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
Kully Thiarai
Kully received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of her outstanding career and dedication to increasing diversity and inclusion within the arts.
Kully Thiarai is a Theatre Maker and Arts Executive with extensive experience of commissioning, producing, and directing work nationally and internationally. She has created a diverse range of work that spans communities, cultures, and performance styles; made large scale epics, new plays and created work for non-theatres spaces.
Kully was Creative Director and CEO of LEEDS 2023 – delivering over 1700 events as part of a £24m international year of culture in 2023 for the city of Leeds.
She has led a diverse range of organisations as Artistic Director and Chief Executive including National Theatre Wales, Leicester Haymarket Theatre, Theatre Writing Partnership and Red Ladder Theatre Company. Her 30-year career also includes being the founding Director of Cast (opening the £22 million performance venue in Doncaster as the cultural living room for the town) and creating the artistic vision for Contact Theatre Manchester centring young people at its core.
Kully is an alumna of the University of Bradford. She was first involved in the performing arts through the University’s Theatre in The Mill venue under the then leadership of Ruth Mackenzie.
Kully is currently Chair of Paines Plough, Without Walls, and Co-Chair of Slung Low. She is a trustee of The Arts Foundation and National Theatre Scotland and Honorary Fellow of The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She won the inaugural Northern Asian Power list Cultural Icon Award in 2020.
Listen to Kully's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Terence Hartwell
Terrry received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of the significant commitment and the impact he has made at the University.
Terry is an experienced corporate real estate professional who has operated at board level in Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 companies for 25 years. He graduated from Bristol Polytechnic with a B.Sc. (distinction) in Valuation and Estate Management and subsequently became a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
In his early career he led the growth of Kingfisher’s B&Q division, opening retail stores in every corner of the country. He went on to become the Group Property Director for Kingfisher, expanding the property portfolio into nine countries in Europe and Asia, with 1100 stores and a sales turnover of £11bn.
In 2009 he joined Morrisons Supermarkets as Group Property Director. Passionate about building sustainable stores, he oversaw the installation of a ‘smart’ building platform for estate wide energy management and grew Morrisons’ reach with the addition of over 100 new stores.
Towards the end of his career Terry wanted to give something back to the business communities he had flourished in. He became a member of University Council in 2015, serving on the Investment and Remuneration Committees and chairing the Finance Committee.
He currently works in the social housing sector, developing homes rather than shops, having been an NED of Catalyst Housing and now Peabody Housing Association in London.
Listen to Terry's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Michael John Dinn OAM, FIEAust
Mike received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering in recognition of his distinguished engineering career and significant contributions to deep space tracking and exploration.
Born in Bradford in 1933, Mike Dinn earned a B.Sc. (Eng) in electronics from London University in 1955. After working with EMI and English Electric, where he introduced printed circuits and semiconductors into aircraft systems, he emigrated to Australia in 1960 to join the Royal Australian Air Force's Aircraft Research and Development Unit at Laverton.
In 1966, Mike became Deputy Director of Operations at NASA’s Deep Space tracking station in Canberra, supporting the Surveyor lunar missions. A year later, he joined the Manned Space Flight Network’s Honeysuckle Creek station, which supported every Apollo flight from 7 to 13. Honeysuckle transmitted the first TV images of Neil Armstrong’s Moon landing during Apollo 11 and maintained crucial communications during Apollo 13’s return.
Following Apollo, Mike helped design NASA’s 64-metre antenna at Tidbinbilla, later working in Defence procurement and returning to lead Voyager mission support for Uranus and Neptune encounters. Appointed Director of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in 1988, he oversaw major missions including Galileo and Magellan.
Mike retired in 1994 after a distinguished career spanning the golden era of space exploration. In 2025, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and named a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust).
Listen to Mike's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Ed Anderson CBE
Ed received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University in recognition of his successful career and dedication to the region in his role as Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.
Ed Anderson has been Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, the King’s representative in the county, since 2018. Born in Singapore, Ed came to the UK to be a student in 1969 and has lived here ever since. He is an economics graduate and a qualified accountant.
He had a twin track executive career in local government and airports including serving on the management team at Leeds City Council and being the CEO of Leeds Bradford Airport for 10 years until 2007 when he became Chair of the Airport Operators Association until 2019.
His other non-executive roles include chairing the Board of the Yorkshire Building Society during and after the global financial crisis and he has also been Chair of National Savings & Investments, the Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust and Leeds Trinity University. He served on the Council of the University of Leeds for 15 years and was Deputy Chair.
He is a Knight of St Gregory (papal knighthood) and was awarded the CBE for services to the financial sector and to public life in Yorkshire.
Listen to Ed's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Therese Patten
Therese received an Honorary Degree of Doctor Health in recognition of the significant contribution she has made to the health and wellbeing of the district.
Therese has extensive NHS Board level experience, gained working across community, mental health, acute and specialist healthcare in the NHS, and has been CEO of Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust since September 2020.
Alongside her Chief Executive role, Therese is the Place Lead for the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, and National Director for Place Development working within the System Architecture Team of NHS England. Therese is a Trustee on the Board of NHS Providers where she represents the interests of mental health trusts.
Previous experience includes Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Strategy at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, and senior leadership roles at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Community Health. She has spent a short period working in the private sector with GP provider companies, and nine years working in health development in Zimbabwe, Somaliland and Pakistan
Listen to Therese's oration and speech from the Graduation Ceremony.
Professor Diana Anderson MBE
Professor Anderson received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science in recognition of her distinguished career as a world-renowned pioneer in the field of cancer diagnostics.
Professor Diana Anderson MBE was a world-renowned biomedical scientist, pioneering researcher, and inspirational advocate for women in STEM. Over a distinguished career spanning six decades, she made ground-breaking contributions to genome stability and the early detection of cancer, positively impacting millions of lives worldwide.
Professor Anderson’s academic journey began with a PhD from the University of Manchester. She went on to become the first female scientist at ICI in 1974, designing laboratories to safely handle hazardous chemicals. In 2000, she joined the University of Bradford as Chair in Biomedical Sciences, where she became a global authority on the Comet assay, a sensitive method for detecting DNA damage.
Her research led to the discovery that paternal smoking can harm foetal DNA, influencing public health guidance on pre-conception behaviour. She authored 13 books, nearly 600 papers, supervised over 50 PhD students, and secured almost £3 million in research funding.
Her accolades include an MBE in 2022, multiple national awards, and recognition as a powerful role model for women in science. Professor Anderson retired from the University of Bradford in April 2024 and sadly passed away shortly after in the October.
Professor Anderson's family confirmed that she would have been proud to accept the Honorary Award, and were happy for the Honorary Doctorate to be awarded posthumously in celebration of her life and career.
Listen to Professor Rob James' oration in memory of Professor Anderson from the Graduation Ceremony.
