Annual Review 2008-09
Honorary Graduates
Each year the University honours distinguished individuals who either
have a connection to the University or the county of Essex, or who have made
a significant contribution to a field of study represented at the
University. In 2008-09 those individuals were:
Professor
Sir Ivor Crewe was the University's Vice-Chancellor for twelve years
during which time Essex grew from 5,500 students to almost 9,000.
He joined Essex's Department of Government from Oxford and served as
Director of the Social Science Data Archive, Head of Department and
Pro-Vice-Chancellor.
Sir Ivor, knighted in 2006, served as President of Universities UK
(2003-05) and has featured regularly as a political commentator in the
media. He directed the British Election Study from 1973 to 1981. He is
currently Master of University College, Oxford.
Dora
Love is a Holocaust survivor, born in Lithuania and now settled in
Colchester, who educates younger generations about the Holocaust. She was
deported to the Stutthoff concentration camp near Danzig (Gdansk) with her
mother, sister and one brother. All, except Dora, perished.
After the war, she worked on translations for war crime trials for the
British Army, UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration) and the American Joint Distribution Committee before being
reunited with her father in 1946. She later married Frank Love, a member of
the British Army, and moved to South Africa.
Neil
McArthur graduated from Essex with a degree in telecommunications in
1979. He set up his first business providing control systems and robotic
automation in 1981.
Following industry de-regulation he created Opal Telecom, which was
acquired by The Carphone Warehouse Plc in 2002 and resulted in the launch of
the TalkTalk consumer fixed-line and broadband business. Neil is Chairman of
TalkTalk Technology, the networks operating division.
Neil is also Chairman and a trustee of the Hamilton Davies Trust, a
charity awarding grants to education and community projects.
Nuala
Mole is an internationally renowned human rights lawyer and advocate who
led two of the world's principal pro bono legal advice and advocacy
organisations: Interrights and the AIRE Centre, which she founded.
Initially specialising in immigration and asylum, her work now includes
all aspects of international human rights law. Nuala represented human
rights NGOs at the 50th anniversary of the European Convention and was Law
Society Human Rights Lawyer of the Year (2001).
Nuala has contributed to over 70 cases at the European Court of Human
Rights in Strasbourg.
Doug
Richard, from the first BBC series of Dragons' Den, is founder of School
for Startups, Chairman and CEO of Trutap, founder and member of the
Cambridge Angels, Chairman of the Conservative Party Small Business Task
Force and non-executive director of AlertMe, VizWoz and BeatsDigital.
Between 1996 and 2000 he was President and CEO of Micrografx, a US
software company. Prior to that he founded and subsequently sold two other
companies, Visual Software and ITAL Computers.
In 2006 Doug was an Honorary Recipient of The Queen's Award for
Enterprise Promotion and in 2007 became a fellow of the RSA.
Juliet
Stevenson CBE is one of the UK's most prominent theatre, film and
television actresses. Born in Essex, she was trained at RADA and spent a
decade with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Her theatre credits include Duet for One (2009) at the Almeida Theatre,
and performances at the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and
in the West End. She is also well known for film work including roles in
Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) and Bend It Like Beckham (2002).
She works regularly for BBC Radio and television and was awarded the CBE
in 1999.
Professor
John Francis Toland is a distinguished mathematical scientist who worked
at Essex between 1973 and 1979.
Now at the University of Bath, he is a Royal Society-Wolfson Merit Award
Holder and Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
He is Scientific Director of the International Centre for Mathematical
Sciences (ICMS).
Professor Toland held a Senior Research Fellowship from the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council and was President of the London
Mathematical Society. He has published over 90 books and papers.