Award-winning singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae is among those being honoured by the University of Leeds today.
On 14 July, honorary degrees will be conferred upon Corinne Bailey Rae; former chairman and chief executive of iconic Yorkshire business Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate, Jonathan Wild; biologist Professor David Stuart; and NHS Director General of Research and Development, Dame Sally Davies.
All of the recipients excel within their specialist fields and are distinguished by outstanding achievements.
Professor Dame Sally Davies is the Director General of Research and Development for the NHS and has been instrumental in the development of government strategy for health and social care research. She is currently the (interim) Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Department of Health. In 2009 Davies was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for outstanding services to medicine. Professor Dame Sally Davies will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine.
Corinne Bailey Rae was born in the Hyde Park area of Leeds and grew up in the city, going on to graduate with a degree in English from the University of Leeds in 2000. She has since enjoyed widespread popular and critical acclaim for her music, with a collection of Grammy, Brit and MOBO awards to her name and praise from musical legends including Stevie Wonder. Her latest album, 'The Sea', was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize for Album of the Year. Corinne Bailey Rae will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Music.
Professor David Stuart is one of the UK's leading structural biologists and has been named amongst the top 50 most promising scientists in the world. His work on the structure of viruses has focused on 'bluetongue', foot and mouth and most recently HIV, which has led to further understanding of how this devastating disease assembles and replicates inside cells. Professor David Stuart will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Science.
Jonathan Wild is the former Chairman and Chief Executive of Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate. The company has regularly featured in the Sunday Times 'Best 100 Companies to work for' list and in 2007 was honoured at the highest level when it received its second Queen's Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development, only awarded to companies with the highest social and ethical values. Wild is also a passionate conservationist and has helped plant 3 million trees in tea and coffee growing countries around the world with his 'Trees for Life' scheme before the business moved from planting trees to saving them by launching the Yorkshire Rainforest Project to help save an area of rainforest the size of Yorkshire. Jonathan Wild will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.
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For more information
Photographs of the honorary degree recipients will be available after the event.
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