The University of Manchester’s annual Foundation Day celebrations took place today (October 2) with four honorary graduates recognised for their contributions to society. The event also marked the University’s bicentenary, which is being celebrated throughout 2024, and the first Foundation Day celebrated with the new President and Vice-Chancellor, Duncan Ivison.
Celebrated every October, Foundation Day marks the coming together of the Victoria University of Manchester and The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2004.
This year marks the University’s 200th anniversary. The bicentenary represents an important milestone for the University, and the chance to both reflect and look ahead. As well as anniversary celebrations, this year’s event is particularly significant as it is President and Vice-Chancellor Duncan Ivison’s first-time celebrating Foundation Day since joining the University in August 2024.
Giving the annual Foundation Day address, President and Vice-Chancellor explored critical questions about our future, the path to achieving our ambitions, and the ways in which we can further our commitment to social responsibility, teaching and research excellence, and civic engagement.
Each year Foundation Day sees honorary degrees given to a number of notable names for their achievements.
2024’s Honorary Graduates:
Professor Emeritus John Casken is an established and successful composer; his works range across different genres and are inspired by literature, landscape and visual arts. He was a Professor of Music at the University from 1992 to 2008. His music will be performed at the 20th anniversary celebrations for the Martin Harris Centre on 25 October.
Sir Clive Lloyd is a former cricketer and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He was captain of the West Indies cricket team, and played for the Lancashire cricket team from 1968, before being made captain in 1981.
Professor Emeritus Tony Redmond OBE studied medicine at The University of Manchester and is a world-leading specialist in emergency medicine. He is the founder of UK-Med, an organisation which coordinates the provision of health workers to international crises, and he was appointed as the medical director of the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dame Sharon White is Chair of the John Lewis Partnership (her term ends at the end of September this year). She previously held a variety of roles in the Civil Service and was the Chief Executive of the British media regulator Ofcom from March 2015 to November 2019. White was Second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury from 2013 to 2015; she was the first black person and the second woman to occupy this role.
