Outstanding leaders in their field to receive honorary degrees

The first awards will be given on Commemoration Day on June 13, which marks the foundation of the University in 1451. The ceremony will see the Reverend William John Harvey, former leader of the Iona Community, made a Doctor of Divinity.

Doctor of Letters awards will be made to Jackie Bird, journalist and broadcaster; Professor Fernando Galván, President of the Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid; Professor Dame Janet Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, King’s College London.

Doctor of Science degrees will be awarded to Lee Goldman, Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, Columbia University; and Professor Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN.

Doctor of the University honours will be awarded to Alison Bruce, the University of Glasgow’s lay representative at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission.

A further group of awards will be made during graduations, beginning on June 22, with awards made to Baroness Vivien Stern, International Centre for Prison Studies and the House of Lords; Katalin Bogyay, Ambassador, Delegation of the Republic of Hungary to UNESCO; Julia Donaldson, Author; Dame Valerie Beral, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Oxford; David Grant, Scientific Director, Leukaemia Lymphoma Research; Professor Wilson Sibbett, Wardlaw Professor of Physics, St Andrews University; Sir Ian Anderson, former Chairman of the Review of Government’s handling of 2008 Foot and Mouth Outbreak; Professor Ronald Thandabantu Nhlapo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town.

Honorary degrees will also be awarded by the Glasgow Art School to Ian Callum, Design Director, Jaguar Cars Ltd; and Steve Inch, Former Executive Director for Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council.

The Scottish Agricultural College will also honour Lord Jamie Lindsay, Chairman of the Scottish Agricultural College.

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, University of Glasgow, said: “The conferring of honorary degrees is an opportunity for the University to recognise the achievements of individuals from across the public sphere whose work and endeavours have made a positive impact in Scotland, the UK and around the world.

“I heartily congratulate all our honorary degree graduands and we look forward to celebrating their successes with them. Glasgow University is proud of its many contributions to society over our long history, and we look forward to working with our honorary graduands in the future, for the common good.”