Honorary graduates
Every year at graduation the University marks the achievements of people who stand out in their field with honorary degrees. Addressing our graduates in Worcester Cathedral, they provide inspiration through their experiences and offer invaluable insights to those about to embark on their careers.
In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the University, we’ve been looking back and have picked out some of our recipients over the years. Whether it’s Prime Ministers or Formula 1 champions, there are some names on that illustrious list that might surprise you.
Julian Richer - 2025
One of 2025’s recipients was retail entrepreneur and philanthropist Julian Richer, the founder of national retailer Richer Sounds.
He started his business in one London shop in 1978 aged just 19, going on to develop a chain of stores across the country selling TV and hi-fi equipment.
Julian has a particular interest in encouraging responsible business and supporting causes involved with human rights, animal welfare and social housing deprivation. He has founded several charities and 15% of the profits from Richer Sounds are donated to charities.
In 2020, Julian launched Zero Hours Justice to support workers who have zero hours contracts imposed on them and seek a ban on the practice. He also launched the Good Business Charter, an accreditation scheme to encourage responsible business that many organisations have since signed up to.
Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE – 2024
Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE, was the first Chief Midwife for the International Confederation of Midwives. She served for four years as the first Chief Midwifery Officer for the NHS in England and was one of two National Maternity Safety Champions appointed by the Department for Health and Social Care. She has held senior positions in clinical practice, education, leadership and management including: Consultant Midwife, Director of Midwifery, Head of Nursing, Senior Lecturer, Curriculum Leader, Lead Midwife for Education, Professor of Midwifery.
Noted as one of the Health Service Journal’s (HSJ) most influential people in health, in 2020,2021 and 2022 she was also selected from over 100 nominations for inclusion in the Nursing Times’ Leaders 2015 list, that celebrates nurses and midwives who are pioneers, entrepreneurs, and inspirational role models in their profession. In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the NHS in England in 2023, she was recognised as one of 75 nurses and midwives who have contributed in a significant way to the NHS.
Dr Swaroop Sampat-Rawal - 2018
Swaroop Sampat-Rawal, an Indian actress turned educator, was shortlisted for a top global teaching prize. A former Miss India, she transitioned into a successful actress in India, starring in many Bollywood films. But her appearance on the TV show, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi in 1984, brought her even wider fame.
She came to Worcester first as a student of the University to study for her PhD in Education, graduating in 2006, and was awarded with an Honorary degree in 2018.
Following this, in 2019 she was named among the top 10 teachers in the world by the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize. She was also selected as one of around 100 educators to help rewrite India’s national school curriculum.
She continues to advocate for inclusive education and creative learning methods. She received the Education World Educational Researcher TREE Award for 2025-2026, recognising her as an impactful educator.
The Rt Hon Justine Greening – 2022
Many will know Justine Greening for her senior cabinet roles within the Conservative Government under Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.
She was Secretary of State for Transport from 2011 to 2012, then Secretary of State for International Development from 2012 until 2016, and Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities from July 2016 to January 2018.
She stepped back from politics in 2019 after 14 years as an MP and in 2018, established the Social Mobility Pledge.
This organisation aims to encourage social mobility and opportunity – it now has a coalition of over 800 organisations globally which have a social mobility pledge.
She also chairs the Purpose Coalition campaign, aims to make a positive social impact. The campaign brings together organisations that are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and boost social mobility.
Dr Laurie Leshin - 2018
Dr Laurie Leshin was was appointed by President Obama to the Advisory Board for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She has held various positions with NASA and was the recipient of NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal and NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal. In 2001, the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid in recognition of her contributions to planetary science: Asteroid 4922 Leshin.
In 2022 Dr Leshin became the first woman director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which also meant serving as Vice President and Bren Professor at the California Institute of Technology. She served for a number of years as President of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts.
Laura Bates BEM - 2017
Author and activist Laura Bates campaigns for issues around gender inequality, working with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organisations to bring about change.
She came to prominence with her founding of the website the Everyday Sexism Project in 2012, which collects testimonies of global gender inequality.
This was followed by her first book Everyday Sexism, which was shortlisted for Waterstones book of the year and the Political Book Awards Polemic of the Year. . In total she has written eight books.
Laura was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and was named a Woman of the Year by The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan, and Red magazine, and her work has seen her appear as regular commentator in the media.
Clare Balding OBE - 2017
Best-known as one of the faces of BBC Sport, Clare Balding is a household name to many in the UK through her work in television and radio.
She has been presenting sports on television since becoming the face of the BBC’s racing output in 1998, presenting coverage of some of the most important sporting events in the national calendar, including the Olympics and Paralympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, the Boat Race, Wimbledon, Grandstand and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
She has also presented on events outside of sports, such as Trooping the Colour and Crufts. Her autobiography was a Sunday Times bestseller.
In 2023 she took over as leading presenter of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage.
Away from radio and television, Clare is also a bestselling author. Her first book, ‘My Animals and Other Family‘ was published by Penguin in 2012 to much critical acclaim, and went on to win Biography of the Year at the National Book Awards. She has since published many more books.
