Annual Review, 2001-2002: People and Honorary Graduates

University of Essex: Annual Review, 2001-2002
Contents - The University - Vice-Chancellor's Introduction - Painting a New Picture - The Third Strand - A Healthier Essex - Paving the Way for a Brave New World - Talking Heads - Review of the Year - People and Honorary Graduates - Financial Summary and Statistics

People and Honorary Graduates

Professor Dawn Ades, of the Department of Art History and Theory, received an OBE in the Queen's Jubilee Honours List. Professor Ades is an international authority on twentieth century art, particularly Dada, Surrealism and the art of Latin America, and has curated a number of important exhibitions in London venues.

Professor Jules Pretty, of the Centre for Environment and Society, was nominated to join an international Working Group to develop a Science Council, committed to agricultural research, for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Professor Kevin Boyle, Director of the Human Rights Centre, joined the United Nations (UN) as Senior Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson. After 11 years as Director of the Human Rights Centre, Professor Boyle handed Directorship over to Professor Paul Hunt in order to accept the year-long post.

Aisling Reidy accepted the first ever University of Essex Foundation Alumnus of the Year Award. Having received her Masters degree in International Human Rights Law from Essex in 1994, Aisling went on to become the youngest advocate to appear before the European Court of Human Rights.

Professor Geoff Crossick, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development) was appointed the new Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board bringing the number of ex-Essex academics heading major UK research councils up to three.

Professor Michael Sherer was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Development). Professor Sherer had previously held the position of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Standards) which has now been filled by Dr Sam Steel of the Department of Computer Science.

Syd Kent, the University's Equal Opportunities Officer, was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list. Syd was a member of the national working party which developed new equal opportunities guidelines for the higher education sector and contributed significantly to making the University a better and fairer place to work.

Jenny Wilson, a humanities undergraduate, was accepted as a delegate on an exclusive exchange trip to the USA with the Up For Action volunteering organisation. Selected from several hundred applicants, Jenny was one of 15 UK students chosen to attend the exchange which aimed to build an international network of active, community-minded students.

2001-2002 Honorary Graduates

Ronald Blythe was born and brought up in Suffolk and has been writing for more than 40 years. In 1970 he won the Heinemann Award for his most celebrated work Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village, a study of an East Anglian village evoked through a series of tape recordings of conversations with its inhabitants. In 1985 he received the Angel Prize for Literature for his book entitled The Stories of Ronald Blythe.

Ben Okri, Booker Prize winning author and former Essex student, was born in Nigeria and began writing at the age of 14. By the age of 18 he had completed his first novel, Flowers and Shadows and in 1991 he won the Booker Prize for his novel The Famished Road. More recently he was asked to chair the panel of judges for the first Caine Prize for African Writing.

Professor George Brown OBE is an eminent sociologist of medicine who has made a major contribution to the study of the social factors leading to depression and other illnesses. For 30 years he has been a pioneer of methodologies for investigating the impact of life events and difficulties on subsequent depression. His best-known study is the Camberwell Study, conducted between 1969 and 1975.

Sir Nicholas Serota has been Director of the Tate Gallery since 1988 and was the mastermind behind the development of Tate Modern. His career as a leading figure in the visual arts has spanned many years and has included Directorships of the Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. For six years he chaired the Visual Arts Advisory Committee of the British Council, as well as chairing the board that judges the Turner Prize.

Orla Guerin is currently the BBC's principal television news reporter in the Middle East. She was previously the BBC's Southern European Correspondent, a position which saw her cover some of the major areas of international conflict across the world. She reported exclusively on the ETA ceasefire in Spain in 1998 and from Chechnya and Kosovo. Orla Guerin has been praised for her ability to present genuine analysis in sharp an dgraphic ways.

Sir John Sulston was responsible for sequencing the first complete animal genome in 1998. He joined the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology in 1969, where he produced one of the earliest genome maps. In 1992 Sir John was one of the founders of the Sanger Centre in Cambridge. He is now a member of the Human Genetics Commission which advises the Government on developments in human genetics.

Mike Leigh is one of Britain's most renowned film and theatre directors. Following 17 years working in the British film industry he shot to fame in 1989 when his film High Hopes won the Venice Film Festival's FIPRESCI Prize. Greater success followed in 1993 when Naked won him the best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and Secrets and Lies won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and a BAFTA for Best Film in 1996.

The Right Reverend John Waine KCVO is a former Pro-Chancellor of the University and Chair of Council. He was Bishop of Chelmsford between 1986 and 1996 and is currently a member of the Press Complaints Commission. He first became a member of the University Council in 1994 and was appointed Chair of Council and Pro-Chancellor in 1995. The Right Reverend John Waine is currently Chair of the University of Essex Foundation.