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Honorary Graduates Announced

Originally published 13 May 2002

Bill Morris
Bill Morris


Seven honorary degrees will be awarded at this year’s summer degree congregation from 9–12th July. The honorary graduands are:

Bill Morris

Elected General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union in 1991, he has served on a wide range of national bodies including the Advisory Councils of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and for ten years he was a member of the Commission for Racial Equality. Bill is currently a member of the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the TUC General Council, the Open University Foundation and a non-executive Director of the Bank of England.

Professor Tim Brighouse

Tim Brighouse is currently Chief Education Officer in Birmingham, the largest local education authority in Europe. Since his appointment in 1993 he has overseen a radical programme of education improvement. Initiatives in Birmingham, including those on school improvement, community education and the education of able pupils have been derived from his powerful vision of the place of education in a modern complex society. His influence on government, academia and the teaching profession is extensive. He was co-chair of the Government’s Standards Task Force between 1997 and 1999 and pioneered the influential ‘Excellence in Cities’ and University of the First Age initiatives.

Philip J Lader

South Carolina businessman and educator Philip Lader took office as US Ambassador to the UK in 1997. He has served in President Clinton’s Cabinet as Administrator of the US Small Business Administration and previously was White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President. Formerly, as Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, he worked closely with Vice President Gore on the Clinton Administration’s "reinventing government" initiatives. Ambassador Lader is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Chief Executives Organisation and has chaired and served on the boards of numerous economic development and education institutions and projects.

Nicholas M Donofrio

Nick Donofrio leads the strategy for developing and commercialising advanced technology across IBM's global operations. He has led many of IBM's major development and manufacturing teams – from semiconductor and storage technologies, to microprocessors and personal computers, to IBM's entire family of servers. Mr Donofrio is a strong advocate of education and vigorously promotes mathematics and science as the keys to economic competitiveness. He is particularly focused on advancing education, employment and career opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women.

Declan Donnellan

Associate Director of the Royal National Theatre and Artistic Director and co-founder of Cheek by Jowl, Declan Donnellan has won several international awards including the Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement. Cheek by Jowl’s small-scale touring productions of classical theatre have received critical acclaim for fast-paced, inventive interpretations and include Othello (1982), Twelfth Night (1986) and The Tempest (1988).

Colin Thubron

Colin Thubron’s earliest travel books were about the Middle East and include Mirror to Damascus (1967) and Jerusalem (1969). In the last of the Brezhnev years he explored western Russia by car and wrote Among the Russians (1983). Later, a gruelling journey took him to the remotest regions of China for his Behind the Wall (1989), which won the Hawthornden prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award. Thubron is also the author of a number of highly praised novels, including Emperor (1978), A Cruel Madness (1984) and Distance (1996).

Sir Brian Follett

Warwick’s former Vice-Chancellor (1993-2001), will be returning to campus to receive an honorary degree. Non-executive Chairman of the Arts and Humanities Research Board, Sir Brian has published over 260 scientific papers on biological clocks and reproductive physiology. He recently received an Award of Merit for his outstanding contribution to Coventry and a citation with city’s common seal.

Associated Media

Philip J Lader, Honorary Graduate 2002
Philip J Lader,
Honorary Graduate 2002

Nicholas Donofrio, Honorary Graduate 2002
Nicholas Donofrio, Honorary Graduate 2002

Sir Brian Follett, Honorary Graduate 2002
Sir Brian Follett,
Honorary Graduate 2002