Graduates gather to celebrate success

The ceremonies will include students ranging in age from 19 to 73 from all parts of the UK and 100 other countries around the world including Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, USA, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Germany.

Relatives and friends will travel thousands of miles to attend the event at the Brighton Centre and many more will watch the ceremonies around the world as they are streamed live via Livestream.

Professor Debra Humphris, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “Our graduation ceremonies are always a time of great celebration, a time to salute students’ achievements and a time to thank the families, friends and university staff who have supported all of our students to reach their goals.

“I am incredibly proud of all of our students, proud of the diversity of nationalities that make up our institution and proud of our role in developing the much-needed professionals, innovators, and leaders of the future. I wish each and every student success in their chosen careers.”

The Brighton Centre

The University of Brighton Winter Graduation

The ceremonies will also see a series of special awards to outstanding individuals who exemplify the university’s core values of diversity, creativity, sustainability and partnership:

• Dame Marianne Griffiths, Chief Executive of Western Sussex Hospitals and the first woman to top the Health Service Journal’s assessment of trust chief executives, will be made an Honorary Doctor of Science in recognition of improving healthcare services in the region
• Munroe Bergdorf, Brighton graduate, activist, the first transgender model in the UK for L'Oréal and former LGBT adviser to the Labour Party, will be made an Honorary Doctor of Letters for her major contribution to transgender rights
• Professor Martyn Davies, Brighton graduate, eminent academic and recipient of a CBE for services to Higher Education and sciences, will be made Honorary Doctor of Science for his major contribution to the pharmaceutical sciences through education and research

• Phoebe Cummings, Brighton graduate, renowned sculptor who creates temporary installations from raw clay, and winner of the British Ceramics Biennial Award, is to be made Honorary Doctor of Arts for her major contribution to arts and crafts
• Benita Mehra, former president and a Fellow of the Women’s Engineering Society, will be made a Doctor of Engineering for her major contribution to promoting diversity in engineering
• Becca Bland, Brighton graduate, founder and Chief Executive of Stand Alone, a charity supporting people who have no contact with their families, is to be made an Honorary Doctor of Letters for her major contribution to raising awareness of family estrangement and national policy

• Serge Attukwei Clottey, a Ghanaian artist and activist who uses found material to cut, drill, stitch and melt for sculptured installations, will be made Doctor of Arts for his major contribution to contemporary arts and community development
• Roger Cowdrey, a Brighton graduate who has spent his career working in teaching, multi-national IT, and who champions entrepreneurship, will receive the university’s Alumnus of the Year Award.

The ceremonies will be held at the Brighton Centre and run from Tuesday 30 July until Friday 2 August.