The University of Glasgow will award 12 honorary degrees on Commemoration Day on 20 June 2007. The list of the 12 graduands and their achievements are as follows:

Reverend Douglas N Alexander (DUniv)

Churchman and advocate for social justice, the Reverend Douglas Alexander is a distinguished figure in the sphere of communication in the modern world, particularly between church and city, the sacred and the secular and piety and politics. In his Parish of Bishopton ministry adult christian education became a guide for the church nationally and also in the wider sphere, Douglas Alexander served on national Religious Advisory Committees for independent television.

Boyle Family (Joan Hills, Georgia Boyle and Sebastian Boyle) (DLitt)

Boyle Family are collaborative artists based in London. They have achieved international distinction in contemporary art and have a fully inclusive approach to both the creative process and to the materials and methods adopted. They aim to present art that does not exclude anything as a potential subject.

Professor Sir Michael V Berry (DSc)

Melville Wills Professor of Physics at Bristol University, Professor Sir Michael Berry is renowned in his field, most notably for his discovery of a central concept in quantum mechanics: The Berry Phase. Having received numerous awards for his research, Sir Michael also held a Royal Society Professorship at Bristol University from 1988-2006.

Olivia Giles (DUniv)

Since contracting meningococcal septicaemia and undergoing quadruple amputations, Olivia Giles, a Law graduate of the University, has fought to increase awareness of meningitis and raise funds to combat the disease. As a volunteer fundraiser she has made great contributions to the Meningitis Research Foundation and to the Meningitis Trust. In 2004, Leap for Meningitis, her brain child, raised over £450,000.

Dr John Hall (DSc)

Dr John Hall was awarded a share in the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on stabilizing and manipulating laser light. Based in JILA, one of America's leading research institutes, his achievements include the development of ways of reducing the uncertainty in the frequency of a laser's light which could lead to the replacement of the current atomic clock with a more precise time keeper.

Donald Kaberuka (DUniv)

President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka is known for his work in relation to poverty reduction, trade reform, and social development in the poorer countries of Africa. Prior to his position with the African Development Bank he was minister of finance and economic planning in Rwanda and is credited with helping to stabilize the Rwandan economy from the effects of the 1994 genocide.

Rachel Lomax (DUniv)

As Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Rachel Lomax is responsible for Monetary Policy, including monetary assessment and money market operations. Previously she has held the position of Permanent Secretary for the Department of Transport, the Department of Work and Pensions and at the Welsh Office where she oversaw the setting up of the National Assembly for Wales. She is also on the board of the Royal National Theatre and of DeMontford University.

Shonaig MacPherson (DUniv)

Formerly a Senior Partner of legal firm McGrigor Donald, Shonaig MacPherson was appointed as the first female Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland in 2005. Having practised as an intellectual property lawyer for over 20 years Shonaig is also Deputy President of the British Chambers of Commerce, a non-executive member of the Scottish Executive Management Group and Chairman of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

Susan Rice (DUniv)

Chartered banker, Susan Rice, became the first woman to head a UK clearing bank when she was appointed Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland in 2000. Previously a member of HM Treasury's Policy Action Team on access to financial services and, working with the Scottish Executive and other partners, she helps shape thinking in this area. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, on the board of Scottish Business in the Community and a member of the Scottish Advisory Task Force on the New Deal.

Professor Olgierd Zienkiewicz (D.Eng)

Olgierd Zienkiewicz, Emeritus Professor and former Director of the Institute for Numerical Methods in Engineering at the University of Wales, Swansea, has made significant contributions to engineering. He is widely recognised as the 'father of the finite element method' which has become by far the most dominant and widely applicable computational method in almost any field of engineering and mechanics. He became CBE in 1989 and in the same year became the UNESCO Professor of Numerical Methods in Engineering at the Technical University of Catalunya in Barcelona, and in 1990 gained the prestigious Royal Medal of the Royal Society from HM Queen Elizabeth II. In 2006 he received the Prince Philip Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering for outstanding contributions spanning the wide field of mechanics and engineering.

Kate Richardson (K.Richardson@admin.gla.ac.uk)

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Photographers are invited to attend the Commemoration Day ceremony where the individuals will receive their honorary degrees. There will also be an opportunity to photograph the honorary graduates after the ceremony. Photographers are asked to meet a University Media Relations Officer at the door to turret G in the University cloisters where they will be shown into the hall.

Conferment of degrees will begin at 11.00am and these will be awarded in the following order:

Boyle Family
Sir Michael Berry
Dr John Hall
Professor Olgierd Zienkiewicz
Rev Douglas Alexander
Olivia Giles
Donald Kaberuka
Rachel Lomax
Shonaig MacPherson
Susan Rice

Please let the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office know if you wish to attend the ceremony by phoning 0141 330 3683 or emailing K.Richardson@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 18 June 2007