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Our honorary graduates

We award honorary degrees to inspiring individuals who have achieved great feats in their fields.

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Honorary degrees awarded in 2025

Professor Dame Margaret Brimble - Doctor of Science

Margaret is Distinguished Professor and Director of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

She is an Executive Editor for Organic Letters, Past-President of IUPAC Organic and Biomolecular Division III, and Past-President of the International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry.

Dame Margaret has published over 700 papers and is inventor on over 50 patents. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Dame Companion New Zealand Order of Merit, and inductee into the ACS Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame.

She was awarded the 2023 Davy Medal (Royal Society), Rutherford, Hector and MacDiarmid medals (Royal Society NZ), the 2022 RSC Pedler Award for Organic Chemistry and the 2023 ACS Ernest Guenther award for Natural Products Chemistry.

Dame Margaret was named 2007 L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Laureate in Materials Science for Asia-Pacific, and a 2015 IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry.

Her research focuses on the synthesis of novel bioactive natural products, and peptides, antibody-drug conjugates, peptide vaccines and new biomaterials. Her lab carried out the medicinal chemistry for the FDA approved-drug Trofinetide/DaybueTM (NNZ2566) to treat Rett Syndrome.

Her team also discovered the drug candidate NNZ2591, which currently in phase 2 clinical trials for four neurogenetic disorders: Angelman syndrome, Pitt Hopkins syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome.

Dame Esther Rantzen - Doctor of Law

Dame Esther Rantzen has received the Dimbleby Award from BAFTA, an OBE for services to broadcasting, a CBE for services to children, and in 2015 a DBE for services to children and older people through ChildLine and The Silver Line.

Dame Esther was born in 1940 and is a graduate from Somerville College Oxford, of which she is now an Honorary Fellow.

Her career in broadcasting began with BBC Radio as a sound effects assistant. From there, she moved into television, becoming a researcher and reporter for Braden’s Week, and then producer and presenter of That’s Life, which ran for 21 years on BBC Television and achieved an audience of 22 million.

Esther has made pioneering programmes on subjects such as childbirth, stillbirth, mental health and child abuse. In 1986, she invented the concept of ChildLine and chaired the charity for 19 years, now acting as President. In 2012, she invented The Silver Line, a helpline for older people of which she is President, and which has merged with Age UK.

She contributes regularly to the media, has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, survived ITV’s Australian jungle and Who Do You Think You Are?, and appeared on Question Time while standing as an independent candidate for Luton South.

Esther has been awarded seven honorary doctorates and is a patron of 19 charities. Her husband, Desmond Wilcox, the award-winning documentary maker, died in 2000. She has three children and five grandchildren and divides her time between London and the New Forest.

Professor Sir Peng Tee Khaw - Doctor of Science

Sir Peng Tee Khaw is Professor at the University College London (UCL) Institute of Ophthalmology, and Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK. His special interest is the surgical treatment of glaucoma and tissue regeneration.Ģż

Sir Peng’s group has developed and refined novel surgical techniques, including the Moorfields Safer Surgery System, as well as inexpensive single three-minute treatments to prevent scarringĢżā€“ increasing surgical efficacy and safety worldwide.

The team proposed the 10-10-10 goal for surgery – 10mmHg pressure, lasting 10 years, taking 10 minutesĢżā€“ and is developing microdevices and anti-scarring systems. They have also co-discovered a novel stem cell, Moorfields-IO Müller stem cell, which is being developed for optic nerve regeneration.Ģż

Sir Peng facilitated the eye component of UK Biobank and the AI Collaboration with Google DeepMind. He has delivered over 36 named lectures, won over 12 international prizes and awards, and published over 600 papers, chapters and books.Ģż

He was also the first UK President of the Association for Research Vision & Ophthalmology in the USA. He has raised grants of over $150 million, including the world’s largest clinical research centre and children’s eye hospital, and is Founder Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Moorfields UCL Biomedical Research Centre.

Sir Peng was elected to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 2002, appointed NIHR Senior Investigator in 2009, and knighted in Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours in 2013.

He passionately believes that scientific research will enable new and better treatments to change lives for the better.

Julian Joseph OBE - Doctor of Letters

Julian is a pianist, composer, broadcaster, educator and author.ĢżAcclaimed as one of the finest jazz musicians to emerge this side of the Atlantic, he has devoted his long career to championing music across the British Isles and into the far corners of the globe.

