gained a PhD in Respiratory Sciences. She has worked for most of her career in the NHS and academia at University Hospital Birmingham and its predecessors and at the University of Birmingham. Sue was appointed as Chief Scientific Officer at the Department of Health in 2002 and is the professional head of the 50,000 strong healthcare science workforce in the NHS and related organisations. In 2005, Sue received an OBE for her services to healthcare science.
Thursday 21 July
10.30am
Christopher Adams - Alumnus of the Year
Christopher Adams is markets editor at the Financial Times, a job that allows him to inform readers about the financial markets using his specialised knowledge. He graduated from University of Birmingham in 1992 with a Joint Honours degree in Hispanic Studies and Russian. Before joining the Financial Times Chris was a reporter with Petroleum Argus and while at Reuters took up the roles of energy correspondent and then UK equities correspondent.
Ends
Notes to Editors
There will be an opportunity to photograph each honorary graduand in the 15 minutes prior to each degree ceremony. Please call the Press Office for accreditation.
For further information
University of Birmingham Press Office:
Kate Chapple, tel. 0121 414 2772 or 07789 921164
Ben Hill, tel, 0121 414 5134 or 07789 921163
