University honours inspirational visionaries
LEADING FIGURES from the worlds of journalism, politics, business and performing arts received honorary degrees from the University of York.
Pianist, poet and author Alfred Brendel and Vasily Petrenko, chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, were among those to be honoured by the university at the weekend.
Mr Brendel is regarded as one of the world’s greatest pianists.
He is known particularly for his performances of the work of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
Mr Petrenko took up the baton with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006.
He has helped to build new audiences for classical music, including many young people.
Other recipients of the honorary degrees included Rob Wilmot, one of the three founding executives of Freeserve, once the UK’s largest internet service provider, and awardwinning journalist Orla Guerin, currently based in Cairo for BBC News.
Sacha Romanovitch, who is the UK chief executive officer of Grant Thornton and the first woman to lead a major City accountancy firm, was also presented with an honorary degree at the university on Saturday.
An award was presented to former president of the Federal Republic of Germany Professor Dr Horst Koehler. He served as the ninth president between 2004 and 2010.
Professor Koen Lamberts, vice-chancellor of the University of York, said: “This year’s honorary graduates are world leaders in their field and represent the university’s vision, values and commitment to excellence.
“Their achievements are inspirational and we congratulate them in their dedication towards finding solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems.”
They represent the university’s vision, values and excellence. Prof Koen Lamberts, vice-chancellor of the University of York.