Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Rowan Williams, producer of the films City of God and The Constant Gardener, Donald Ranvaud, and the founder of the BBC Asian Network in the West Midlands, Anita Bhalla OBE, are among those to receive honorary degrees from the University of Warwick.

The ceremonies will take place in the Butterworth Hall in the Warwick Arts Centre, on the University of Warwick’s main campus, between Monday 18^th – Saturday 23^rd July.

Interviews times: Morning Ceremonies: 12:30pm. Afternoon Ceremonies 4:30pm.

15 July 2016

Short biographies available below and full press release and biographies available here:

Please contact Senior Press and Media Relations Manager Tom Frew (E: a.t.frew@warwick.ac.uk M: 07785433155) to arrange interviews and photographs.

Full list of Honorary Graduates (in order of ceremony):

· Monday 18 July Morning: Professor Stephen R Leone (Hon DSc)

Winner of the American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award, Professor Leone is one of the world’s foremost authorities on laser and x-ray technologies.

· Monday 18 July Afternoon: Mr Donald Ranvaud (Hon DLitt)

Producer of the ground-breaking films City of God and The Constant Gardener, Donald Ranvaud previously taught at the University of Warwick and his written for publications including Sight and Sound and the Guardian. Films he has produced have received a total of 12 Oscar nominations.

· Tuesday 19 July Morning: Lim Chuan Poh (Hon DSc)

Chairman of The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Lim Chuan Poh is a former general in the Singaporean army who served as Chief of Defence Force before becoming Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education.

· Tuesday 19 July: Afternoon Professor Ingrid Daubechies (Hon DSc)

One of the foremost applied mathematicians of our time, Professor Ingrid Daubechies, is best known for her breakthroughs that have led to the development of JPEG images, wavelet research and her contributions to digital signal processing.

· Wednesday 20 July Morning: Mr Tidjane Thiam (Hon LLD)

Chief Executive Officer of one of the world’s leading financial service companies, Credit Suisse Group AG, Tidjane Thiam co-chaired the World Economic Forum 2016 in Davos and joined the Group of Thirty (G30), a select group of leaders in international finance, in 2015.

· Wednesday 20 July Afternoon: Anita K Bhalla (Hon DLitt)

Founder of the BBC Asian Network in the West Midlands, Anita Bhalla OBE is one of the region’s leading voices for the arts and is currently Chair of Performances Birmingham Ltd (Town Hall and Symphony Hall) and was previously High Sheriff for the West Midlands.

· Thursday 21 July Afternoon: Mr Simon Walker (Hon LLD)

Director General of the Institute of Directors, Simon Walker was previously Communications Secretary to HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace from 2000 to 2003. In 2015, GQ magazine listed Mr Walker among the 100 best connected men in the country.

NB: Interviews with Mr Walker to be conducted at 2.30pm rather than 4.30pm.

· Friday 22 July Morning: Professor Bryan R Cullen (Hon DSc)

Warwick graduate and Director of the Center for Virology at Duke, Professor Cullen is one of the world’s virologists and has published 280 research papers. Professor Cullen’s interests have historically revolved around the use of viruses as genetic tools to understand aspects of the biology of the eukaryotic cell.

· Friday 22 July Afternoon: Mr John Mathers (Hon LLD)

CEO of the Design Council, John Mathers has worked for over thirty years in the brand and design industry, leading a number of marketing, brand and design consultancies in the UK and Internationally.

· Saturday 23 July Morning: Lord Rowan Williams (Hon LLD)

Lord Rowan Williams served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England and head of the Anglican Communion, between 2002-2012. Since his retirement Lord Williams has returned to academia and is currently Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

· Saturday 23 July Afternoon: Mr Paul Ladd (Hon LLD)

Currently Director of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Warwick graduate Paul Ladd has worked for UN Secretary-General on the financial and economic crisis, and engagement with the G20 and was a policy adviser on international development for the UK Treasury.

· Saturday 23 July Afternoon: At the request of his family the posthumous award of an Honorary degree to former Coventry City Councillor Phil Townshend has been postponed.

Contact:

Tom Frew, Senior Press and Media Relations Manager – University of Warwick:

a dot t dot frew at warwick dot ac dot uk

+44(0)7785433155