Chancellor Sir Simon Hughes bids farewell after 8 years and 25,000 graduates
The Rt Hon Sir Simon Hughes has presided over his final graduation ceremony as Chancellor of London South Bank University (LSBU), bringing to a close eight years in the role.
The ceremony on Tuesday 3 November at the Southbank Centre was also his last day as Chancellor. Since taking up the role in 2018, Sir Simon has attended more than 60 graduation ceremonies, at which more than 25,000 students have graduated.
Paul Kett, Group CEO and Vice-Chancellor of LSBU Group, paid tribute to Sir Simon, thanking him for his commitment to the University. He described the Chancellor’s role in graduation as “arguably the most important”, conferring degrees on each student as they cross the stage.
“His dedication and warmth to each and every one of you during these ceremonies have been noted by many graduates and their guests over the years,” he said.
In his closing remarks at the ceremony, Sir Simon said: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to have been Chancellor of this trailblazing and lifechanging university for eight years. I have sought to be a community Chancellor for this community university, making and building on our many connections with local people, boroughs, businesses, communities and organisations, to raise our profile and increase our success.
“Over eight years of national and global convulsions, London South Bank has been a university of growth, success and stability for thousands of students from all over our city, our country and the world. Every year we have been equipping thousands for real jobs and great careers. I am completely confident that with Paul Kett as Vice-Chancellor and Jacky Wright as my successor LSBU is in excellent hands.
“LSBU will be an ever-brighter jewel of great price among our country’s great and lifechanging universities.”
Decades of service to south London
Sir Simon’s ties to south London go back almost five decades. He moved to Southwark in 1977 and was elected MP for Bermondsey in 1983. He went on to represent the area for 32 years, during which he served as President and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats and as Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice.
His connection with the University goes back just as far: he was made an Honorary Fellow of LSBU in 1992 in recognition of his support of LSBU and the local area. When he was appointed Chancellor in 2018, he said the role would allow him to combine his “passion for education with my commitment to our south London communities”. At his installation at the Southbank Centre that November, he spoke about LSBU’s role in “breaking barriers and creating opportunities”. He was reappointed for a second four-year term in 2022.
Besides graduations, Sir Simon represented the University at open days, freshers’ fairs and commemorative events, including Remembrance and Holocaust Memorial Day. He held advice surgeries for students and made himself directly available by email to staff, students and members of the local community. He also worked closely with successive Students’ Union presidents and organised an annual Chancellor’s lecture.
"It has been a huge honour and privilege to have been Chancellor of this trailblazing and lifechanging university." - Sir Simon Hughes
Speaking at an event to mark Sir Simon’s departure, Paul Kett said that although the Chancellor’s role is an honorary and largely ceremonial one, “anyone who knows Simon knows that keeping things purely ceremonial was never really going to be his style.”
“From the outset, he wanted to be an active Chancellor and a champion for our students, our University and the communities that we serve,” he said.
“Simon has spent much of his public life championing our area and the people who live here. Over the past eight years, he has brought the same enthusiasm, energy and commitment to LSBU.”
Sir Simon is succeeded by Jacky Wright, who will be installed as Chancellor at Walworth Town Hall on 9 November. But as Paul Kett noted, Sir Simon lives just 10 minutes from the University: “I suspect this is not really goodbye.”