Our new honorary graduates
Nine honorary degrees were awarded on this year’s Commemoration Day on 15 June, which marks the foundation of the University in 1451.
Recipients from across Europe were recognised for their achievements in the fields of politics, arts, science, and humanities.
Among the recipients were two former leading political figures, Mario Monti, Italian Prime Minister from 2011 to 2013, and Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997. Others recognised on Commemoration Day include President of the National Academy of Science and Engineering in Germany and ex-Director General of the European Space Agency, Johann-Dietrich Wörner, and columnist with The Irish Times Fintan O’Toole.
Honorary degrees will also be awarded to a host of recipients during the University’s summer graduation ceremonies, from a world-leading novelist to a Nobel Prize winner.
During the summer graduation ceremonies, author of the 'Outlander' series of novels, Diana Gabaldon, will become a Doctor of Letters along with Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the National Theatre of Scotland.
The 2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry winner and University of Glasgow graduate Professor Sir David MacMillan will become Doctor of Science (DSc), along with Professor Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Vice President of Public Health Foundation of India.
“It is an honour to recognise the work of such distinguished people from across the world at this year’s Commemoration Day, individuals who have a made a genuine difference to so many people’s lives across the globe, the UK and here in Scotland," said Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal & Vice-Chancellor. "Awarding honorary degrees is a way for the University to recognise the achievements of people who have made a positive impact and are world changers in their chosen fields. We look forward to celebrating their successes and welcoming them to our UofG community.”
Commemoration Day 2022
DOCTOR OF LAWS (LLD)
- Professor Dr Sonja SNACKEN Professor Emeritus of Criminology, Penology and Sociology of Law, Vrije University Brussel
DOCTOR OF LETTERS (DLitt)
- Professor Dr hab Zdzisław MACH Jagiellonian University, Poland
- Fintan O’TOOLE Columnist, The Irish Times
DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (DSc)
- Professor Gunnar VON HEIJNE University of Stockholm
- Professor Martin LOHSE Chairman, ISAR Bioscience and ex-Scientific Director of the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine
DOCTOR OF ENGINEERING (DEng)
- Johann-Dietrich WÖRNER President, National Academy of Science and Engineering, Germany and ex-Director General, European Space Agency
DOCTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY (DUniv)
- Mario MONTI Former Italian Prime Minister
- Mary ROBINSON Former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Dr Finian TAN Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners
Honorary Degrees Summer 2022
DOCTOR OF LAWS (LLD)
- Dana DENIS-SMITH Founder and CEO, Obelist Support
DOCTOR OF LETTERS (DLitt)
- Dr Diana GABALDON Author
- Professor Sir Geoff (Godfrey) PALMER Human Rights Activist
- Jackie WYLIE Artistic Director and Chief Executive, National Theatre of Scotland
DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (DSC)
- Dr Aart DE GEUS Chair and Co-CEO of Synopsis
- Professor Deborah LAWLOR Professor of Epidemiology, University of Bristol
- Professor Sir David MACMILLAN Merck Center for Catalysis at Princeton University and Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2021
- Professor Dorairaj PRABHAKARAN Vice President (Research and Policy), Public Health Foundation of India
DOCTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY (DUniv)
- Professor Kofi ANYIDOHO Professor of English, University of Ghana
- Etienne d’ABOVILLE Chief Executive of Glasgow Centre For Inclusive Living (GCIL)
- Councillor Graham CAMPBELL Human Rights Activist
- Sir Douglas Jardine FLINT Businessman
- Corinne HUTTON Founder of Finding Your Feet Charity and Motivational Speaker
This article was first published June 2022.
Commemoration Day
The current form of celebrations for Commemoration Day at UofG has been followed for over a century but its roots go back to the annual May banquet which was first held in 1492; commemoration became an official event in the late 17th century and the first recorded honorary degrees were conferred on distinguished theologians in 1709.
Honorary graduates have included
• medical explorer and missionary David Livingstone (1854)
• actor-manager Sir Henry Irving (1899)
• physicist and Nobel laureate Albert Einstein (1933)
• naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough (1980)
• sculptor and author Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1980)
• poet, author and dramatist George Mackay Brown (1985)
• novelist and philosopher Dame Iris Murdoch (1990)
• playwright and poet Liz Lochhead (1992)
• astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1997)
• playwright and first president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel (1998)
• novelist Iain Banks (2005)
• political scientist Professor Sir Bernard Crick (2006)
• author Julia Donaldson (2012)
• writer, actor and film director Terry Jones (2013)
• athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson (2015)
• theatre director John Tiffany (2017)
• adventurer Mark Beaumont (2018)