Honorary Degrees

University of Melbourne. James Dewey Watson, president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Nobel Award winner in medicine and physiology (1962) for his pioneering research into DNA, was awarded an honorary doctorate of science on November 28.

University of Luton

Honorary fellowship: Peter Henman, chairman of T & E Neville and a founder governor of the university, for his outstanding contribution to the local construction industry and his dedication towards improving the training of personnel.

MA: Edward Wakeling, for his contribution to the Lewis Carroll Society, and for the development of a Lewis Carroll collection.

Coventry University

LLD: Mary Robinson, president of Ireland, former professor of constitutional and criminal law, Trinity College, Dublin.

La Sainte Union, Southampton

MA: Peter White, BBC journalist and broadcaster, disability affairs correspondent for the BBC and presenter of In Touch.

University of Ulster

DLitt: HRH El Hassan Bin Talal, heir to the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, for his work in fostering peace and inter-faith relationships, particularly in the Middle East.

Nottingham Trent University

DEng: Peter Bonfield, chief executive of British Telecommmunications plc, for his contribution to higher education through research, teaching and development in computing.

DSc: Bridget Ogilvie, director of the Wellcome Trust, in recognition of her contribution to supporting medical research in the UK.