September 2009 Precinct - University of Liverpool

12
Colourful robes flapping in the wind and mortar
boards askew could only mean one thing
– degree week at the University of Liverpool.
Celebrating this important week
at the Philharmonic Hall with 4,000
students were 10 esteemed figures
from the world of science,
entertainment and business.
Peter Bounds, Doctor
of Laws. A former Chief
Executive of Liverpool
City Council, Peter is
recognised for leading the
city away from difficult
financial times during the
early 1990s and towards
the achievements of Liverpool’s year as
European Capital of Culture. He now has roles
as a Civil Service Commissioner with the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Council of the Anglican Cathedral.
Professor Dame Sally
Davies, Doctor of
Science, is Director
General of Research and
Development and Chief
Scientific Advisor for the
Department of Health and
the National Health
Service (NHS). She has created a radical new
strategy for research for the NHS called ‘Best
Research for Best Health’ which aims to bring
academic research and health care practices
closer together.
Jim Eyre OBE, Doctor
of Laws. A graduate of the
University, Jim is one of
Britain’s most innovative
architects whose
commissions include
Liverpool’s Echo Arena
and Conference Centre,
the ‘Bridge of Aspiration’ in Covent Garden and
the new cold-climate Alpine House at Kew
Gardens. He is partner and director of the
Wilkinson Eyre practice which has seen
national and international success with the
refurbishment of the Bodleian Library in Oxford
and the master-plan for a 300-acre botanic
garden on the Singapore waterfront.
Jude Kelly OBE,
Doctor of Literature.
A leading theatre director,
she is recognised
nationally for her
achievements in
founding and developing
community theatre
companies. She is currently artistic director of
the South Bank Centre in London and chairs
the group planning for the cultural and
educational dimensions of the London
Olympic Games in 2012.
Lord Bhikhu Parekh,
Doctor of Laws. From
Gujarat, India, he is a
political philosopher at
the University of
Westminster and is
internationally acclaimed
for his work on Ghandi,
Karl Marx and Michael Oakeshott. Following his
role as Deputy and Acting Chair of the
Commission for Racial Equality, his study
Rethinking Multiculturalism was published,
alongside the report of the Runnymede Trust’s
Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic
Britain. This controversial report transformed
public debate about multiculturalism, and
became known as the Parekh Report.
Vasily Petrenko, Doctor
of Music. Originally from
Leningrad, Russia, Vasily
was appointed the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra’s youngestever
principal conductor
in 2005 following his
success in St Peterburg and Moscow.
Professor Bernard
Raveau, Doctor of
Science. A leading
scientist in the field of
solid state chemistry, he
demonstrated the ability
to make new materials
that could act as socalled
superconductors, which he found to
greatly reduce the energy loss associated with
existing electric conductors. Bernard is founder
and director of the National Research Centre of
Technology at the University of Caen in France.
Professor Sir John
Sulston, Doctor of
Science, was awarded
the Nobel Prize in
Physiology and Medicine
for the discovery of
genetic regulation of
organ development and
programmed cell death. Under Sir John’s
leadership, this work has been developed into
an ongoing international project to map the
human genome.
Julian Treuherz, Doctor
of Laws, was Keeper of
Art Galleries for National
Museums and Galleries
on Merseyside between
1989 and 2007 and
supervised the ambitious
renovation of the Walker
Art Gallery which brought a series of highprofile
exhibits to Liverpool.
Tung Chee-Chen,
Doctor of Laws.
A graduate of the
University, he is Chairman
and Chief Executive
of Orient Overseas
International Limited,
one of the largest and
most successful shipping corporations in the
world and among Hong Kong’s most
recognised global brands.
Born in Shanghai and educated in
Birkenhead, he became the first Chief
Executive of Hong Kong.
Birthday boy Vasily
rehearsing before
the dinner