An Honorary Degree is one of higher education’s most significant accolades. They are awarded on a selective basis to those who merit special recognition for achievement and distinction in a field or activity connected with the mission of the University.
A University Fellowship is bestowed upon persons of significance or those who have rendered meaningful service to the University or to the community. Fellows join the University’s College of Fellows, which provides opportunities for the individual to support the University in ways that reflect their particular areas of expertise and experience, be that providing work placement opportunities for students, or guest lecturing, among many other ways.
Honorary Doctorate and Fellowship
Sir Nicholas Coleridge CBE DL
Sir Nicholas Coleridge CBE was for 30 years the Managing Director, Chairman and International President of the Conde Nast media company, publishers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, House & Garden, Tatler, The World of Interiors, Traveller, GQ, Wired and 120 other glossy magazines in 29 global markets.
Nicholas has been Chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Chairman of the British Fashion Council, Chairman of the Prince of Wales’ Campaign for the Wool industry and Chairman of the Professional Publishers Association.
Nicholas was Co-chair of last year’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant in honour of Her Majesty the late Queen. He is the author of 14 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including his recent memoir The Glossy Years. He is a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Worcestershire, where he lives.
Fellowships
Kathryn Brunt
Kate Brunt is CEO of The Rivers CofE Academy Trust, a primary specialist Multi Academy Trust, created from her vision for a culture of collaboration and her passion to create inspiring learning opportunities and improve life chances for all. The Rivers CofE Academy Trust started with three founding schools in 2014 and currently has 15 good and outstanding primary, first, pre-school and nursery settings together with the Rivers Teaching Alliance and a brand-new alternative provision primary setting, which will open in September 2023.
Additionally, Kate is a National Leader in Education (NLE) and an Ofsted Inspector and has been a member of the West Midland’s Advisory Board and the Department for Education’s Headteacher Reference Group. She is a driven individual who thrives on challenge and believes that school leadership and school-to-school support are essential to drive school improvement and ensure better outcomes for children. Kate has an ethos of ‘always learning’ and is a school improvement partner for several MATs/SATs across the country. She is also a coach/mentor on the DfE’s Trust to Trust Development programme.
Peter Cooper
Peter been the Principal or Deputy Principal of Hereford Sixth Form College, now part of the Heart of Mercia Multi Academy Trust, since September 1998 during which time the College gained three outstanding Ofsted inspections, became the inaugural TES Sixth Form College of the year in 2016 and winner of the Aspire Social Mobility Award in 2022. In 2019 Peter became the CEO of the expanding Heart of Mercia Academy Trust and is presently an expert advisor to the Department of Education and Number 10 Policy Unit.
Peter has worked on various Academy Trust Boards and was a member of the British Colleges' Sports Board for a number of years, due to his interest in student life beyond the classroom. Peter previously worked in schools and at Priestley College in Warrington, having graduated in Chemistry from the University of Nottingham.
Diana Gant
Diana Gant says she was always going to be a teacher, starting teaching Sunday School at the age of 12. After a gap year teaching in Papua New Guinea, she went to King’s College London to study Theology where she met and later married fellow student Brian. She worked in residential childcare before taking a PGCE in Canterbury as Brian completed his ordination training.
Diana taught Religious Studies as she moved around the country following Brian's ministerial career and brought up two daughters. She became Head of Careers and Assistant Head of Sixth Form in a school in Kent and after five years as Deputy Head at Norwich High School GDST was appointed as Headmistress of The Mount, a Quaker boarding and day school in York. Diana was a Governor at York St John University for nine years before retiring to Worcester in 2014. Joining the Governing Body at the 桔子短视频 in 2015, Diana was Chair of the Human Resources Committee before becoming one of the Vice Chairs in 2021. She is also very involved in various volunteering roles at Worcester Cathedral.
Beatrice Grant
Beatrice is His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire. She has worked in the fashion business and charity sector in London and has devoted much of her life to voluntary charity work especially with homeless charities and those that work in deprived areas.
She has been a Visitor for the Henry Smith Charity, making grants to charities across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire; a Trustee for Maggs Homeless Day Centre in Worcester; and a volunteer for a London based homeless charity, for St Richard’s Hospice Day Centre and for various projects with the British Association of the Knights of Malta, helping the homeless, the sick and the disabled with which she is still involved.
She is currently a volunteer for the Alfrick and Lulsley Community Shop, Post Office and Hub and also Vice-Chairman of their Management Committee; a weekly volunteer for Worcester Foodbank; a Trustee for the Albright Grimley Charity, a local charitable grant trust; a committee member for Arts Worcestershire and President of Bewdley Civic Society. She is a Director of her husband’s farm and property business which she helps to run.
