Glittering prizes

The University of Essex has awarded honorary degrees to: Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former president of Ireland; psychologist Alan Baddeley; journalist Polly Toynbee; architect Daniel Libeskind; author Leila Berg; and Greg Duncan, professor of education and social policy at the institute for policy research, Northwestern University, Illinois.

Honorary degrees awarded by the University of Bradford go to: Alan Titchmarsh, television presenter (DSc); Sir Richard Greenbury, non-executive chairman of Marks and Spencer plc, (DUniv); Sir Herman Ouseley, chairman of the Commission of Racial Equality (DIur); Norman Hammond, professor of archaeology at Boston University (DSc); Juliet Barker, historian (DLitt); Jeff Corne, vice-president at Stiefel Laboratories, Maidenhead (DSc); Graham Hall, chief executive of Yorkshire Electricity (DEng); Lembi Harding, former administrator at the University of Bradford (MA); and Ken Mortimer, manager of education programmes, Ford Europe (DEng).

The University of Birmingham is to award honorary degrees to: Kamlesh Bahl, former chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission and deputy vice-president of the Law Society (DIur); Michael Beesley, founder professor of the London Business School (DIur); Cicely Berry, voice trainer for the Royal Shakespeare Company (Dlitt); Ronald Davie, former chair of the government's National Curriculum Council steering group on special education (DLitt); Sir Colin Davis, conductor (DMus); Ian Dillamore, chairman and chief executive of Doncasters plc (DEng); Countess Marion Donhoff, chief editor and publisher of Die Zeit (DLitt); Paul Gray, former director of the EC environment and climate and marine science and technology programme (DSc); Gabriel Horn, master of Sidney Sussex College and deputy vice-chancellor, University of Cambridge (DSc); Kenneth Kendler, director of the Virginia Institute for psychiatric and behavioural genetics (DSc); Brian Mellitt, chairman of the Railway Forum (DEng); Frank Rhodes, principal in the Washington Advisory Group (DIur); The Right Reverend Lord Sheppard, former Bishop of Liverpool (DDiv); Sir Clive Thompson, chief executive of Rentokil Initial plc (DSc); Francisco Dario Vilanueva Prieto, vice-chancellor of the University of Santiago de Compostella (DLitt); and Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, president of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (DEng).