LSBU awards six honorary graduates and fellows
The University has celebrated the contributions of six new honorary graduates and fellows for 2017, at graduation ceremonies held in Royal Festival HallLSBU has awarded six Honorary Degrees and Honorary Fellowships to recognise significant achievements of those who have contributed a great deal to the community and have a special affinity with the University’s values.
Honorary Fellowships were awarded to Stephen Bourne, Dame Linda Dobbs, Ronald Dobson and Tom Toumazis MBE, while Dame Carol Black was named an Honorary Doctor of Health and Social Care and Baroness Margaret Sharp was named an Honorary Doctor of Applied Sciences.
Dame Carol Black, a distinguished clinician and researcher in the field of rheumatology, and an influential government adviser, said education had been the key difference in determining her life trajectory.
“I was the first person (in my family) to go to grammar school and then on to university,” she said.
“Of course there will always be these rare individuals that make it to the top with no qualifications, but for the majority of people education is the key to escaping poverty and leading a rich and rewarding life.”
Baroness Margaret Sharp, a distinguished academic and passionate campaigner on issues including tuition fees and vocational education, has worked to close the gap in social acceptance of students of private and state schools.
“I was one of four children, and there was no question of us going to a fee-paying school. But it was clear to me that those that were privately educated were more accepted socially in the town where we lived. It was that atmosphere of divisiveness I didn’t like,” she said.
Read more about how the University confers Honorary Awards.