He has forged a reputation beyond his formidable skills as a composer and performer, and is universally recognised as a highly knowledgeable and engaging broadcaster, musical ambassador and cultural advocate.Ģż

His charitable work and generous skills as an educator have made a major contribution to Britain’s cultural landscape and heritage. Through his patronage of a variety of educational programmes, Julian has become a formative presence in the dissemination of jazz music and its heritage to young people of all ages.Ģż

Since the launch of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM) jazz syllabus in 1998, he has been at the forefront of initiatives to introduce jazz into mainstream music education, culminating in the foundation of his own Jazz Academy in 2013. Ģż

Julian’s work has been recognised by numerous cultural organisations, including the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, which awarded him a Gold Badge in 2010, and the Ivors Academy, which made him their 21st Fellow in December 2020.Ģż

In 2018 he was awarded an OBE in Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours.

Isaac Kiva - Doctor of Science

Engineer Isaac Nzue Kiva is the Secretary for Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in the Republic of Kenya, responsible for policy formulation and development of renewable energy.Ģż
Isaac has been central to Kenya’s efforts in developing renewable energy and energy access, which has seen Kenya attain an impressive 93% renewable energy mix in its national grid, and 75% access to electricity.Ģż

Due to his dedicated services in energy, he received the honours of The Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) in 2013, and The Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2023, conferred by the President of the Republic of Kenya.Ģż

Isaac has an MSc in Energy Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi. He is a registered professional engineer with the Engineer’s Board of Kenya, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya and a Gold Member of the Association of Energy Professionals, East Africa.Ģż

He is a director at Kenya Power and Lighting plc, representing the Ministry and chairing the Board of the East African Centre of Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREE).Ģż

He has published widely in the field of energy and has worked closely with the University’s Energy and Climate Change Division.

Vice Admiral Jeremy Kyd CBE - Doctor of Law

His Excellency Vice Admiral Jeremy Kyd CBE was educated at The King’s School, Macclesfield, and the University of Southampton.ĢżJoining the Royal Navy in 1985, his early career saw him deployed across the world’s oceans, from the Atlantic to the Gulf and Indian Ocean.

Across a 37-year career, his commands at various ranks have included the Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth, the strike carrier HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious in the commando carrier role, and the UK’s high readiness Maritime Task Group, which included a deployment to the Gulf.Ģż

Jeremy has also had the privilege of being the Captain of Britannia Royal Naval College, where all naval officers complete their initial military and leadership training. He assumed the role of Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group in 2015, before taking command of the aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship ever constructed for the Royal Navy in May 2016.

Promoted Rear Admiral in 2018, he took Command of the UK’s Maritime battlestaffs, before being promoted to Vice Admiral in 2019 and assuming command as the Fleet Commander of the whole Royal Navy Fleet, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, the Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm. Ģż

When not at sea, his shore appointments have centred on the Ministry of Defence in London, in various policy and procurement roles. He has also instructed Navigation at the Maritime Warfare School, HMS Collingwood.

He retired from the Royal Navy in March 2022 and was honoured to have been selected to be His Majesty The King’s personal representative, as the Lieutenant-Governor for the Bailiwick of Jersey, where he now lives. Married to Karen, a GP, he has four grown-up sons and a very energetic working cocker spaniel.

John Lauwerys - Doctor of the University of Southampton

John was the Secretary and Registrar of the University of Southampton from 1992 to 2007, and previously held the same post at Royal Holloway, University of London.

He graduated from the University of London’s Goldsmiths College in Education and completed his master’s degree at the London University Institute of Education.

As Secretary and Registrar at Southampton, he was responsible, under the Vice-Chancellor, for the whole of the University’s Professional Services, including finance and strategic planning.

During his term of office, the University expanded very significantly with student numbers growing from 8,000 to over 23,000. It also incorporated Winchester School of Art and La Sainte Union College and acquired new campuses – Avenue and National Oceanography Centre Southampton.

John is a former Director of the Higher Education Staff Development Agency and member of the Executive of the Association of Heads of University Administration. He also chaired the Russell Group Registrars and has been a member of the Joint Funding Councils’ VFM Steering Group and the Higher Education Regulation Review Group.

John is a keen beekeeper and has six hives in two apiaries. In 2019, was elected Chair of Hampshire Beekeepers Association. John is married to Paula, and they have three sons.