Edward Harley
Following a degree from Cambridge University, Edward’s professional career was spent at Cazenove and Co., where he was a partner. He was also on the Board of The Monks Investment Trust for 20 years. He is Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall and member of the Prince’s Council. In addition, he is, Chairman of the Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund, a Vice-President of the National Churches Trust and a trustee of the Burghley House Preservation Trust. He was President of the Historic Houses Association and a trustee of many heritage organisations including the Samuel Courtauld Trust, the Churches Conservation Trust, and Tate Britain Council. He recently stood down as the Chairman of the Acceptance in Lieu Panel which he chaired for 10 years during which time works of art worth nearly £500m were accepted and distributed around the UK.
He is His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire and Patron of a range of organisations in Herefordshire.
Timothy Key
Tim was born in Kidderminster and grew up in Bewdley, where his parents still live. His involvement with student radio and magazine whilst at university in Liverpool led to his first job in television, at Phil Redmond’s Mersey TV, where he eventually became Assistant Producer on Brookside. He has since worked on some of the UK’s most popular shows, including as producer on Emmerdale and Series Producer of The Bill and Waterloo Road.
Tim produced the second series of Death in Paradise in 2012 and BBC1 show By Any Means, which filmed in and around Birmingham, in 2013 and has worked with their production company Red Planet Pictures ever since. He is now a senior member of the Red Planet team, working across varying projects and developments, as well as being executive producer of Death in Paradise, spin-off show Beyond Paradise and period drama Sanditon.
Harry Lonsdale
Harry studied both his Undergraduate and Master’s degrees at the 桔子短视频 before being elected as President of Worcester Students’ Union in 2019. During his time as President, he worked with the University to create new wellbeing spaces on campus, as well as further develop on-campus facilities such as the gym. He was also involved in developing online support for students during lockdown.
Harry was Chairman of the Raise and Give Society at the Students’ Union, before becoming President, and helped to transform annual student fundraising, which hit £37,500 in 2020. Whilst at university, Harry was also on the committee for men’s rugby and on the board for One Worcestershire. Since leaving the University, Harry has progressed to become a project manager at Cube International, a sports and events business working to install infrastructure and provide solutions for clients such as Formula E, The R&A, Glastonbury, The Jockey Club, and the Rugby League and Union World Cups.
Andrew Manning-Cox
High Sheriff of Worcestershire 2022-2023, Andrew is a Solicitor Advocate, Chartered Arbitrator, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, FCIArb, a CEDR Accredited Mediator, and a panel member of the Court of Appeal Mediation Scheme. He is regularly appointed as an Arbitrator and Mediator.
He holds non-executive directorships in a number of private and public sector organisations, including Chair of Sanctuary Group (headquartered in Worcester), with an annual turnover of £1bn and more than 12,000 employees.
As senior litigation partner at Gowling WLG UK LLP before his retirement, Andrew, specialised in high value commercial disputes both national and international, particularly in the USA.
Andrew has substantial international business experience and also acts as a mentor to SMEs, particularly in the Tech sector.
He has a First Class degree in law from the University of Cambridge, MA (Cantab).
Daryl Mitchell
Born locally in Evesham, Daryl progressed through the Worcestershire County Cricket Club youth system from the age of 10 until leaving Prince Henry’s High School at 18. Daryl signed his first professional terms in the form of a 桔子短视频 scholarship contract in 2003 and dovetailed his studies alongside his playing and training commitments. In 2005 he made his first team debut in all formats for WCCC as well as graduating from University with an Honours degree in Sport Studies and Geography. Daryl went on to have a successful 19-year career with Worcestershire winning 6 promotions, the Pro40 and the T20 Blast with the County. As well as team success, he scored over 19,000 runs including 43 centuries and took 215 wickets with the ball across formats. In 2010 Daryl became the first Worcestershire born Club Captain since Maurice Foster in 1925.
He was elected Chair of the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) in February 2017, where he served two terms until 2021. Later in that same year, after retiring from playing, Daryl joined the PCA full time as Director of Cricket Operations and now holds the post of Chief Operating Officer.
Kate Sheehan
Kate Sheehan is a well-respected Occupational Therapist, with 36 years of clinical experience, having graduated from the Derby School of Occupational Therapy in 1987. Her passion is accessible housing design, championing the need to understand the meaning of home to an individual and how poor design can have a significant impact on wellbeing.
She is a prolific networker as she believes that talking to the influencers in government, manufacturing, distribution and housing providers has a positive effect on the recognition of the profession and the impact on a whole community’s wellbeing. Kate considers herself to be an innovator, she has always sought out opportunities for the profession outside of the traditional settings and championed the value and impact of the profession.
