Introducing our Honorary Graduates

Every year the University of York confers the honorary degree of Doctor of the University honoris causa on distinguished people. The recipients come from many walks of life and all have made a significant contribution to society. Honorary graduands are selected from nominations by members of the University and very often have links with departments or alumni.

The Right Hon Lady Black of Derwent DBE

The Right Hon Lady Black of Derwent became only the second woman to be appointed as a Justice of The Supreme Court in October 2017.

Lady Black attended Penrhos College in North Wales before studying at Durham University. The first lawyer in her family, her initial career at the Bar involved a broad range of criminal and civil work, although she later specialised in family law. For a period in the 1980s she taught Law at Leeds Polytechnic.

She was a founding author of a widely used guide to family law practice in England and Wales, and continues to serve as a consulting editor.

In 1999, Lady Black was appointed a High Court judge, assigned to the Family Division. She became a Lady Justice of Appeal in 2010. She has held various additional positions while serving in the High Court and Court of Appeal, including Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board’s Family Committee from 2004 to 2008.

From 2008 until 2013, she was a Judicial Appointments Commissioner, ultimately serving as Vice Chairman of the Commission. From 2013 until her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2017, she was Head of International Family Justice.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon The Right Hon Lady Black of Derwent DBE during Ceremony Three on Friday 24 January 2020.

Kevin Carey

Kevin Carey is the former Chair for the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), founder of the Transforming Braille Group and a leading thinker on accessible technologies for the blind.

He chaired the World Blind Union (WBU) Technology Committee for three years and is currently Chair of the WBU World Braille Council.

Born in Todmorden, Yorkshire, with limited vision, Kevin was the first blind child to attend a non-specialist school in Liverpool. Kevin graduated with degrees from both the University of Cambridge and Harvard University.

After leaving Harvard, Kevin began working as a BBC Radio 4 journalist, before joining SightSavers International in 1985. Rising to become Overseas Director in 1992, Kevin worked across Africa and the Caribbean, designing education, training and rehabilitation programmes for incurable blindness. He also founded the African Braille Centre, among many other achievements.

In 2009, Kevin became Chair of the RNIB, after serving as ViceChair for nine years. He remained Chair until 2017.

In 2011, Kevin founded the Transforming Braille Group, a consortium of ten world-wide organisations, to produce the first affordable refreshable braille display. Through his expertise on accessible technologies, Kevin has acted as an adviser for countless organisations on their digital policies, including the BBC, Ofcom and the UK government.

Kevin has helped secure funding for multiple research projects at the University of York. He delivers an annual lecture to Computer Science undergraduates about computer technology for the blind, and leads a masterclass on the MSc Human-Centred Interactive Technologies course.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon Kevin Carey during Ceremony Four on Friday 24 January 2020.

Sir Ciarán Devane

Sir Ciarán Devane was appointed Chief Executive of the British Council – the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities – in January 2015. Prior to this, Sir Ciarán was Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support from 2007 to 2014. He transformed the scale and impact of the charity and raised its profile as an authoritative voice on cancer and health matters, leading to Macmillan being the Marketing Society’s Brand of the Year in 2014.

Sir Ciarán was educated at University College Dublin, where he gained first-class honours in Biochemical Engineering. He then started his career as an engineer and manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) before becoming a management consultant, mostly with Gemini Consulting.

He holds a Masters degree in International Policy and Practice from George Washington University, and the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa from University College Dublin. Sir Ciarán has also held non-executive roles on the board of organisations ranging from small local charities to NHS England. He is currently Chair of Clore Social Leadership and of the Irish Health Service Executive.

Sir Ciarán was awarded a knighthood in 2015 for his services to cancer patients.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon Sir Ciarán Devane during Ceremony Two on Thursday 23 January 2020.

Professor Paul Hardaker

Professor Paul Hardaker is Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics. He was appointed in September 2012, having previously been Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, and having worked at the Met Office for 14 years.

Alongside these posts, Professor Hardaker has been a member of the Physics Advisor Panel at the University of Wales and founding editor of the international journal Atmospheric Science Letters.

Paul currently holds a visiting professorship in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Reading. He was a trustee on the Board of Science Council for seven years, and is Chairman of the Sense About Science charity.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon Professor Paul Hardaker during Ceremony Seven on Friday 24 January 2020.

Professor Dame Frances Clare Kirwan DBE FRS

Professor Dame Frances Clare Kirwan is a British mathematician, specialising in algebraic and symplectic geometry. She is currently Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford.

Dame Frances was an undergraduate in Mathematics at Clare College, Cambridge. She moved to Oxford for her DPhil, before becoming a Junior Fellow at Harvard between 1983 and 1985.

She returned to Oxford in 1986 as a Fellow by Examination at Magdalen College and then as a Tutorial Fellow in Mathematics at Balliol. In 2017 she was appointed to the Savilian Professorship.

Dame Frances is a Fellow of the Royal Society, serving on its Council from 2012 to 2015, and she chaired the UK Mathematics Trust from 2010 to 2016.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon Professor Dame Frances Clare Kirwan DBE during Ceremony Two on Thursday 23 January 2020.

Mark Laity

Mark Laity is a senior NATO Communications Director and former BBC journalist.

Mark graduated from the University of York with a BA in History/Politics and an MA in Southern African Studies. He then embarked on a journalism career, joining the BBC as Defence Correspondent in 1989. He became well-known for his reporting on the end of the Cold War and from conflict zones, including the first Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo.

In 2000 Mark joined NATO as a spokesman and adviser to the Secretary General, later becoming Chief Strategic Communications at the Alliance’s military headquarters and again serving in combat zones, notably Afghanistan. He led on developing NATO Strategic Communications in an era when information – and countering disinformation – has become an important part of modern conflict and international affairs.

His expertise is recognised academically with honorary positions as a Fellow in the King’s College Centre for Strategic Communications and the University of Exeter’s Security Studies Institute.

The degree of the University honoris causa was conferred upon Mark Laity during Ceremony Five on Friday 24 January 2020.