Professor Sir Christopher Snowden - Doctor of Science

Sir Christopher is an engineer and academic, with wide experience of the international microwave and semiconductor industry, as well as international higher education.Ģż

He was President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton from 2015 to 2019, and previously the University of Surrey from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his appointment at Surrey, Sir Christopher was Joint Chief Executive Officer of Filtronic plc. He was knighted in the 2012 New Year’s Honours for services to engineering and higher education.

Sir Christopher was Chair of the ERA Foundation from 2019 to 2025 and chaired the international judging panel for the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering from 2016 to 2021.Ģż

He was a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Advisory Council for Science and Technology from 201 to 2016. He was President of Universities UK from 2013 to 2015, Vice-President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2008 to 2014, and President of the Institute of Engineering and Technology from 2009 to 2010). He also served on the governing bodies of Innovate UK, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council from 2006 to 2012.Ģż

Sir Christopher is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE, the IET and the City and Guilds Institute. He was awarded the 1999 Microwave Prize and the 2009 IEEE Distinguished Educator Award of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Silver Medal in 2004, and the 2012 Outstanding Career Award from the European Microwave Association.

Professor Sharon Peacock CBE - Doctor of Science

Sharon is the eighth Master of Churchill College and Professor of Microbiology and Public Health in the Department of Medicine, both at the University of Cambridge.

She undertook an undergraduate degree in medicine as a mature student at the University of Southampton and credits this opportunity as changing her career prospects and life trajectory.

After completing higher professional training as a clinical microbiologist, Sharon went on to combine clinical microbiology with an academic research group. Early interests included several tropical infectious diseases, which involved living and working in Southeast Asia.

With the advent of more readily accessible genome sequencing technologies, Sharon then pivoted to use sequencing to better understand microbial evolution, drug resistance and pathogen dissemination. She applied this knowledge as the Founding Director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), formed in April 2020 to generate SARS-CoV-2 genomes to inform the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Her contributions to microbiology have been recognised by numerous awards. This includes a CBE for services to medical microbiology in 2015, and the Medical Research Council Millennium Medal in 2021 for pioneering work in pathogen sequencing, leadership of COG-UK and outstanding contributions to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion in research.

Stewart Edmondson - Fellow of the University of Southampton

Stewart has been the CEO and Executive Director of the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) since 2015. The UKESF is a charity founded in 2010 and is the only science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) organisation in the UK dedicated exclusively to electronics and semiconductors.

Stewart has a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Salford, and served for 24 years as an engineering officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF), retiring from active service as a wing commander in 2010.

Initially specialising in radars, with an operational tour in the Outer Hebrides, he also commanded an independent signals unit in Germany and, as a wing commander, he was the Principal of No1 Radio School, responsible for the education and training of all the RAF’s ICT specialists.

He has been a Chartered Engineer for over 25 years and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET). As a volunteer, he has chaired the IET’s Professional Development Advisory Committee and was recently elected a member of their governing Council.

Stewart is also a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Employability, Professionalism and Ethics at Aston University, and a member of the UK Government’s Semiconductor Skills Working Group.

He lives in Shropshire with his wife Elly.

Honorary degrees awarded in 2024

Professor Lucy Chappell

Professor Lucy Chappell is the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), reporting to Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer.ĢżĢż

As the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Chappell has overall responsibility for DHSC research and development and for supporting analysis and life sciences across the department. She provides science advice to ministers across a range of health topics and is involved in cross-government science policy.

Professor Chappell is also Chief Executive Officer for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research delivery vehicle for the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The NIHR delivers world-leading research in health and social care that improves people’s health and wellbeing, benefiting individuals and our wider society through economic growth. It is the UK’s largest funder of health and care research, providing over one billion pounds of funding for research every year.Ģż

In addition to these major national roles, Lucy is Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London, working mainly in clinical trials in pregnancy, and a practicing Consultant Obstetrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.Ģż

Gerd Gigerenzer - Doctor of Science

Gerd Gigerenzer, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, is Director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam, partner of Simply Rational – The Institute for Decisions, and Vice-President of the European Research Council (ERC).

He is a former professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and John M Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Law at the University of Virginia.

In addition, he is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Gerd is also Batten Fellow at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia.

Awards for Gerd’s work: include the AAAS Prize for the best article in the behavioral sciences, the Association of American Publishers Prize for the best book in the social and behavioral sciences, the German Psychology Award, and the Communicator Award of the German Research Foundation.

