Warwick Economics Honorary Graduates 2025

Warwick Economics Honorary Graduates 2025

The Department of Economics was delighted to welcome two outstanding female economists as Honorary Graduates during the 2025 Summer Graduation celebrations.

On Friday 18th July Dr Gemma Tetlow received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree; and on Tuesday 22nd July Professor Ekaterina Zhuravskaya received her award.

Dr Tetlow’s longstanding relationship with Warwick began as an undergraduate in the Department of Economics. More recently, she has been a great supporter of the Department’s research agenda, as a member of the advisory board of CAGE, the Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy, and Chair of the Advisory Board of CenTax, the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation.

Presenting Dr Tetlow for her honorary degree, CenTax Director Professor Arun Advani highlighted her successful career in thinktanks, in journalism and as a media commentator, and also praised her contribution to addressing the under-representation of women in the profession, saying “with her impressive career history and her visibility across the media, Gemma provides a much-needed role model for young economists, whether studying for degrees in the discipline or already embarked on their careers. In this capacity, and as an alumna, Gemma has given up her time to take part in events on campus organised by the Department of Economics to promote a more inclusive environment for women studying economics, and to encourage them to go on to work in jobs in that area.”

Accepting her award, Dr Tetlow said: “Before coming to Warwick I had never studied economics, and so it was a real leap of faith to choose that as my degree subject. But it turned out to be one of the best choices I ever made in my life.

The teaching here at Warwick gave me a great appreciation for the subject and made me realise how economics can be used to understand and improve so many real-world issues. And it was what I learned here that really inspired me to pursue a career in economics, where I could apply that knowledge. And it’s a career that has continued to motivate and challenge me over the years.”

On Tuesday 22nd July Professor Ekaterina Zhuravskaya was presented for her honorary degree by Professor Sascha Becker.

Professor Zhuravskaya took her MSc at LSE and her PhD at Harvard. She has been based at the Paris School of Economics since 2010. She is a frequent visitor to the Department and has co-authored several papers with colleagues.

Professor Becker praised the “breathtaking width” of her research and described her as a “shining light and a role model” for all female academic economists.

Speaking to the economics students graduating alongside her, Professor Zhuravskaya said: “This moment takes me back to my own graduation. It was 1999 and I was a fresh Harvard PhD graduate, with very high aspirations but a lot of doubts. I was convinced that I had mastered the tools and possessed a substantial body of knowledge – but looking back I realise that I had completely misunderstood what education was useful for!

“The frontier of knowledge shifts much faster than we expect. Most of the techniques I learned became outdated within a few years of graduation. But education teaches you how to truly learn. This is the core of what we do as researchers but it is equally useful outside academia.

“In your head you shouldn’t graduate at all. You should always remain in the learning mode of a student. Congratulations to all of you and I wish you a long, surprising and meaningful journey ahead.”

Photo from left to right: Professor Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, Professor Sascha Becker, Professor Arun Advani, Dr Gemma Tetlow, Professor Stuart Croft.