Winter graduation celebrations for University of Reading students
Release Date 10 December 2014
This week, nearly 2,300 students will graduate from the University of Reading as part of the winter graduation ceremonies. Nine ceremonies will be held over two days (Thursday 11th and Friday 12th December) in the magnificent Great Hall on the University's London Road campus.
The majority of the 1,400 students attending will be awarded for postgraduate qualifications, with a small number receiving undergraduate degrees. The University will also be recognising its ‘Alumnus of the Year 2015', and presenting an Honorary Degree.
Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: "I would like to congratulate all of our students who are graduating this week. Our excellence in teaching and research means that a University of Reading degree is highly coveted.
"We have a proud history of producing graduates who go on to enjoy fulfilling and rewarding careers in all aspects of life, both here and overseas. 93% of Reading graduates are either in employment, voluntary work or in further study six months after graduating. Of those in work, more than three-quarters are in professional or managerial jobs.
"I am sure that this year's graduates will follow in the same path and achieve great success in the future."
Alumnus of the Year 2015
The ‘Alumnus of the Year 2015' award will go to Councillor Sarah Hacker, the Labour councillor for Battle ward and Deputy Mayor of Reading. She is also Chair of the Town's Arts Forum, Labour Group, and Housing, Neighbourhoods and Leisure Committees.
Sarah was born in Derby but moved to Reading aged three and joined the University of Reading in 1997, where she studied for a BSc (Hons) in Rural Environmental Science. She cites the numerous field trips and wide curriculum covered by her degree and as being key factors in driving her passion for the subject.
Sarah has been the councillor for Battle ward in Reading since 2010 and she was elected as Deputy Mayor of the town in June 2014. Since being appointed, she has successfully campaigned for more school places and a new primary school in West Reading and has helped to secure £1.65 million of funding to benefit residents. Sarah now has her sights set on becoming Mayor of Reading in 2015, enabling her to serve Reading as its first citizen and raise money for her selected charities.
Honorary Degree
This year's winter graduation ceremonies will also see Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill OBE, FBA, FSA, presented with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters.
Andrew Wallace-Hadrill is Professor of Roman Studies and Director of Research in the Faculty of Classics at Cambridge University, and former Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
He was Professor of Classics at the University of Reading from 1987 to 2009 and oversaw considerable growth in the department. The second half of his career at Reading was spent on secondment as Director of the British School at Rome.
Professor Wallace-Hadrill's illustrious career has led him to direct several important archaeological projects, including in Pompeii, and he has held visiting fellowships at Princeton University and the Getty Museum. He is also a frequent contributor to radio and television broadcasts. In 2004, he was awarded an OBE for services to Anglo-Italian cultural relations, and elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2010.
He took his first degree in Classics at Oxford (1969-73), where he also gained his doctorate.