A sextet of influential figures, including journalist and broadcaster Clive Myrie, were celebrated at UWS’s winter graduations in November.
Education qualifications leader, Aileen Ponton, and social entrepreneur and CEO of Dare2Lead, John Loughton, were recognised on Tuesday 12 November.
On Thursday 14 November, author Alex Gray received her Honorary Doctorate in the morning ceremony, with UWS alumni and Chief Scientist of The Alan Turing Institute Professor Mark Girolami receiving his award in the afternoon.
On Friday morning, another UWS alumni, Angela Noon OBE, Chief Financial Offier at Spectris received her Honorary Doctorate. The week of awardees concluded with journalist, broadcaster and writer, Clive Myrie receiving his degree at the afternoon ceremony.
Aileen Ponton, previously Chief Executive of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Partnership, was celebrated as part of a ceremony taking place at Paisley Abbey on Tuesday 12 November.
Aileen joined the SCQF Partnership as its first CEO in July 2007. The Partnership is the body responsible for maintaining the National Qualifications Framework for Scotland. Prior to joining the SCQF Partnership, Aileen was Head of Policy Development with Sector Skills Development Agency for three years.
Before joining SSDA in 2004, Aileen had worked with the Scottish Qualifications Authority and its predecessor SCOTVEC for 16 years in a range of roles around qualifications development and quality assurance.
John Loughton BEM, founder and CEO of global leadership company, Dare2Lead, was celebrated as part of a ceremony taking place at Paisley Abbey on Tuesday 12 November.
John is a high-profile activist, social entrepreneur, campaigner and leadership speaker. He is most recently well known as Founder and Chair of Scran Academy, an innovative education charity that empowers young people to succeed in learning and life. This included leading the production of almost 200,000 meals for vulnerable families during covid.
John said: “It’s a privilege to receive this award from University of the West of Scotland, an institution I guest lecture in and which I have admired for a long time. I particularly like the way UWS nurtures and promotes the education of people from disadvantaged backgrounds, widening access to higher education for those who may not have thought it possible to go to University. It was incredibly inspiring to be part of UWS’s graduation ceremony today and to see the amazing achievements of its students is so inspiring.”
Alex Gray, who has published 21 crime novels and is co-founder of Bloody Scotland, the stirling-based crime-writing festival, was celebrated as part of a ceremony taking place at Paisley Abbey on Thursday 14 November.
Alex, who lives in Renfrewshire, writes novels set around Glasgow and feature Detective Chief Inspector Lorimer and his psychological profiler Solomon Brightman. Alex has also worked as a visiting officer of the Department of Health and Social Security and as an English teacher, beginning to write professionally in 1993.
Alex said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to receive this award from UWS. Writing is my passion and to be celebrated for doing something I love is just incredible. My advice for students graduating today is to follow your own dreams, which UWS facilitates for all of its students – no matter their individual circumstances and backgrounds. It has been especially pleasing to be recognised by a university local to where I call home, and one that is changing the lives of those in its local communities.”
Clive Myrie, one of the main anchors and reporters for BBC News, as well as presenters of both Mastermind and Celebrity Mastermind, was celebrated as part of a ceremony taking place at Paisley Abbey today (Friday 15 November).
Clive has reported from more than 80 countries, covering significant stories such as the wars Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka and New Zealand, the wildfires in Australia, Nelson Mandela’s funeral, the war in Ukraine and most recently, the United States Presidential election last week. Since joining the BBC in 1988, he has won awards in the UK, France and the United States, and was part of the team shortlisted for a BAFTA, for coverage of floods in Mozambique in 2000.
Clive said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to receive this award from UWS. It was especially pleasing to see students graduate today from the University’s highly-regarded journalism courses, which have produced the next generation of journalists working in high-profile newsrooms across the UK and beyond. I am always inspired to see the emergence of new journalistic talent, particularly in today’s ever-changing news landscape, and I look forward to seeing the impact many of the graduates will have on the industry.”
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