His award-winning popular books Calculated Risks, Gut Feelings, Risk Savvy, and How To Stay Smart In A Smart World have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Together with the Bank of England, he is working on the project Simple Heuristics for a Safer World. He has trained US federal judges, German physicians, and international top managers in decision-making and understanding risks and uncertainties.

The Swiss Duttweiler Institute has distinguished Gerd as one of the top 100 ø£Ąū×Åʬ Thought Leaders worldwide.

Vinton G Cerf -Ģż Doctor of Science

Vinton G Cerf is Vice-President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. He is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the internet. He has served in executive positions at the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, the Internet Society, MCI, the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

A former Stanford professor and former member of the US National Science Board, he is also the past President of the Association for Computing Machinery and serves in advisory capacities at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, US Department of Energy, US National Science Foundation, US National Reconnaissance Office, and Nasa.

He earned his BS Mathematics at Stanford and MS Computer Science and PhD Computer Science degrees at UCLA.Ģż He is a member of the US National Academies of Science and Engineering, the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, and the Worshipful Company of Stationers.

Cerf is a recipient of numerous awards for his work, including: the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, US National Medal of Technology, the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the Prince of Asturias Award, the Japan Prize, the Charles Stark Draper Award, the ACM Turing Award, the Marconi Prize and Marconi Lifetime Achievement Award, the IEEE Medal of Honor, the Legion d’Honneur, the VinFutures Grand Prize and the Franklin Medal.

Honorary degrees awarded in 2023

Dr Ewan Kirk - Doctor of Science

Ewan is a technology entrepreneur and Founder of Cantab Capital Partners. For over 30 years, he has led multiple ventures to commercialise, apply and leverage technology and mathematics research in both business and philanthropy.

In 2006, he founded Cantab Capital Partners, a science-driven investment management firm, which was one of the top-performing quantitative investment companies in the UK. The business grew to 60 people with over £4.5bn AUM, before the business was acquired by GAM Investments in 2016.

Prior to founding Cantab, Ewan was Partner and Head of Quantitative Strategies Group at Goldman Sachs for 13 years, leading the firm’s 120-strong European team of mathematicians, scientists, and statisticians.

Ewan is also Chair of the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, a non-executive director of BAE Systems, Chairman of DeepTech Labs, a UK-based venture capital fund that invests in deep technology businesses, the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences and Co-Chair of the Turner Kirk Trust.

He holds a PhD in General Relativity from the University of Southampton, a MASt in Mathematics from Queen’s College, Cambridge, and a BSc in Natural Philosophy and Astronomy from the University of Glasgow.

Ģż

Professor Stephen Duckworth OBE DSc FKC PhD LRCP MRCS MSc FDSRCS(Hon) - Doctor of Science

Stephen originally studied as a medical student at Guy’s Hospital, however, he had to pause his studies after breaking his neck in a rugby accident, aged 21. He subsequently qualified as a doctor and completed an MSc and PhD in rehabilitation and disability studies at the University of Southampton.

Having run his own business for 20 years, he moved to London to work for two large FTSE companies. From 1998–2006, he was a Council Member of the University of Southampton, and from 2006–2012, he was a Board Member of the Olympic Delivery Authority, which built the venues for London 2012.

Stephen has been a trustee of numerous charities including Motability, which provides vehicles for 680,000 disabled people, and Leonard Cheshire, which provides care homes for 3,000 disabled people.

He is currently a board member of Network Rail, The Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Stephen is the Vice-Chair of the Rugby Football Union Injured Players Foundation. He has an international reputation for his work in improving the life chances of disabled people. Stephen is married to Rose, and they have four adult sons.

Christine McGrath - Fellow

Christine is the inaugural Managing Director of Wessex Health Partners, the Wessex region’s partnership of leading academic institutions and NHS organisations accelerating better health and care through research, innovation and training.

A nursing graduate, Christine completed her Masters by Research with the University of Bristol before moving to University Hospital Southampton, where she has dedicated nearly 20 years to the University of Southampton, Hospital partnership.

Working with University colleagues, Christine’s inspirational leadership has led to Southampton’s research being internationally recognised as world leading, securing significant prestigious multi-million pound awards and delivering world-leading advances in health, including the UK’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a highly respected senior leader, Christine’s work includes advising government and industry bodies including the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, the National Institute of Health Research, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry and Royal Colleges.

In 2017, Christine was appointed to the Ministerial Industry Steering Group for Commercial Research and founded UKRD, a unique community of expertise and influence representing senior research leaders in the NHS.

