The University of Bath’s 2009 summer degree award ceremonies take place next week, with more than 2,000 students expected to attend at the city’s Abbey.
The ten ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (30 June, 1 & 2 July), and honorary graduates include Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s Justin King; Dr Krisana Kraisintu, a campaigner for life-saving medicines for some of the world’s poorest people; and local businessman and philanthropist Brian Roper.
The ceremonies, presided over by its Chancellor, Lord Tugendhat, will all be preceded by a public procession of some of the University’s senior officers and academics.
The processions will begin at the Guildhall, go into the High Street, right into Cheap Street, left down Farrs Passage into the Abbey Churchyard. They will return after the ceremonies past Rebecca’s Fountain and into the High Street.
These roads will be closed to traffic for about six minutes during the processions, which will occur at approximately 9.55am, 11.15am (return), 12.25pm, 1.45pm (return), 2.55pm and 4.15pm (return) on all three days, and on Wednesday an extra ceremony will have processions at 5.25pm and 6.45pm (return).
Justin King, who receives his honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree on Thursday, has been credited with reversing the fortunes of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s since taking over as Chief Executive of the firm in 2004.
Mr King, a University of Bath BSc in Business Administration alumnus, began his career running a chocolate bar production line for Mars Confectionary before going on to become Director in Egypt for Pepsi International, Managing Director UK with Haagen Dazs ice cream, then several senior roles with Asda, before becoming Director of Food with Marks & Spencer.
In his oration before an audience of 700 people, Professor Richard Elliott, Dean of the School of Management, will say: “Here we have an outstanding example of a Bath graduate, whose management skills benefit a major public company, its employees, customers and shareholders, but who also demonstrates that corporate social responsibility can be placed at the heart of successful businesses.”
Other honorary graduates include:
- Painter Craigie Aitchison CBE, who was elected a Royal Academician in 1988 and received a CBE in 1999 for his contributions to British art. A major retrospective of his work was held at the Royal Academy in 2003 and he continues to exhibit widely in the UK and internationally. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree at the 10am ceremony on Tuesday.
- Brian Roper MBE, who has been running his own successful bathroom company Roper Rhodes Ltd for the past 30 years. Brian graduated from the London School of Economics in 1961 before working for several major organisations, including Hotpoint, the Rank Organisation, and Smiths Industries. He started his successful bathroom company in 1979 and today he gives away three per cent of company profits annually to local arts and community groups. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Administration degree at the 12.30pm ceremony on Tuesday.
- Bill Whiteley, who graduated from the University of Bath with a BSc in Economics & Business Administration in 1970. He returned to Bath in 1974 to work for engineering firm Rotork, rising to become its CEO in 1996. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree at the 3pm ceremony on Tuesday.
- Dr Krisana Kraisintu, a pharmaceutical consultant who has pioneered local production and increased access to life-saving medicines in Africa. In particular she is involved in the production of drugs to treat Malaria and HIV/AIDS. She will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree at 10am on Wednesday.
- Martin Sadler, who is the Director of Hewlett Packard Laboratories Systems Security. He has worked for Hewlett Packard for 20 years and leads the firm’s information security research worldwide. His work has become the building block of modern day information security. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the 3pm ceremony on Wednesday.
- David Bull, who has an MSc in Development Studies from the University of Bath. He joined UNICEF UK as Executive Director in 1999 and since then the charity has more than tripled its income and has positioned itself as an advocate for world children through a series of campaigns. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the 12.30pm ceremony on Thursday.
- Dr Florence Wambugu, who is a plant pathologist and virologist known for her advocacy of using biotechnology to increase food production in Africa. She received her PhD from the University of Bath and will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree at the 3pm ceremony on Thursday.