The University of Bath’s 2016 summer award ceremonies take place next week, with over 2,600 students receiving their degrees at Bath Abbey in the city centre.
Actor and writer John Cleese and England football hero Sir Bobby Charlton will receive honorary degrees, at the first degree ceremonies of the University’s 50th anniversary year.
The eleven ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (28th-30th June).
His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex will officiate as Chancellor at four ceremonies on Tuesday 28th June (12.30pm and 3pm) and Wednesday 29th June (10am and 12.30pm).
In total fourteen honorary graduates will receive degrees throughout the ceremonies:
- Sir Bobby Charlton CBE, legendary footballer and England 1966 World Cup winner; founder of Find a Better Way landmine charity who is funding research at the University to improve landmines detection (Doctor of Laws, Ceremony 1, Tuesday 28th June at 10am).
- John Cleese, iconic actor, comedian, writer and film producer best known for writing and performing in the sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the four Monty Python Films, together with co-writing and starring in the sitcom Fawlty Towers. He has co-written two books on psychology exploring families and relationships (Doctor of Clinical Psychology, Ceremony 3, Tuesday 28th June at 3pm).
- Dr Randal Newcomb, President and Chief Executive Officer of Humanity United, a social investment organization committed to advancing human freedom and building the conditions for lasting peace in some of the most challenging environments across the world (Doctor of Laws, Ceremony 1, Tuesday 28th June at 10am).
- Lord Foster of Bath, MP for Bath for five general elections, a prominent member of the Liberal Democrat Party and Deputy Chief Whip until retirement from the House of Commons in 2015 (Doctor of Laws, Ceremony 2, Tuesday 28th June at 12.30pm).
- Stephen Kelly, Bath alumnus, former government Chief Operating Officer and now Chief Executive Officer of Sage, Britain’s largest technology company; also appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron to the Government’s Business Ambassador network (Doctor of Business Administration, Ceremony 4, Wednesday 29th June at 10am).
- Elizabeth Bingham OBE, Managing Partner for Talent in the UK and Ireland, at professional service firm EY. She champions diversity, inclusion and social mobility within the workplace, and was awarded an OBE for services to Equality in the Workplace (Doctor of Laws, Ceremony 4, Wednesday 29th June at 10am).
- Kirit Patel MBE, one of the UK’s most recognised pharmacy entrepreneurs, growing his company Day Lewis Pharmacy to over 270 pharmacies in the UK. He holds an MBE for his contribution to pharmacy and public service (Doctor of Business Administration, Ceremony 5, Wednesday 29 June at 12.30pm).
- David Medlock, Chairman of Sitec Ltd engineering design company and Managing Trustee of the Medlock Charitable Trust. The Trust has contributed over £30 million to organisations across the UK, including over £1 million to both the Royal United Hospital in Bath and the University, most recently supporting research to investigate rehabilitation in military amputees. He was Pro-Chancellor and Council member at the University from 2003 to 2014. (Doctor of Engineering, Ceremony 6, Wednesday 29th June at 3pm).
- Dr Fiona Marshall, Bath alumna and co-founder of biotech company Heptares, running clinical trials for drugs developed to treat Alzheimer’s Disease, schizophrenia, cancer and migraine. Dr Marshall is Chief Scientific Officer at Heptares and CSO and Executive Vice President for new owner, Sosei Group Corporation, which bought the firm for $400 million (Doctor of Science, Ceremony 7, Wednesday 29th June at 5.15pm).
- Professor Massimo Banzi, one of the co-creators of Arduino, the first micro-controller board entirely developed as open source, the brain for thousands of projects, from everyday objects to complex scientific instruments. It is at the core of several educational programmes in schools and universities – here at Bath, in the UK and internationally (Doctor of Education, Ceremony 8, Thursday 30th June at 10am).
- Dr Michael Painting, Bath alumnus and former HR Manager at the University is co-founder of the esteemed University Chamber Choir of which he has been conductor and musical director for the past 40 year (Doctor of Music, Ceremony 9, Thursday 30th June at 12.30pm).
- Neelie Kroes was EU Commissioner for Digital Agenda until 2014. She was previously a Dutch MP and Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. She has been a board member of many of the Netherland’s biggest companies and is a member of the financial committee of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Doctor of Laws, Ceremony 10, Thursday 30th June at 3pm).
- Husband and wife Roger Whorrod OBE and Sue Whorrod will receive the Degree of Doctor of Engineering and Doctor of Health respectively. Roger was one of Bath’s first graduates in Engineering and built his own company manufacturing electrical equipment which ultimately achieved a £20 million turnover. Sue Whorrod began her career as a nurse, and worked as a Neighbourhood Nurse Manager. They are now committed philanthropists, supporting the development of students and early career researchers at the University. Roger was awarded an OBE services to philanthropy in higher education. (Ceremony 11, Thursday 30th June at 5.15pm).
The ceremonies will be preceded by a public procession of the University’s senior officers and academics.
The processions will begin at the Guildhall, go into the High Street, right into Cheap Street, left down Farrs Passage into the Abbey Churchyard. They will return after the ceremonies past Rebecca’s Fountain and into the High Street.
These roads will be closed to traffic for about six minutes during the processions, which will occur at approximately 9.55am, 11.15am (return), 12.25pm, 1.45pm (return), 2.55pm and 4.15pm (return) on all three days, and on Wednesday and Thursday an extra ceremony will have processions at 5.10pm and 6.30pm (return).
To allow for the graduation ceremonies to take place, Bath Abbey will only be open in the evenings on Monday and Tuesday, between 5.30pm and 7.30pm; on Wednesday, between 7pm and 8pm, and will be closed all day Thursday, resuming normal opening hours on Friday.
The University of Bath’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, said: “The University’s award ceremonies are a wonderful occasion for all involved, particularly as we embark on our 50th anniversary celebration year.
“Our graduating students join a community of over 100,000 alumni living and working across the world, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements.”