Gill Rider - Doctor of Science

After leaving the University of Southampton with a PhD in botany, Gill has spent a varied career working in both the private and public sectors.

For most of her career, Gill held operational and executive management responsibilities in Accenture LLP.Ģż She worked in many countries and industry sectors.Ģż She was a global executive committee member of Accenture from 1999 to 2006, before spending five years as Director General in the Cabinet Office as Head of the Civil Service Capability Group.

She is a past President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and was the Chair of Council and a pro-chancellor of the University of Southampton.Ģż She was awarded a CBE in Queen Elizabeth II’s 2011 Birthday Honours.

Today Gill continues to enjoy a portfolio career.Ģż She is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Pennon plc and a non-executive director of Intertek, where she chairs the remuneration committee.ĢżShe is also the President of the Marine Biological Association.

Outside work, she lives on Dartmoor with husband David and enjoys walking the dogs, visits with friends, Formula 1, gardening, camper van trips and the occasional opera.

Juliet Fraser - Doctor of Music

Soprano Juliet specialises in the gnarly edges of contemporary classical music.

A graduate of Selwyn College, University of Cambridge, she began her career singing with renowned British choirs such as Polyphony, Tenebrae, the BBC Singers and the Monteverdi Choir, and was a member of Collegium Vocale Gent, directed by Philippe Herreweghe.

While still at university she founded EXAUDI vocal ensemble with composer/conductor James Weeks and remains a core member of the group. Now recognised as one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary music, Juliet maintains a busy schedule performing at classical and experimental music festivals around the world.

She is an active commissioner of new repertoire and has worked particularly closely with composers Laurence Crane, Pascale Criton, Michael Finnissy, Cassandra Miller and Rebecca Saunders.

Juliet is Co-Director of all that dust, a little independent label for new music, and Founder and Artistic Director of the eavesdropping festival in East London. This year she launches VOICEBOX, a bespoke training programme for singers wanting to specialise in contemporary vocal performance.

She was the recipient of a Hartley Residency at Southampton in 2019, which kickstarted a passion for writing about the whole merry business of performing new music.

Rt Hon Justine Greening - Doctor of Law

Justine was the first person in her family to go to university – the University of Southampton – where she studied Business Economics and Accounting.

After a career in industry, Justine became Member of Parliament for Putney. Between 2011 and 2018, Justine served as a UK Cabinet Minister, including as the first-ever comprehensive school-educated Education Secretary, from 2016–18.

Justine put social mobility at the heart of the Department for Education’s strategy through the Social Mobility Action Plan, alongside introducing Opportunity Areas, and Gender Pay Gap reporting. She left Cabinet and Parliament to fully focus on her Social Mobility Pledge campaign mobilising the private and public sectors to work together to drive grassroots change, with the University of Southampton playing a key part of that work.

Ģż

Dr Margaret Leinen - Doctor of Science

Margaret is the Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Vice-Chancellor for Marine Science of University of California at San Diego.

She is an ocean biogeochemist and paleoceanographer whose research includes study of ocean carbon cycling and the role of the oceans in climate.

Margaret is currently co-chair for the Decade Advisory Board for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. During 2017 and 2018 she was a US Department of State Science Envoy for the oceans to Latin America and the Pacific. She served as Assistant Director for Geosciences, US National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2000–2007.

She has also served as the President of the American Geophysical Union, President of The Oceanography Society and Chair of the AAAS Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science. Margaret is a Fellow of all three societies and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Rogier Sanders - Doctor of Science

Rogier is currently Professor of Virology, specialising in experimental vaccinology, at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam and holds an affiliate faculty position at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City where he spends part of his time.

His research focuses on viral glycoprotein vaccines, in particular those based on native-like trimers. Several of Rogier’s HIV-1 envelope trimers are now in phase I clinical trials as candidate vaccines and Rogier’s proline stabilisation of HIV-1 envelope trimers has inspired COVID-19 vaccines currently in use worldwide.

Rogier studied Medical Biology at theĢżUniversity of Amsterdam and The Rockefeller University in New York. In 2004 he obtained his PhD from the University of Amsterdam.

He has received several prestigious grants such as the Veni, Vidi and Vici grants from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and a Starting Investigator grant from the European Research Council (ERC).

He leads and/or participates in various research consortia funded by the EU, NIH/NIAID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rogier has (co-)authored more than 250 scientific articles, published in journals such as Nature, Science and Cell.

