University honours six at graduations

The ceremonies take place on Wednesday and Thursday, December 6 & 7, in the Great Hall of the city campus, where Chancellor Kate Swann and Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Cantor will present the honorary degrees and fellowships.

Receiving honorary degrees from the University will be:

Victoria Jane Bowman
Doctor of the University

Since July 2013, Vicky Bowman has been the Director of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, an initiative to encourage responsible business throughout Myanmar (Burma).

The Centre promotes increased transparency by Myanmar businesses in the areas of anti-corruption, human rights, and social and environmental responsibility.

Prior to this, Vicky headed up global mining company Rio Tinto’s policy on transparency, human rights and resource nationalism. She has also spent a substantial part of her career representing the United

Kingdom in a variety of crucial government roles. Vicky has acted as Director of Global and Economic Issues and G8 sous-Sherpa for the United Kingdom, and as Head of the Southern Africa Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She served as the British Ambassador to Myanmar for four years, and is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Professor The Lord Patel of Bradford OBE
Doctor of Health

Professor Patel, Baron Patel of Bradford, has worked at the highest levels of government in a wide range of policy areas. He has been on a number of boards and committees, including the Healthcare Commission, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and the Care Quality Commission, and has been Chair of the Mental Health Act Commission, and Chair of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

He has been a leading voice on health, social care and community cohesion, and has brought about developments between UK statutory, voluntary and business organisations and with other countries (including India) to realise real benefits for local communities.

Kamlesh fiercely believes that research and service development must engage effectively with the people it is intended to benefit. In 1999 Kamlesh was awarded an OBE for services to health issues within ethnic minority communities. He has led a number of research projects, such as on improving healthcare delivery and commissioning; community engagement and participation; and specific projects relating to public health, particularly mental health and substance misuse.

Professor Dame Sally Davies
Doctor of Health

Dame Sally Davies became Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government in March 2011, and is also Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health. She acts as an adviser on medical matters, particularly with regard to public health. From the outset, Sally has been actively involved in NHS Research and Development and founded the National Institute for Health Research, officially opening the Bradford Institute for Health Research building in 2011. Sally has represented the UK internationally at World Health Organization summits.

In March 2013, Dame Sally published a report on infectious diseases which brought to light the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, calling for national and international action. Since then, Sally has advocated globally on this topic, speaking at the G8 Science Ministers’ meeting and the Global Health Security Initiative in Rome.

Naomi Climer
Doctor of Engineering

Naomi is an engineer who has spent her career working in the broadcast and communications technology industry, working for the BBC, ITV and Sony both in Europe and the USA.

She has held numerous high-profile roles such as past President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Governor of the National Film and Television School (NFTS), Trustee of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Chair of the Council of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), and a consultant with the Board of Sony’s UK Technology Centre. Naomi also sits on the UK Government’s Science and Technology Awards Committee.

In 2016 Naomi was listed in the Daily Telegraph and Women’s Engineering Society ’50 Most Influential Women in UK Engineering’, and in Computer Weekly’s ’50 Most Influential Women in IT in the UK’ in 2015 and 2016.

Professor The Lord Darzi of Denham OM KBE
Doctor of Health

Professor Ara Darzi holds the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial College London, the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. He is Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London. His research focuses on achieving best surgical practice through innovation in surgery and enhancing patient safety and the quality of healthcare. His contribution has been outstanding, publishing over 800 peer-reviewed research papers to date. He was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and in 2013 was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

He was knighted for his services to medicine and surgery in 2002. In 2007, he became Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham and was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health until 2009, and was then the UK’s Global Ambassador for Health and Life Sciences until March 2013. Professor Darzi is a leading voice in the field of global health policy and innovation.

Receiving an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Bradford is:

Nirmal Singh MBE
Honorary Fellow

Nirmal Singh is a successful entrepreneur who built his business ‘Nirmal Razai Mart & Company Ltd’ in Bradford from scratch after arriving from India with £3 to his name. Assisted by his wife, Harmesh Kaur, Nirmal worked hard to set up and expand his quilt manufacturing business and turned it into a huge success.

Using his expertise and resources, Nirmal diversified into property, and has supported other entrepreneurs by regenerating disused mills in Bradford to create jobs and spaces for start-ups to thrive. He works with a range of charitable organisations, including local housing and health charities.

In 1999 Nirmal was awarded an MBE for services to community relations in Bradford. He also acts as a spokesperson between Bradford’s communities and public sector bodies such the Police, Fire Service, Bradford Council and the Department for Education.