2 May 2010

University to honour leading international figures

The University of Dundee will this year confer Honorary Degrees on seven leading figures from the worlds of literature, science, business, politics, music and academia.

The University’s annual graduation ceremonies, which take place between Tuesday 22nd and Friday 25th June, will see the following guests receive a Doctor of Laws (LLD):

• Rosamunde Pilcher OBE - Author of 30 novels and hundreds of short stories who sold 30 million books during a long and distinguished career.
• Professor Roberto Lenton - Globally recognised water expert who has spearheaded many initiatives seeking to ensure a clean and regular supply of water for all.
• Bruce Johnston - Highly respected figure in the world of business who served several distinguished companies as well as being a member of the University Court for eight years.
• Bahia Hariri - Lebanese politician and activist involved in projects to empower women in the Gulf and improve access to education in the region.
• Professor Gosta Walin - Oceanographer who has made outstanding scientific achievements and who regularly contributes to political debates requiring a rigorous understanding of underlying scientific principles.
• Nick Cave - Internationally acclaimed musician, writer, poet and actor who has won a number of musical awards, penned novels and volumes of poetry, appeared in several films, and formed an unlikely duet with Kylie Minogue.
• Sir Alan Langlands - Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University between 2001 and 2009 and current Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Professor Pete Downes, Principal of the University, congratulated each of the Honorary Graduates, saying, “Our Honorary Graduates this year once again represent some of the highest achievers, clearest thinkers and respected voices in their respective fields. They give great inspiration to our students.

The Graduation ceremonies take place in the Caird Hall in Dundee and begin on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 22nd with morning and afternoon ceremonies to follow on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

NOTES TO EDITORS

There will be photo opportunities with each of the Honorary Graduates before the ceremony in the Robing Room of Dundee City Chambers. These will be from 9.30 am for the morning ceremonies (which begin at 10 am) and 2 pm for the afternoon ceremonies (which begin at 2.30 pm).

The ceremonies where honorary degrees will be conferred are:

• Tuesday, June 22nd, 2.30pm - Rosamunde Pilcher, Professor Roberto Lenton.
• Wednesday, June 23rd, 10.00am - Bruce Johnston.
• Wednesday, June 23rd, 2.30pm - Bahia Hariri.
• Thursday, June 24th, 10.00am - Gosta Walin.
• Friday, June 25th, 10.00am - Sir Alan Langlands.
• Friday, June 25th, 2.30pm - Nick Cave.

Honorary Graduate biographies

Rosamunde Pilcher
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE is one of the most prolific and successful writers in the world, having sold 30 million books during a long and distinguished career. She began writing at the tender age of seven and her first short story to be published came 11 years later.

She has lived in the Longforgan area for over 60 years and is a long standing supporter of the University of Dundee, having donated to the campaign to raise funds for the building of the Sir James Black Centre and backing the Dundee Literary Festival.

Rosmande’s first novel was published in 1949, and she went on to write dozens more books over the next 50 years. Her 1987 novel, The Shell Seekers, sold more than five million copies globally and, from then until her retirement in 2000, she was consistently one of the world’s most successful contemporary female authors.

In total, Rosamunde Pilcher has published 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, with two of her books topping the New York Times bestseller list. Her remarkable storytelling skills are evident in her rich, romantic and satisfying stories. She was awarded an OBE in 2002.

Professor Roberto Lenton
Professor Roberto Lenton, from Argentina, is one of the world’s foremost water experts and has spearheaded several global organisations and initiatives seeking to ensure a clean and regular supply of water for all.

He has served as chair of the Global Water Partnership (2003-2009), chair of the Water Supply and Sanitation Committee (2005-), and co-chair of the UN Task Force on Water and Sanitation (2002-2005). The last of these roles saw him work directly with the Secretary General of the UN and he has also collaborated extensively with colleagues at the World Bank.

In addition, Professor Lenton has taught, lectured and published papers around the world, providing intellectual leadership and advice in the area of water policy.

He already enjoys strong Scottish connections. His grandfather, James McCulloch was born in Blackford and his mother insisted that Professor Lenton be educated at St Andrews Scots School in Buenos Aires.