In 2011, he received the Dutch Prize for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In a top-10 list of ā€œHottest authorsā€ in HIV/AIDS research 2013–2015, compiled by Thomson Reuters, Rogier shared the top position.

Ģż

Will Champion - Doctor of Music

Will Champion is a musician, composer and actor. A multi-instrumentalist, Will is best known for playing drums and backing vocals with the multi-award-winning band, Coldplay. As a founding member of Coldplay, Will has enjoyed almost unparalleled success. From the group’s first album, Parachutes in 2000, to their latest release, Music of the Spheres (released in 2021), Will and the band have sold over 100 million albums; won over 250 awards, including eight Brit Awards and seven Grammy Awards; and toured extensively worldwide.

Will grew up in Southampton and was always immersed in music. He attended Portswood Primary and Cantell Secondary schools – both within a stone’s throw of the University. He took lessons on violin, guitar and piano and then, while at Cantell, played drums in the jazz band. Both of Will’s parents were archaeology academics at the University and his exposure to the Nuffield Theatre and Turner Sims concert hall influenced him heavily during his childhood.

Will completed a degree in Anthropology at University College London. It was during his time at university that he met Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, and Guy Berryman and became the band’s drummer. As a musician and as a person, Will inspires many – both young and established – within the city of Southampton and, of course, here at the University, who know his story.

Honorary degrees awarded inĢż2022

Professor Derrick Swartz - Doctor of Letters

Derrick Swartz is a science advisor, higher education leader and democratic activist in South Africa. He is currently serving as Special Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, working on ā€˜grand challenges’ in climate change, renewable energy, health, food sovereignty and sustainability economic development.

He is a development sociologist by training, having studied in SA and the UK, with Masters and Doctoral degrees in sociology of development from Essex University, from which he also received an Honorary Doctorate in Human Rights Law (2008).

He served as Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University (2008-2018) and the University of Fort Hare (1999-2007). In 2005, under his leadership the University of Fort Hare was awarded the Supreme Order of Boabab (Gold Class) in recognition of its distinguished service in higher education and leadership development for over a century.

In the pre-democracy period, he was a leading anti-apartheid activist and spent many years in exile, returning to South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners in the early 1990’s. In SA, he was founding Director of the Institute of Government and Professor/Chair of Inter-Governmental Relations at the University of Fort Hare, advising on key issues of democratic governance and public sector reconstruction and development in mid-nineties.

He became South Africa’s youngest Vice-Chancellor in 1999 and campaigned for the democratization and transformation of higher education: promoting greater access to previously marginalized sections of society; deepening the involvement of universities in local community development; stimulating more diverse university-industry linkages; and harnessing novel technologies in promoting inclusive development of marginal communities in the face of technological disruption, globalization, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Swartz is also an avid mountaineer, philanthropist and serves on numerous public and non-governmental Trusts committed to building a non-racial, socially-just and inclusive world.

Ģż

Stefan Cross QC, Doctor of Letters

Stefan is recognised as one of the UK’s leading employment lawyers; his pioneering equal pay litigation has changed the legal landscape.

Stefan, a working- class boy on free school meals, graduated with a LLB Law degree from Southampton in 1982. After training in Bournemouth, he joined trade union solicitors Thompsons in Newcastle, took an LLM in employment law, pioneered claims for redundancy consultation, transfer of undertakings and multi-applicant claims, especially equal pay.

From 2003 to 2013 his own firm, Stefan Cross Solicitors, conducted more than 30,000 successful equal pay claims against more than 100 local authorities in England and Wales, directly and indirectly, recovering more than £2bn for low paid women and men.

Stefan set up Action 4 Equality Scotland Ltd in 2005 to pursue claims in Scotland. He has since been involved in more than 100,000 claims recovering more than Ā£1.2bn leading to the Glasgow Women’s Equal Pay Strike in 2018.

In 2013, he was appointed as an Honorary Queen’s Counsel (QC) in recognition of his contribution to pay equality, one of only a small number of solicitors to be awarded this venerable distinction.

Stefan has maintained a close relationship with the University.ĢżIn 2018, he launched The Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law on Highfield Campus, designed to raise awareness of discrimination against women and girls, and investigate the causes of this discrimination.