Sir Rufus Norris - 2017
Rufus John Norris is a British theatre and film director, who was the artistic director and chief executive of the National Theatre for a decade from 2015.
After training as an actor at RADA (the Royal Academic for Dramatic Art), Rufus moved into directing. In 2001 he won the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer, then won another Evening Standard Award, a Critic's Circle Award and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Director in 2004 for his production of Festen. He made his directing debut at the National Theatre in 2006.
He navigated the National Theatre through the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, stepping down from the role in 2025. He received the Society of London Theatre Special Award that same year for his services to theatre.
Patience Agbabi – 2016
Patience Agbabi is one of the Country’s most accomplished poets. She was shortlisted in 2015 for the Ted Hughes Poetry Prize and was recipient of The Cholmondeley Award 2015.
Her poetry has been featured on radio and TV worldwide. The former Poet Laureate of Canterbury has authored four books, her latest, Telling Tales, was published in 2014 and is a vivid retelling of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales for the 21st Century.
In 2004 she was nominated one of the UK’s ‘Next Generation Poets’. She was on the Council of Management for Arvon from 2009 to 2016. She was Canterbury Laureate from 2009 to 2010 and received a Grant for the Arts to write a contemporary version of The Canterbury Tales. This fourth collection, Telling Tales, was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry and Wales Book of the Year 2015.
Steven Knight CBE - 2016
Steven Knight’s name has become synonymous with some of the most successful and critically acclaimed TV dramas of the last decade.
Since the awarding of his doctorate in 2016, the screenwriter, producer and director continued with his hit series Peaky Blinders, which only grew in popularity, running for five series. A film is planned for release this year. More hits followed, including Taboo (starring Tom Hardy) and SAS Rogue Heroes on BBC, and House of Guiness on Netflix.
He wrote the screenplay for films like Allied and Spencer. Steven was the co-director of the Opening Ceremony for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is currently working on a script for the next film in the James Bond franchise.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2020.
The Rt Hon the Baroness Hale of Richmond - 2016
Baroness Hale was, at one time, the United Kingdom’s most senior judge.
She taught Law at Manchester University for 18 years, specialising in family and social welfare law, and practised law.
In 1984 she became the first woman to serve on the Law Commission, a statutory body which promotes reform of the law. There Baroness Hale oversaw changes to the law, notably through the Children Act 1989 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. She became a judge in the Court of Appeal in 1999 and then in 2004 a ‘Lord of Appeal in Ordinary’ in the House of Lords. Baroness Hale became Deputy President of the Supreme Court in 2013. She went on to be appointed President of the Supreme Court in 2017.
Baroness Hale found herself in the spotlight in 2019, delivering the Supreme Court’s judgement that then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful, which terminated the suspension of parliament. She retired in 2021.
Nigel Mansell CBE - 2015
Nigel Mansell went down in the British sporting history books after winning the Formula One World Championship in 1992. He is synonymous with the sport for many British fans.
After making his debut in Formula 1 in 1980 and winning his first grand prix in 1985, he became the World Champion, winning five grand prix that season. It was the first time a Briton had won the championship since 1976.
With 31 wins in Formula One he is the second most successful British driver of all time in the sport and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005.
After 15 seasons in Formula One he turned his attention to Indy Car racing, winning the World Series in 1993. Nigel won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1986 and again in 1992 and was awarded a CBE in 2012.
The Rt. Hon. Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC – 2015
Patricia Scotland would in her career become one of the prominent legal figures in the country.
Trained as a lawyer, she became the first black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1991. Aged 35, she was also the youngest woman ever to be made a QC.
Appointed Attorney General in 2007, the chief legal adviser to the Sovereign and Government, Baroness Scotland was the first woman to hold the post since it was created in 1315.
In 2015 she was appointed Commonwealth Secretary-General, only the second person from the Caribbean to have the role and the first woman to ever hold the post.
The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP – 2014
One of the most well-known people in the country, Sir Keir Starmer was the UK’s 58th Prime Minister. He was elected a Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras in 2015 and went on to be elected as leader of the Labour Party in April 2020. His party won a General Election victory on July 4 2024, propelling him to power.
Sir Keir came to public attention first for his work in the law. He became a barrister in 1987, specialising in human rights issues. Appointed as Head of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2008, he handled a number of high-profile criminal cases in his five years in the role. This saw him awarded a knighthood in 2014, shortly before receiving his Honorary Degree, for his services to criminal justice.
Sir Philip Craven – 2012
Former Paralympian Sir Philip Craven achieved both on and off the court, serving as leader of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for more than a decade.
The wheelchair basketball player also played for Great Britain in five Paralympics from 1972 to 1988.
He was President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation from 1998-2002 and Chairman of the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association on and off for around 11 years in total. He was also Chief Executive for the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation from 1994 to 1998.
He became the President of the IPC in 2001, a role he maintained until 2017, overseeing eight Paralympic games.
He was awarded a Knighthood for services to Paralympic sport in 2005.