Find information on former Honorary graduates from previous years.
Honorary Award recipients
Since 1966 the University of Bradford has awarded Honorary Degrees and Outstanding Contribution Awards to:
- outstanding individuals in recognition of their academic work and endeavour,
- their contribution to their chosen profession or field of activity,
- their contribution to the University, City or wider region,
- their ability to act as a role model reflecting the University’s values.
Nominations for honorary degrees and fellowships can be submitted at any time and are considered by the University Honorary Awards Committee on three occassions through-out the year.
Read our blog about how we have worked and collaborated with Honorary Award Recipients.
Our most recent Honorary Award recipients
Emma Merva
Emma has been awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Education in recognition of her significant contribution to education on a regional and national scale.
Emma Merva is a highly experienced national and international educational professional, who has worked across the world in both an advisory and inspection capacity with governments and educational providers.
Through her work Emma has impacted the educational experiences of many thousands of students, dedicated to ensuring that all students can reach their full potential. She was the founding Executive Principal for Star Academies credited for setting up two outstanding faith schools based in Manchester. She is currently the Regional Director (North East Primaries) and National Leader of Attendance for Oasis Community Learning.
Emma has been instrumental in developing leadership programmes for senior leaders in education, including establishing a locally facilitated National Professional Qualification for Headship Leadership programme. She has also been an inclusion lead for over 20 years, a coach for an executive MBA apprentice programme for Special Educational Needs specialists and is a contributing author to books with a special educational need's focus.
Emma is a graduate of the University of Bradford, having graduated with a BA (Hons) Business Administration in 1997, and is currently completing an EdD with the University of Chester.
Listen to Emma's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Asghar Ali, Ishfaq Farooq and Shakoor Ahmed
Asghar Ali, Ishfaq Farooq and Shakoor Ahmed have been awarded an Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of the significant impact they are making in the city of Bradford, collectively and as individuals.’
Asghar, Shakoor and Ishfaq, along with other family members, are the founding brothers and cousins behind the MyLahore restaurant chain.
Founded in Bradford in 2002, MyLahore prides itself on being much more than just a restaurant; it is a living testament to the cultural fusion of food and the spirit of community. MyLahore began as a modest eatery with a bold vision: to bring together the flavours, traditions, and stories of British and Asian cuisines in a way that celebrates diversity and unity. From its humble beginnings, MyLahore has grown into a multi-site restaurant and catering enterprise, employing over 550 individuals from 27 different nationalities.
Recognising the importance of giving back, MyLahore has consistently prioritised charity and community engagement as integral parts of its mission. Examples of this include recognising local heroes via the Community Champions initiative and donating thousands of hot meals to numerous charities across the city including the Muslim Women’s Council Curry Circle. During the pandemic MyLahore also launched one of the first restaurant-led Covid-19 vaccination clinics in Bradford and organised a Q&A session to dispel vaccine myths within the BAME community.
In honour of their contributions, MyLahore has been awarded numerous accolades, including being recognised as overall ‘Business of the Year’ at the Bradford Means Business Awards in 2023. They have also had the privilege of hosting royal visits, serving distinguished guests like King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Listen to their oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Chief Constable John Robins QPM DL
John received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of his significant impact and contribution to the District of Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Chief Constable John Robins has 34 years of policing experience, uniquely all in West Yorkshire Police (WYP).
In 2003 John was posted to Bradford, as the Superintendent in charge of Operational Policing. During his three years in Bradford, he dealt with many high-profile local events, commanded numerous policing operations and assisted the community to recovery after many periods of heightened tension.
After that John worked at Force Headquarters as a Chief Superintendent overseeing all Criminal Justice matters. In 2008 he became the District Commander of Kirklees, once again dealing with sensitive policing operations that attracted both local and national media coverage.
In 2012 John became an Assistant Chief Constable at Headquarters, leading on Workforce and Standards. He then went on to oversee Local Policing across the Western side of West Yorkshire, reuniting his connection with Bradford.
John became the Temporary Deputy Chief Constable of WYP, leading on Professional Standards, Ethics and Equality, before securing the role permanently in 2017.
In 2019 John became the Chief Constable for WYP. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in 2019 and became a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire in 2022.
Listen to John's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge
Nozizwe received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of being an internationally renowned campaigner and her outstanding contribution to positive peace and social justice.
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge is a highly respected political figure, with a distinguished history of campaigning for human rights.
She was one of the few women at the negotiations for South Africa’s transition from apartheid as part of CODESA (the Convention for a Democratic South Africa). She served for fifteen years as a Member of the South African parliament, including being elected as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Deputy Minister of Defence and as Deputy Minister of Health, during which time she challenged the denial of the HIV and AIDS crisis.
Nozizwe is also a Quaker from southern Africa Yearly Meeting and most recently served as the Director of the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva. She now works in partnership with the BlackQuaker Project on addressing the exponential impact of slavery, colonisation, economic exploitation and racism through retrospective justice.
Nozizwe has helped establish the African Women’s Peace Table, a partnership forum for integrating women’s perspectives on issues of peace and security in Africa. She is also the founder and Executive Director of ‘Embrace Dignity’, a non-profit women’s human rights organization campaigning for legal reform to abolish the exploitative system of prostitution.
She is a recipient of the Tanenbaum Peacemakers Award, the Lifetime's Remarkable Women campaign award, which honours extraordinary women who inspire and empower others to make a difference in their communities and the world.
Listen to Nozizwe's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
David Nicholas Wilkinson
David received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of his significant contribution to supporting and promoting cinematic arts in Bradford and internationally.
