Honorary Award holders join Anglia Ruskin students for graduation ceremonies

Distinguished honoraries from the fields of art, music, media, business, sport, technology and politics joined over 2,300 Anglia Ruskin University students as they celebrated their graduation in Cambridge last week.

The ceremonies, which were held at the Corn Exchange in the centre of Cambridge from 9-11 October, saw undergraduate and postgraduate students don ceremonial graduation gowns to mark the formal completion of their degrees.

There were 11 honorary awards presented during the eight faculty-themed ceremonies to various individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Two of the honoraries, Chan Abraham and Nick Crane, are alumni of Anglia Ruskin.

Professor Michael Thorne, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin, said: 'We hope that this year's honoraries, and their inspiring stories, will be of enormous interest to our graduating students.

'The ceremonies serve as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the talent and hard work of our graduating students, and we wish them every success in their chosen careers.'

Grayson Perry RA, the world-famous ceramic artist who was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003, received an Honorary Doctor of Arts award in recognition of his thought-provoking and uncompromising artistic works.

Reverend Ronald Corp OBE, the founder of the New London Orchestra, received the award of Honorary Doctor of Music in recognition of his career as a composer, conductor, educator, charity benefactor and Anglican Priest.

Arthur Edwards MBE received an Honorary award of Doctor of Arts for his work as a renowned photographer. Arthur joined The Sun newspaper in 1974 and captured iconic images of the Royal Family for 30 years.

Robert King received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his achievements as a civil rights campaigner. Robert is a former member of the Black Panthers who spent 29 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana State Penitentiary before his conviction was overturned in 2001.

Professor Stephen Furber received an Honorary Doctor of Science award for his pioneering work in the field of computing. Professor Furber worked in Research and Development at Acorn Computers and was the principal designer of the ARM 32-bit processor.

Jody Cundy MBE received an Honorary award of Doctor of Health Sciences for his success as a multiple gold medal winning Paralympian and promoter of disability sport. Jody, from Wisbech, won a bronze medal in the C4 4km Individual Pursuit at the London Paralympics.

Nick Crane was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science in recognition of his career as a broadcaster, explorer, author and journalist. Nick, whose programmes include Coast and Town, is an Anglia Ruskin alumnus, having graduated with a BA (Hons) in Geography in 1975.

Chan Abraham received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration for his achievements as an innovative Anglia Ruskin alumnus, social entrepreneur and CEO of Cambridgeshire based Luminus Group.

Kanwar Deep Singh received the Honorary award of Doctor of Business Administration for his achievements as an international business leader and politician in India. Founder of the successful Alchemist group of companies, he has served as Chairman of the Central Advisory Board on Minimum Wages and Chairman of the National Meat and Poultry Processing Board.

Marco Cereste received the award of Honorary Doctor of Health Sciences in recognition of his distinguished career in the NHS and Peterborough City Council. Born in Italy, Marco was Chair of NHS Peterborough and is the Leader of Peterborough City Council.

Ellis Rich OBE received the Honorary award of Doctor of Music for his achievements and services to the music industry. Ellis became International Professional Manager of EMI in 1975 and signed bands such as Blondie and Little River Band. In 1987 he founded The Independent Music Group, a worldwide consortium of independent music publishers.