Congratulations to our 2014 winter graduands
Thursday, 11 December 2014
This week, nearly 2,300 students will graduate as part of the winter graduation ceremonies. Nine ceremonies will be held on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 December in the Great Hall on the University's London Road campus.
Many members of staff will give their time voluntarily to help at the ceremonies, from marshalling and stewarding to manning the information desk. A huge thank you to everyone involved.
The majority of the 1,400 students attending will be awarded for postgraduate qualifications, with a small number receiving undergraduate degrees. We will also be recognising its ‘Alumnus of the Year', and presenting an Honorary Degree.
Staff, students, friends and families will be able to watch the graduation ceremonies live online. If you will be tweeting about graduation, don't forget to use the hashtag #rdggrad.
Students with queries about graduation should be directed to the Graduation website. We also have the essential information booklet here
Alumnus of the Year 2015
This year's ‘Alumnus of the Year' 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.
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.
Car parking restrictions
Due to winter graduation Security Services will close the following car parks on Thursday 11th and Friday 12th December 2014: Car park 2; Car park 7; and Contractors car park.
There will be limited car parking spaces available at London Road for staff during the graduation period. This is for safety reasons, as the shuttle buses between Whiteknights and London Road will be dropping off and picking up in Acacia Road and vehicle access to the London Road site will be restricted to bus use only. Access to the Crown Place/Whitegates car park at London Road will also be restricted for the duration of graduation.
If you need to travel to London Road from Whiteknights (and back) please use the free shuttle bus service which will operate between Queen’s Drive at Whiteknights and Acacia Road at regular intervals throughout the three days of graduation.