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Doctor of Science

CEO, Royal Academy of Engineering
CEO, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation

Hayaatun has extensive leadership experience in UK and international engineering, innovation, and diversity and inclusion activities. She chairs the UK government’s Business Innovation Forum and the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment, and recently co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in UK motorsport. She is a trustee of EngineeringUK and the Foundation for Science & Technology; a member of the UK government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council; a director of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK; and an advisor to accelerateHER and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. She has been named as one of the ā€˜Inspiring 50 Women in Tech’ and one of the most influential women in engineering.

She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from Oxford and a PhD from Cancer Research UK/UCL. She is a Fellow of the IET and Honorary Professor at UCL and in 2021 received honorary degrees from UCL and Imperial College and won a Science Suffrage Award. She was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019.

Prior to her current roles, she was Deputy CEO at the Academy and served as Committee Specialist and later Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee.

Professor Sir Ian Diamond - Doctor of Science

DL FRSE FBA FAcSS

Professor Sir Ian Diamond has been, since August 2018, the National Statistician and Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics. Prior to this role he was, from 2003-2010, Chief Executive of the Economic and Statistics Research Council, and from 2010 -2018, Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen. These roles followed almost 23 years at the University of Southampton where he was, variously, Lecturer, Professor, Head of Social Statistics, Dean of Social Sciences and Deputy Vice Chancellor.

Ian is a passionate teacher and researcher who has worked on the analysis of large and complex data sets most notably in the area of population; and on census design and analysis. His research has crossed many disciplinary boundaries and he has worked with a number of government departments both in the UK and internationally.

He is currently chairing the Independent Commission for the Future of College Education and Plan International UK. He has also Chaired British Universities and Colleges Sport, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales and Edinburgh College of Further Education; and has been or is a board member of WWF UK, UK Research and Innovation, UCAS, Universities UK, Lancaster University and the Iona Cathedral Trust.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin CB ADC, Doctor of Law

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin is the professional head of the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces and principal military adviser to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence.

He previously served as First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff from June 2019 until early November 2021, during which time he oversaw a full-scale transformation of the Royal Navy, instigated a renewed naval presence around the globe and secured an expanded shipbuilding programme.

Commissioned in 1990, he has served in numerous command and staff appointments, both ashore and afloat, and in command of UK and international forces. Operational tours have included the Iran/Iraq Tanker War, security duties in the Falklands, NATO operations in the Adriatic, countering smuggling in Hong Kong and the Caribbean, and three tours in Iraq – each in command.

A qualified barrister with an MA in International Relations and Defence Studies, he is a graduate of the Higher Command and Staff Course and the London Business School’s Senior Executive Programme, and various international courses, principally in America.

He lives in Hampshire with his wife and four sons, born between 1998 and 2005. He is president of the UK Armed Forces Tennis and Royal Navy Squash Associations, and Vice Admiral of the Royal Navy Sailing Association.

Honorary degrees awarded in previous years

View a selection of our honorary graduates from the 1960s to the present day.

2019

Dr Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Doctor of Science

Sir Anthony Seymour Laughton, FRS PhD, Doctor of Science

Mr Justin Urquhart Stewart, Doctor of Letters

The Rt. Hon Helen Clark ONZ SSI, Doctor of Letters

Baroness Claire Tyler, FAcSS, Doctor of Letters

2018

Professor Subra Suresh, Degree of Doctor of Science

Professor Lord Patel of Bradford, OBE, Degree of Doctor of Science

Professor Anthony Hey, CBE, FREng, FACM, FInstP, Degree of Doctor of Science

Dr Grahaeme Henderson, BScm PhD, Degree of Doctor of Science

Professor Dame Jane Francis, Degree of Doctor of Science

Dr Brian Robert Bowsher OBE, Degree of Doctor of Science

2017

Fiona Dalton, Doctor of Science

Professor John Shepherd, CBE, FRS, Doctor of Science

Professor Brian P. Schmidt, AC, FAA, FRS, Doctor of Science

Dr Sarah J. Caddick, PhD, Doctor of Science

Mr Steve Etches, MBE, Doctor of Science

The Honourable Mrs Justice Roberts, DBE, Doctor of Letters

2016

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Honorary Doctor of Science

Stefan Buczacki, Honorary Doctor of Letters

Professor Zhu Chongshi,ĢżHonorary Doctor of Science

John Denham, Honorary Doctor of Science

Judith Gillow MBE, Honorary Doctor of Science

Datin Paduka Ir Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, Honorary Doctor of Science