Bruce Johnston
Bruce Johnston was a member of the University Court for eight years until his second term as a lay member came to an end in July 2009. Throughout that time, he was a constant supporter and champion of the University, and made a vital contribution to the good governance of the institution through his diligence, integrity and objectivity.

Now retired, Mr Johnston formerly served as a partner with Chartered Accountancy firm Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young) and later as Executive Chairman of City Centre Restaurants. He was Chairman of The Alliance Trust and Second Alliance Trust until his retirement in 2004.

Appointed a lay member of Court in 2001, he took up chairmanship of what is now the Finance & Policy Committee the following autumn. He held this role for the remainder of his time on Court and was also a Trustee of the University of Dundee Superannuation Scheme for many years.

Mr Johnston was recognised by senior management as being a loyal friend of the University, but also a firm and respected critic who helped the institution to reform its financial management processes and whose contribution went far and above what is normally expected of a Court member.

Bahia Hariri
Bahia Hariri is a long standing educational and cultural activist in Lebanon, rising to the position of Secretary of State for Education within the country. Born into a working class family with a strong desire to help others, Bahia pursued a career in teaching before establishing the Hariri Foundation (HF) in 1979 along with her late brother Rafiq, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon.

Since its inception, HF has provided an educational platform for more than 20,000 students at colleges and universities in Lebanon as well as a further 4700 students across the world.

Her commitment to promoting social and human development projects led her to enter politics and she has held on to her parliamentary seat since 1992. She is also heavily involved in projects to empower women in the Gulf, has been Head of the Arab Interparliamentary Union’s Women’s Committee since 1992, and has subsequently been appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Arab women and girls.

Bahia Hariri is a Trustee of numerous universities and other organisations across the Gulf and Middle East region, and has received several honours and awards in recognition of her work.

Gosta Walin
Gosta Walin, Emeritus Professor at Gothenburg University’s Institute of Oceanography has made outstanding scientific achievements during his distinguished career.

Professor Walin pioneered new approaches to our understanding of fluid motion, making remarkable breakthroughs in this field as he did so. In addition to enhancing the understanding of fluid dynamics, he has used his expertise to develop technology to deal with marine pollution, and oil spills in particular.

At the same time, he has displayed imaginative and courageous leadership in the field of environmental science policy and research. Professor Walin has also undertaken entrepreneurial and literary activities that have promoted the role of science in social and community decision making.

He continues to participate tirelessly in debates on political issues that require a rigorous understanding of underlying scientific principles and has written two books on the scientific basis of energy politics.

Nick Cave
NickCaveis an internationally acclaimed musician, writer, poet, actor and sometime philosopher. Throughout his career, Mr Cave has established himself as a lyricist and musician equally at home experimenting with a number of styles, including jazz, blues, pop and rock.

His 30-year career has seen him win a number of prestigious awards and he famously formed an unlikely duet with Kylie Minogue in 1996. As a writer, he has penned two novels and had two volumes of poetry published.

Mr Cave’s acting career has seen him star in a number of films including The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Jonas at the Oceon, Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest, Johnny Suede and Ghosts - of the Civil Dead, which he also credited with writing.

He is currently working on an upcoming film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. In addition to both acting on and writing for films, he has collaborated on many movies as a composer and musician.

Throughout his genre-spanning career, Nick Cave’s work has exhibited seriousness, intensity and a highly developed artistic sensibility.

Sir Alan Langlands
Sir Alan Langlands spent eight years as Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee before taking up a position as Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England in April 2009.

He graduated with a degree in biological science from the University of Glasgow in 1974 and took up a graduate trainee position with the NHS. He worked his way up the organisation and, in 1994, became Chief Executive of the NHS in England, where he was the Secretary of State’s principal policy adviser for the NHS.

In 1998 he received a Knighthood for his services to the NHS. As Chief Executive he oversaw the setting up of bodies to drive improvement and consistency across the NHS and managed the organisation through rapid change.

Sir Alan presided over a period of enormous progress for the University and his legacy includes a strong pipeline of funded research, new programmes of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, a strong professoriate, a well motivated community of students, and excellent new facilities and research platforms.

As Chief Executive of HEFCE, Sir Alan plays a key role in the strategic development of higher education across England and is be responsible for £7.5 billion used to support excellence in education, research and knowledge transfer in universities and colleges which provide higher education programmes.

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