David Nicholas Wilkinson is Yorkshire-born director, producer, writer and founder of Guerilla Films.
In the 1960’s David made his first screen appearance in a TV commercial shot in Bradford. Throughout the 70s he appeared in over 40 theatre, TV and film productions including the leading roles in the plays ‘The Winslow Boy’ and ‘Equus’.
In 1982 he became the first true independent producer to work with the BBC, producing the film 'To the Lighthouse’ with Kenneth Branagh, which was nominated for a BAFTA award. David’s many other accolades include his film "Getting Away With Murder(s)” being voted No. 17 in The Guardian Best Films of 2021 in the UK, and being awarded the first-ever Stirling Award for Achievement in Documentary by the Central Scotland Documentary Festival and the University of Stirling in 2023.
David later moved into the distribution of over 100 feature films, choosing to champion British and Irish films. He has also hosted almost 500 Q&As and film panel events in the UK and internationally, and appeared on BBC's Radio 4's Today Programme as an expert on the British film industry
In 2003 he became a patron of the Bradford International Film Festival, a position held for over 10 years until its closure. In 2013 he debuted as a director with his documentary, ‘The First Film’, filmed in Bradford and Leeds.
Listen to David's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Rebecca George CBE
Rebecca received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology in recognition of the significant impact and contribution she has made to the promotion of inclusion of women in technology.
Rebecca is an independent advisor to the Public Sector. She has held roles in Skills Reform since 2019 and most recently advised DfE on Employer Engagement and putting employers at the heart of Skills Reform. Rebecca is also Non-Executive Director for the Metropolitan Police.
She joined Deloitte as a Partner in 2006 after spending nearly 20 years at IBM in a variety of roles including sales, business process reengineering, and HR; in the UK, EMEA and globally. Rebecca remained Managing Partner at Deloitte until 2021, leading their Public Sector practice across 25 countries in Europe and the Middle East.
Rebecca has been involved in activities to increase the participation of women in the IT industry since the mid-1990s. She is a Past President and former Trustee of the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT.
Listen to Rebecca's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Vicky Burns
Vicky received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Health in of the significant impact she is making in the field of women’s healthcare.
Vicky has worked in women's health for 18 years within gynaecology and early pregnancy, and more recently in female gynaecology cancer services.
As an alumna of the University of Bradford she completed training in Diagnostic Hysteroscopy and Therapeutic Management which led her to establishing of the first Nurse-led hysteroscopy service in Northern Ireland. Following this Vicky has expanded her clinical practice to include training in colposcopy and established a nurse-led colposcopy clinic in her Trust.
Vicky was awarded the prestigious Royal College of Nursing ‘Nurse of the Year’ award for Northern Ireland in 2023 for her contribution to Nurse-Led Hysteroscopy Services. Using the exposure and platform that this award gave her, Vicky led various media campaigns and health education initiatives to push for further investment in Nurse-led gynaecology services in Northern Ireland. As a direct result; commissioning within Northern Ireland has laid out plans to provide training and funding for similar roles.
Listen to Vicky's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Elgidius Edgar Bwinabona Ichumbaki
Ichu received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of the significant impact he has made internationally in the field of archaeology, and as a valued collaborator and friend of the University.
The National Geographic explorer, Elgidius Edgar Bwinabona Ichumbaki, is an Associate Professor of Heritage Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He is also a Visiting Associate Professor at the University College Dublin, Ireland and an Adjunct Professor at Korea University in South Korea.
For over 15 years, Ichumbaki has conducted research, trained students, and established community enterprises at various heritage sites in Tanzania. He is one of Africa's most influential scholars who has devoted his career to recording and celebrating diverse African heritage and cultures to enhance local pride, decolonise research, and build communities' futures.
Ichumbaki has authored over 50 publications, and has contributed to multiple museum exhibitions, television programmes, documentaries, and music videos in his efforts to communicate his research more widely.
He is the president of the Pan-African Archaeological Association, a not-for-profit professional organisation whose members are archaeologists and cognate scientists researching African pasts.
Listen to Ichu's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Varaidzo 'Vee' Kativhu
Vee received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of the significant impact she has made to the inclusion of underrepresented groups in higher education, and her outstanding contribution to diversity and female empowerment.
Varaidzo (Vee) Kativhu is a Girls’ Education Activist, a Young Leader for the SDGs at the United Nations, and the Founder of Empowered By Vee. Her work predominantly focuses on widening access to education for students from underrepresented, underserved, and underprivileged backgrounds while elevating youth voices in institutions and decision processes that directly impact their lives.
A graduate of Oxford and Harvard, Vee aims to make higher education more inclusive and diverse through a holistic empowerment model that equips disempowered students with tangible and practical skills to support them during their transitional stages, from applications to graduation. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Vee has an acute understanding of the cultural, socio-economic, and practical barriers that prevent girls from achieving their academic potential. Her activism work has a strong emphasis on the intersection between SDG 4 'Quality Education' and SDG 5 'Gender Equality'.
Vee has harnessed the power of social media, as a content creator and YouTuber, to inspire a combined audience of 400,000 followers to tap into their potential. In her role as a Global Partnership for Education Youth Leader, Vee advocates for education policy change in the UK, as well as internationally. In recognition of her work, she is a recipient of the UK Prime Minister’s Point of Lights Award, one of BBC’s 100 Women 2023, and a Diana Legacy Award holder. These accolades are a testament to her commitment to widening access to quality education for every child, everywhere.
Listen to Vee's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
