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University of Reading

Congratulations to all involved in this year's Graduation Ceremonies

Friday, 02 July 2010

Reading graduates

Two happy Reading graduates

Preparations have been taking place for some time now and University staff have been working hard to make sure that each ceremony is special and that every graduand and their guests have a very special day.

Thousands of metres of Marquees have been erected, the London Road gardens have been prepared, The Great Hall has been polished and decked with flowers, over 4,500 meals are being prepared and hundreds of bottles of champagne are being chilled in readiness.

Many members of staff will give their time voluntarily to help on the day, marshalling, stewarding and manning the information desk, for example. A huge thank you to all.

This year's graduation ceremonies will also see two leading figures from the worlds of higher education and property development awarded Honorary Degrees:

Professor Janet Beer will be presented with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Christine Williams. Professor Beer graduated from the University of Reading with a BA in English in 1978 and is currently Vice-Chancellor at Oxford Brookes University.

Ms Alison Carnwath will be presented for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by Professor Ginny Gibson, Head of the School of Real Estate and Planning. Alison Carnwath graduated from the University of Reading in 1975 with a BA in German and Economics. She is now Chair of Land Securities, Britain's biggest property company and a FTSE 100 company, and Chair of MF Global Holdings Ltd.

A reminder that traffic arrangements on and around campus will be disrupted during the three Graduation Days. Between the hours of 08:00 and 19:00 there will be a one-way system in operation on Queen's Drive.  Traffic will not be able to exit the University via Queen's Drive as the road will be closed (outbound) from Estates corner.  Access to the SportsPark will be via Shinfield Road only.  In addition, Car Park 7 will be closed.  There will  be no parking available at the London Road site (other than for staff attending Graduation ceremonies with Graduation parking passes).  However, Reading Buses will not be affected.