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Category: Honorary Graduate

Honour for a swordplay expert who carved a career in films

Honour for a swordplay expert who carved a career in films

A multi-talented character in the UK’s creative and cultural industry has just been made an honorary graduate of The Open University, recognising his work in the arts. Andy Wilkinson, who lives in Harpenden, Herts, dreamt of a showbusiness career and used his skills at fencing and other weaponry to help him enter the profession, gain […]

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Honour for bereaved Bedfordshire mother whose work has improved life for those living with sickle cell

Honour for bereaved Bedfordshire mother whose work has improved life for those living with sickle cell

A bereaved mother from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, whose daughter died from sickle cell disease 25 years ago, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by The Open University for her work to raise awareness of the condition ever since. Cecilia Ayisi-Shoetan, formerly from Romford but now living in Leighton Buzzard, has campaigned to help improve the […]

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Firefighter gains an honorary degree from The Open University

Firefighter gains an honorary degree from The Open University

Firefighter Ross Hockham has been awarded an Honorary Degree by The Open University in recognition of his infectious passion for the solar system, a love that has spawned a thriving education and outreach programme. The OU, based in Milton Keynes where Ross lives, is internationally renowned for its groundbreaking space-science research and has a team […]

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Michael wearing graduation gown and blue glasses, looking at the camera with a background of plant leaves.

‘The OU gives you the tools to embrace who you are, and how you connect with the world’

When celebrated historian and Arts and Humanities graduate Michael, 72, received an invitation from The Open University (OU) to become an honorary graduate, he was so stunned he thought it was a prank! Now a proud Doctor of the University he regards as one of the “greatest British institutions”, Michael describes what the OU means […]

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Charity retail changemaker awarded prestigious honour by The Open University

Charity retail changemaker awarded prestigious honour by The Open University

Dedicating a career spanning more than 30 years to charity retail, Maria Chenoweth has been awarded The Open University’s prestigious degree of Honorary Doctor, in recognition of her lifelong work championing the social and environmental benefits of second-hand fashion. From leaving school without any formal qualifications to becoming a transformative force in the charity retail […]

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Distinguished author and Nobel Laureate is awarded honorary degree

Distinguished author and Nobel Laureate is awarded honorary degree

Distinguished Zanzibar-born author and Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, who has been celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by The Open University. He won global recognition in 2021 for becoming the first African writer in 30 years to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. It resulted in many earlier […]

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Honour for racial inequality activist and campaigner Lord Simon Woolley

Honour for racial inequality activist and campaigner Lord Simon Woolley

Activist and campaigner Lord Simon Woolley, who has devoted his life to tackling racial inequality in British politics and society, has just received an honorary doctorate from The Open University. One of the many achievements of Lord Woolley, who was adopted at the age of two and grew up on a council estate in Leicester, […]

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Comedic novelist’s award in recognition of his life’s work

Comedic novelist’s award in recognition of his life’s work

Celebrated novelist and academic Howard Jacobson has been awarded an honorary degree for his life’s work and contribution to British literature – reinventing the comic novel for the modern age. The Manchester-born academic was made a Doctor of The Open University at one of its degree ceremonies – this one in the city’s Bridgewater Hall […]

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Photo of Emily Hollis in her graduation robes

Inspirational education leader awarded honorary Open University degree

Emily Hollis MBE has been awarded an honorary degree from The Open University (OU) for devoting her career to promoting educational inclusion and raising standards for all. A distinguished educator, and passionate advocate for inclusion, Emily was presented with the honorary degree of Master of the University for her services to education and culture at […]

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Michael wearing graduation gown and blue glasses, looking at the camera with a background of plant leaves.

Historian who challenged the view of Black British history is honoured

A pioneering Black historian whose research has transformed the nation’s understanding of our Black British history has been awarded an honorary degree from The Open University and confessed he is “unashamedly woke” . A delighted Michael Ohajuru made the comments as he accepted his Doctor of the University award, for all that he has accomplished, […]

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