Honorary degrees recognise the special contribution made by individuals

Graduations are a time of celebration. They recognise the achievement of years of study and send students out into the world, with all they have learned during their time with Dundee University.

They are also a time to recognise individuals who have made a significant mark in their fields through the awarding of honorary degrees.

Fifty years ago, the first honorary degree, a Doctor of Laws, was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

When nominations are sought for the year’s honorary graduates, they can be found across the spectrum of achievement from academia and education to fashion design; from sport to architecture; and from all areas of the arts to the broad church of public service. There should be some relevance to the life of the university or the city itself and they should prove an inspiration to the students and that year’s graduates.

Many names on the list of those who have been honoured during the past 50 years will not be immediately familiar today but some definitely will.

For example, among the luminaries joining the Queen Mother as honorary graduates in 1967 were NCR executive Nelson Thomas Carne, the Rt Hon the Earl of Dalhousie, historian Ronald Buchanan McCallum, and Major-General Douglas Neil Wimberley.

Fast forward to 2016: dementia rights campaigner Amanda Kopel and Maggie’s Centres co-founder Dr Charles Jencks received awards, alongside Sir William Patey, a Dundee graduate who went on to become UK Ambassador in Sudan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.

Former rectors Stephen Fry and Lorraine Kelly received their awards, while some honorary graduates such as Brian Cox and Mark Beaumont became rectors at a later stage.

The hundreds of distinguished individuals on the list reflect the breadth of the university’s contribution over the past 50 years.