Chancellor, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the recipient of this posthumous honorary doctorate, Simon Boas. Simon was an alumnus of our Department of Social and Policy Sciences in 2008, when he studied for a Master's degree in International Policy Analysis. It was, as he describes in his book, a period of his life on which he looked back fondly.

And Simon certainly had a lot to look back on. His interest in policy and humanitarianism stemmed from his teenage years, when he participated in an aid convoy in Bosnia, when the country was still a war zone. Having then volunteered and worked in Vietnam and Egypt, in 2003, Simon moved to Palestine to take up a job with the Economic Research Institute, where he worked for eight years, interspersed with his year studying with us here at the University of Bath. During this period of his life, he also worked for the Palestinian Authority, ran a French microfinance charity, and worked for two years in Gaza as an Emergency Programme Officer for the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. It was during this time that he had a chance meeting on a bus to Ramallah with Aurelie, who was later to become his wife.

Following two years in Nepal and a further two years working in London with the Civil Service, in 2016, Simon and Aurelie moved to Jersey for Simon to head up Jersey Overseas Aid. Here, major projects included introducing cross-bred Jersey cows into Africa as well as microfinance support. He also chaired Jersey Heritage and worked as a volunteer policeman and Samaritan. Driven by an intuitive understanding of the importance of community and connection, he was, by all accounts, doing great things both locally and internationally.

As some members of our congregation may have seen on the news last year, Simon was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2023. Despite aggressive treatment, he died in July 2024 aged 47.

Before his death, Simon wrote a series of reflective articles for his local newspaper in Jersey on his approach to dying, which led to him authoring a bestselling book called ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Dying’. Simon completed the book two weeks before he died and, as someone who has worked on death and dying for over 20 years, I can honestly say that it is one of the funniest books about dying I have ever read. Simon’s vitality, dynamism and humour shine through in his writing and reflections on life, and on dying and on his death.

It gives me great pleasure to know that his humour and wisdom is now going global with his book being published in America, Germany and Japan. It is my hope that in awarding Simon this posthumous doctorate, we can all learn from him about the importance of embracing life in the moment, and recognise we are all mortal and our lives finite. It is truly fitting that his alma mater, the University of Bath, where a research centre that specialises in death and dying is based, is able to recognise his work and influence in his death, with this degree.

Chancellor, I present to you Simon Boas, who is eminently worthy of receiving a posthumous honorary Doctor of Policy Research and Practice, honoris causa, to recognise his impact in international development and his public education in death and dying. Simon’s sister, Julia Boas, is going to receive his degree on his behalf.