4 July 2001

A modern art gallery in London is to be the unusual setting for the graduation of group of Scottish art students on Tuesday. The University of Dundee is to break with tradition and stage a London graduation ceremony this year to help a group of design students who have annually missed out on the dubbing ceremony due to a calendar clash.

In recent years a growing number of design students have been forced to choose between attending a London event crucial to springboarding their new careers or taking part in the formal ceremony which marks the culmination of their study years. Graduands and their families have been disappointed. But this year a solution has been found. On a recent trip to London, University Vice Chancellor Sir Alan Langlands took the opportunity to explore the option of staging a small ceremony in the vicinity of the New Designers show at Islington.

As a result 37 design students will now graduate on TUESDAY 10 July in a modern art gallery housing some of the most famous and valuable works of modern art in the UK. The ESTORICK - a handsome Georgian villa set in a walled garden at 39a Canonbury Square - is only 20 minutes walk from the New Designers venue and close to the base of University Chancellor and Nobel Prize winner Sir James Black who will attend the ceremony.

"Design students and their parents have warmly welcomed the idea of a London ceremony. The regular clash of dates has been a source of frustration for some years. New Designers is the biggest event in the UK for all design disciplines with many students finding jobs with design firms on the strength of their exhibits," said deputy principal Bill Barr, a former dean of the Faculty of Duncan of Jordanstone College.

The graduands -some of whom intend to wear traditional kilts under their gowns - will graduate in three short ceremonies from 2pm with a reception in the gardens afterwards. In addition to the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor Sir Alan Langlands, Deputy Principal and Dean Georgina Follett will be in attendance as well as invited guests./ends

Notes for Editors
1. University Chancellor Sir James Black was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 for discoveries which led to the development of two of the most widely used drug families in the world - beta blockers and histamine receptor blocking drugs used against ulcers.

2. Vice Chancellor Sir Alan Langlands was formerly chief executive of the NHS. This is his first graduation ceremony as Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee.

3. The University of Dundee's Faculty of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design is officially rated the best art & design school in Scotland.

4. The graduates are:

BACHELOR OF DESIGN
Katy Blackwell 1st, Thrisk
Heather L. Buchan 1st, Dundee
Joanne Campbell, 1st, Dundee
Freya J. Cumming, 1st, Perth
Denise B. Dye, 2.2, Auchterarder
Louisa G. Forsyth, 2.1, Newport-on-Tay
Craig H. Fraser, 2.1, Glasgow
Ashley G. Gibb, 2.1, Balerno
Catherine A. Gillon, 1st, Kennoway
Zoe A. Hargraves, 2.2, Forfar
Joseph A. Haughey, 2.2, Glasgow
Zoe V. Hornby, 2.1, Leeds
Sarah Jacobs, 3rd, St Andrews
Kirsten J. Kennard, 2.1, Anstruther
Kirsty J. Kirkpatrick, 2.1, Irvine
Shelley Konopinski, 2.2, Leven
Niall D. McCormack, 1st, Strathaven
Alison A. MacLeod, 2.1, Dornoch
Gail McMillan, 2.1, Airdrie
Shonagh I. Massie, 2.2, Forfar
Rachel S. Miller, 2.2, Renfrew
Anna M. Mitchell, 2.2, Tighnabruaich
Ailsa Moore, 2.2, Dundee
Monica C. Paton, 1st, Perth
Pauline Rogers, 2.2, Aberlour
Sangeeta A. Sathe, 1st, Stockton-on-Tees
Allister R. Smith, 2.1, Arbroath
Andrew J. Smith, 2.1, Newport-on-Tay
Andrew W. Smith, 1st, Carnousite
Jennifer A. Soep, 2.2, Taynuilt
Graeme A. Stewart, 2.1, Brechin
Esmee L. Thompson, 2.2, Glasgow
Euan F. Thompson, 2.1, Kinross
Mark A. Thomson, 2.1, Glasgow
Mervi Vayrynen, 2.1, Finland
Holly E. Verrill, 2.1, Alnwick
Stuart J. Young, 2.2, Banbury

Contact Carol Pope 01382 344021 mobile 07803 264755