The University of Glasgow is set to award eight honorary degrees on Commemoration Day on 21st June 2006. The list of 8 graduands and their achievements are as follows:

Professor Christian Br￩chot (DSc):
Professor Christian Br￩chot is Director General of the French Government's national medical research agency INSERM. Professor Br￩chot's research into liver disease, including his contribution to the understanding of Hepatitis B- and Hepatitis C- related liver cancer, led to his membership of the French Association for the Study of the Liver (AFEF), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the European Association for Virological Diagnosis.

Since he was nominated as Director General of INSERM, Professor Br￩chot has introduced measures to develop new career tracts for young French scientists; to strengthen links between basic and clinical research, teaching, industry and public health; to encourage technology transfer of innovative ideas from research laboratories to new biotech companies; and to establish strong international links on specific biomedical research topics, the creation of an INSERM Unit at the Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology at the University of Glasgow being one of the first examples of this overture policy.

The Right Honourable The Lord Provost Elizabeth Cameron (DUniv):
Councillor Liz Cameron was unanimously appointed Lord Provost for four years in May 2003 after having held a number of council offices.

Under her leadership, the City Council agreed the major refurbishment of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the opening of Nitshill Open Museum, a major programme for the City Halls and the establishment of 26 Life Long Learning Centres in City Libraries. She actively promoted sports and leisure initiatives which helped the city gain the title European Capital of Sport 2003.

Lord Provost Cameron is actively involved in a number of cultural organisations, including The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble, the Arches Theatre and the Glasgow Film Theatre. Lord Provost Cameron has been a member of the Scottish Arts Council and served as a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Sir Bernard Crick (DLitt) :
Emeritus Professor of Birkbeck College, University of London, Sir Bernard Crick, made a major contribution to the development of the academic discipline of the study of politics when teaching and researching at Harvard University, McGill University and the London School of Economics.

Since giving up teaching in 1984 Sir Bernard has been continuously engaged as a government adviser, both in Scotland and for UK ministers, and as a public commentator. He has been the central figure in the development of citizenship education in Britain during the last decade.

During his time in Scotland Sir Bernard has taken a major interest in the relations between UK government and devolved authorities. He has written about reconciling British citizenship with Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English national identities.

Thomas Divers (DUniv) :
Before taking up the position of Chief Executive of Greater Glasgow Health Board in 2001, Tom Divers held a number of posts in Greater Glasgow and Argyll and Clyde Health Boards as well as the position of General Manager of Lanarkshire Health Board in 1996. During his time in Lanarkshire he was instrumental in planning and building the two new hospitals at Wishaw and Hairmyres.

His appointment in 2001 to the largest Health Board in Scotland, Greater Glasgow Health Board (now NHS Greater Glasgow), required Mr Divers to develop large scale plans to improve the service. NHS Greater Glasgow now has a vision for change which has widespread acceptance amongst the public and the professions.

Professor Ian Halliday (DSc) :
In his seven years as Chief Executive of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (1998-2005) Ian Halliday has transformed the standing of Particle Physics and Astronomy in the UK. Some of his achievements include: negotiating UK entry into the European Southern Observatory to transform the UK's astronomical power in the 8-metre telescope business; playing an instrumental part in setting up European/USA effort for a future Mars exploration project; and helping to contain restructuring of CERN, Geneva (the world's largest particle physics laboratory) after cost over-runs.

Professor Halliday was also the prime driver for the e-science work in the UK, creating a £140 million project.

Sir Thomas Blane Hunter (DUniv) :
Sir Tom Hunter is one of Scotland's best known entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Over a period of eighteen years he developed his business, Sports Division, into one of the UK's premier sports retailers employing 7500 people across 250 stores. He also founded West Coast Capital, the private equity partnership, in March 2001 and subsequently has concluded in excess of £4 billion of West Coast led deals.

Tom Hunter is an ardent supporter of fellow entrepreneurs and is passionate about making Scotland a more enterprising nation. He is a supporter of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and personally donated £5 million to support the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde University. With his wife Marion, Tom established The Hunter Foundation in 1998, a venture philanthropy targeting investment in education and enterprise across Scotland. In September 2005, Tom Hunter and Bill Clinton announced the Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative, aiming to construct a new model of poverty intervention in the world's poorest countries.

The Hunter Foundation has contributed generously to the refurbishment of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. An initial contribution of £1.6million has established a new world-class educational wing at the Art Gallery, The Campbell Hunter Education Wing, and a further £3.1 million has been made available for content development.

Donald Paul Kahn (DUniv) :
Donald Kahn is a generous philanthropist who has donated considerably to the Arts. In the UK he has made substantial contributions to the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic, the ECO and Wigmore Hall. He was one of the major supporters of the renovation at the British Museum. More recently he has made a substantial donation to the Kelvingrove refurbishment.

In the USA he has supported the New World Symphony, the Miami City Ballet, and the Miami Center for the Fine Arts.

In recognition of his work he was awarded an honorary OBE in 2001, and the First Class Medal of Kunst and Wissenschaft by the Republic of Austria.

Professor David Onions (DVMS) :
Veterinarian and scientist of international standing, Professor David Onions, former Professor of Veterinary Pathology in the University of Glasgow's Veterinary School, has held a number of highly regarded positions in the scientific field, including Founding Director of Q-One Biotech, the largest ever spin-out company from the University of Glasgow. Q-One Biotech sold for £48 million in 2003. Professor Onions was recently promoted from Chief Scientific Officer to Chief Medical Officer at Invitrogen Corporation. The company provides essential life sciences technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction.

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

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.

The ceremony will begin at 11am when the new Chancellor, Professor Sir Kenneth Calman will be installed. If photographers wish to attend the installation ceremony for the new Chancellor please arrive at the door to turret G at 10.45am.

Conferment of degrees will begin at approximately 11.15am and these will be awarded in the following order:

Sir Bernard Crick
Professor Christian Br?chot
Professor Ian Halliday
Professor David Onions
Lord Provost Elizabeth Cameron
Thomas Divers
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter
Donald Paul Kahn

Please let the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office know if you wish to attend the ceremony by phoning 0141 330 3535 or emailing K.richardson@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 19 June 2006