In 2021 Kate received a Fellowship from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. She is passionate about motivating the next generation of occupational therapists through teaching entrepreneurship in several universities.
Honorary Doctorate
Jonathan Brew
Jonathan recently retired from a distinguished career in the law. After training with a large firm in Manchester he moved to Chester where he met his wife, Anne and then moved to Worcester where he joined the then firm of Harrison Clark Solicitors as a salaried partner. Initially he specialised in criminal law but quickly realised the potential for a family law practice and set about building one of the largest family law departments in the country. He became the firm’s overall senior partner in 2003 until 2018. The firm has since expanded considerably and now ranks in the UK top 75.
Jonathan also sat for 5 years as a Deputy District Judge and since retiring continues his association with HCR on a consultancy basis. He was appointed as a Fellow of the University in 2017 and has a strong association with the Law School, Chairing its legal forum up until earlier this year. The Worcestershire Law Society presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2018.
Currently Jonathan is the Vice Chair to the Board of Governors at The Royal National College for the Blind and a trustee of Blindcare.
Lord Richard Faulkner of Worcester
Richard, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, is a senior parliamentarian who has served in the House of Lords for over 24 years. For over half of that time, he has been a deputy speaker and was a minister in the government whips’ office 2009-10. Since 2016 he has been the government’s trade envoy to Taiwan. His particular interests include transport policy and railways – he is president of the Heritage Railway Association, co-chair of the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board, chair of the Great Western Railway stakeholder advisory board and co-author of three books on railways and politics – and locally chairs the North Cotswold Line Task Force and is president of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group.
Lord Faulkner is an active and successful campaigner on tobacco control, on access for disabled people to sports stadiums, is a director of Worcester Theatres, and is a fellow of the 桔子短视频 and former president of the College of Fellows. Richard divides his time between Westminster and his home in Worcester.
Kirandeep Sahota
Kiran Sahota is an award-winning social historian, exploring South Asian history through a female perspective. She is the founder of a community interest company, Believe in Me, that empowers young people and women from marginalised communities through education. Over the last 10 years, Kiran has curated three national exhibitions exploring stories of how Indian men and women have contributed towards the First and Second World War. The exhibitions have been featured on BBC Women’s Hour in the House of Lords and House of Commons, HMS President, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and other national partners. When Kiran is not curating national projects, she is also guest lectures at various universities across the UK. In 2021, the Prime Minister awarded Kiran the Points of Light Award, recognising her research in South Asian history, Women’s history and community outreach work. In 2012, Kiran was an Olympic Torchbearer recognising her work for education and charity and in 2022, was a torchbearer for the Commonwealth Games.
Rachel Sylvester
Rachel Sylvester is a political columnist and interviewer at The Times and chair of The Times Health Commission and The Times Education Commission. She started writing about politics in 1996 and was a lobby correspondent on The Daily Telegraph before becoming political editor of The Independent on Sunday.
Rachel joined The Times in 2008 and was named Political Journalist of the Year in 2015 and 2016 at the British Press Awards. She also presents the Times Radio show and podcast What I Wish I’d Known with Alice Thomson, interviewing well-known people who have overcome adversity to achieve great success. Their book What I Wish I’d Known When I was Young came out in paperback earlier this year.
Dr Jack Whitehead
Dr Jack Whitehead is a Living Educational Theorist based in the UK. Previously at the University of Bath, he is now a Visiting Professor at the University of Cumbria, and at Ningxia Teachers University in Ningxia, China. He is also an Extraordinary Professor in Community-Based Educational Research at North-West University in South Africa.
Dr Whitehead originated the idea that individuals could create their own explanations of their educational influences in their own learning, in the learning of others and in the learning of the social formations in which their enquiries are located, as their living-educational-theories. He pioneered the use of digital, multi-media narratives for clarifying and evolving the meanings of the embodied values we use to give meaning and purpose to our lives. His website actionresearch.net is an international resource for practitioner researchers.
Professor Alison Young
Alison Young is a legal scholar. She was born in Sheffield and studied Law with French law at the University of Birmingham, before completing her BCL and D Phil in law at Hertford College, Oxford. She is currently the Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law at the University of Cambridge and a Professorial Fellow at Robinson College. She also works as a legal advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution and is an Academic Associate at 39 Essex Chambers and an Emeritus Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. Her work looks at how politics and the law can work together to provide an effective check and balance over governmental powers. As well as teaching in universities, she is actively involved in public policy issues, informing the government and other stakeholders on constitutional issues. She is also passionate about public education, providing media commentary on constitutional issues.
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