Purpose of the committee
The Committee is a joint committee of Council and Senate.
Key responsibilities
- To recommend to Senate for approval persons worthy of the conferment of an honorary degree and the appropriate degree for each such person.
- To recommend to Council for approval persons worthy of a President's Award.
- To appoint Orators for recipients of honorary degrees and University relationship managers for recipients of honorary degrees and President’s Awards.
- To recommend to Senate the criteria for honorary degree and President's Awards nominations.
- To recommend to Senate the annual award of the Chancellor's Medal.
- To approve proposed nominees for National Honours awards and a ranked order for the nominees to be put forward to the Cabinet Office.
- To have oversight of nominations for other external awards and prizes as deemed strategically important by the University.
- To report to Senate and Council the winners of National Honours and external awards and external prizes within the committee’s remit, once publicly available.
- To determine the procedures for submission and consideration of honorary degrees, President's Awards, National Awards and external awards and prizes including, where appropriate, the subsequent award of these honours.
Further regulations regarding the awarding of Honorary Degrees are set out in Ordinance 23.
Reporting relationships
Honorary Degrees Committee reports to Council and Senate after every meeting with a written report.
Procedural rules
Meeting frequency: The Committee meets twice a year.
Quorum: The quorum for meetings shall be one third of the membership.
Membership
Ex Officio members
- Professor Phil Taylor, Chair (Vice-Chancellor and President)
Appointed members
The terms of office expire on 31 July in the year stated.
- Dot Griffiths, Member of Council, appointed by Council, term of office 2026
- Don McLaverty, Member of Council, appointed by Council, term of office 2026
- Professor James Davenport, Member of Senate, elected by Senate, term of office 2026
- Professor Momna Hejmadi, Member of Senate, appointed by Senate, term of office 2028
- Dr Rob Branston, Member of Academic Staff, elected by Senate, term of office 2027
- Professor Tim Ibell, Member of Academic Staff, elected by Senate, term of office 2027
- Smriti Singh, Member of Professional Services Staff, appointed by the VC, term of office 2027
- Helen Slater, Student Governor, appointed by Nominations Committee, term of office 2026
Routine attendees (in attendance)
- Laura Andrews, Governance Partner
- Lydia Lee, Director of Advancement
- Suzanne Maxwell, Senior Executive Officer
Other members may be co-opted or invited to attend for specific meetings at the discretion of the Committee.
Council members are renewed annually. All other members serve terms of three years at a time. Members can serve two consecutive terms (a total of six years) but in exceptional circumstances may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms (a total of nine years). All terms are subject to renewal.
Version information
Owner: Honorary Degrees Committee
Approval Date: 20 November 2025
Approved By: Senate and Council
Resources
Find out about our meeting dates.
Honorary Doctorate Degrees
Honorary Master's Degrees
President's Award
The Chancellor's Medal