William McKee CBE, Honorary Doctor of Letters

Professor George Stevenson, Honorary Doctor of Science

2015

Professor Martin Goodman, Honorary Doctor of Letters

Baroness Martha Lane Fox, Honorary Doctor of Science

Rosalind Rivaz, Honorary Doctor of Science

Richard Sadler, Honorary Doctor of Science

Professor William Webb, Honorary Doctor of Science

2014

Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, Doctor of Science

Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, Doctor of Science

Professor Dominic Tildesley, Doctor of Science

Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, Doctor of Science

Admiral Sir George Zambellas KCB DSC ADC DL, Doctor of Science

2013

Chris Packham

Professor Zhong-Qun Tian

Dame Valerie Strachan

Stuart Popham

Baroness Rabbi Julia Neuberger DBE

Professor Richard Holdaway CBE

Professor John Craven

2012

Professor the Rt Hon Lord Plant of Highfield, Doctor of Laws

Professor David Phillips CBE, Doctor of Science

Deirdre Le Faye, Doctor of Letters

Sir George W. Buckley, Doctor of Science

Professor Cecil Balmond, Doctor of Science

2011

Professor Sir William Wakeham, Doctor of Science

Jon Sopel, Doctor of Laws

Sir Adrian Fulford, Doctor of Laws

Brian Eno, Doctor of Music

Dame Helen Alexander DBE

2010

Caroline Wyatt, Doctor of Letters

Courtney Pine OBE CBE, Doctor of Music

Professor Gwyneth Lewis OBE, Doctor of Science

Mona Hatoum, Doctor of Letters

Dr Stephen Deuchar CBE, Doctor of Letters

Shami Chakrabarti, Doctor of Letters

Professor Michael Arthur, Doctor of Letters

2009

Rosemary Squire OBE, Doctor of Letters

Sir Geoffrey Rowland, Doctor of Laws

Carol Marlow, Doctor of the University

Paul Lewis, Doctor of Music

Baroness Gloria Hooper CMG, Doctor of Laws

Professor Peter J Gregson, Doctor of Science

Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe CBE, Doctor of Letters

Professor Jun Chen, Doctor of Science

Jane Bown CBE, Doctor of Letters

2000s

Sir Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz, Doctor of Science (2008)

Sir Alfred Brendel, Doctor of Music (2002)

James Cameron, Doctor of the University (2004)

Shami Chakrabarti, Doctor of Letters (2010)

Brian Eno, Doctor of Music (2011)

Sir Michael Gambon, Doctor of Letters (2003)

The Baroness Greenfield, Doctor of Science (2002)

John Inverdale, Doctor of Letters (2001)

Helena Kennedy QC, Doctor of Laws (2002)

John Nettles, Doctor of the University (2006)

Trevor Phillips, Doctor of the University (2006)

Courtney Pine OBE CBE, Doctor of Music (2010)

Mary Quant, Doctor of Design (2000)

Lord Rogers, Doctor of Design (2002)

Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Doctor of Science (2007)

Amartya Sen, Doctor of Science in the Social Sciences (2002)

John Simpson, Doctor of the University (2003)

Dame Janet Suzman, Doctor of the University (2002)

Baroness Warnock of Weeke, Doctor of Letters (2000)

1990s

Sir David Attenborough CBE FRS, Doctor of Science (1992)

John Lill OBE, Doctor of Music (1992)

Ludovic Kennedy, Doctor of Laws (1993)

Victoria Glendinning MA, Doctor of Letters (1994)

Evelyn Glennie OBE, Doctor of Music (1999)

Sir Marrack Goulding, Doctor of Science in the Social Sciences (1997)

Andrew Colin Renfrew, The Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, Doctor of Letters (1995)

1980s

Sir Hermann Bondi, Doctor of Science (1981)

Frank Templeton Prince, Doctor of Letters (1981)

The Rt Hon Shirley Williams, Doctor of Laws (1981)

Sir Ernest Donald Acheson, Doctor of Medicine (1984)

Baron Shackleton of Burley, Doctor of Science (1986)

1970s

Sir Hugh Casson, Doctor of Letters (1977)

His Excellency President Manfred Lachs, Doctor of Laws (1975)

Sir Claus Moser, Doctor of Science in the Social Sciences (1975)

Sir Eric Roll (The Lord Roll of Ipsden), Doctor of Laws (1974)

1960s

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1967)

Sir Keith Murray (The Lord Murray of Newhaven), Doctor of Laws (1964)

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