HRH the Duke of York attends inaugural Graduation Dinner
07/20/2012 00:00:00
Distinguished guests including HRH the Duke of York and the Chancellor Sir Christian Bonington CBE have attended Lancaster University’s first Graduation Dinner on July 19.
Over a hundred people attended the dinner which was hosted by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark E. Smith in the Lancaster Leadership Centre.
Prince Andrew was an invited guest of Lord Shuttleworth KCVO, the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire.
The dinner was an opportunity to recognise Lancaster’s Honorary Graduates, who this year are: Aaqil Ahmed, Commissioning Editor Religion and Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC; Philip Brown, Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia; Mark Price, Lancaster alumnus and Managing Director of Waitrose; the radio critic Gillian Reynolds MBE; Roger Wilson CBE, Founder and Honorary Life President, Sarcoma UK; and Dr Syed Zaidi, Rector of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Pakistan
The Chancellor said: “I have had the pleasure of getting to know our honorary graduates who are always interesting and very inspiring people from diverse backgrounds and professions, all of whom have contributed so much to the society in which we live and who have a real connection with our University, which we hope will develop and continue into the future.”
Other guests at the event included senior representatives from the regional community, supporters of the University and Lancaster staff who received a Staff Award in recognition of their outstanding contribution.
The Vice-Chancellor said: “I have high expectations of Lancaster which is why I wanted to come here. Lancaster is a very, very good university, in good heart despite the uncertainty and changes which the higher education sector in the UK is now experiencing.
“We set ourselves the very highest goals and look forward to working with you and sharing our progress with you.”