Students throw mortar boards at graduation
NEARLY two thousands students have thrown their mortar boards during graduation at the University of Chichester.
The celebratory event saw the new graduates receive their degrees alongside families and friends at the Chichester Festival Theatre on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October.
Photos from the ceremony will be featured in the next issue of Alumnus, our Alumni Association magazine.
Among those graduating were influential figures from the world of arts, sport, and education, who were recognised for the contributions to their fields with prestigious accolades. The dignitaries, who received honorary doctorates, included the University of Chichester’s first Vice-Chancellor Philip Robinson, pictured right below with Vice-Chancellor Professor Clive Behagg, who became an Honorary Doctor of the institution.
Mr Robinson began his working life as a primary school teacher, before becoming principal of Froebel College, and is a lifelong champion of education for social change. He was appointed principal of the then Chichester Institute of Higher Education in 1996 and, through his leadership, ensured it gained University status in 2005.
Principal of Passmores Academy Vic Goddard, pictured below right, featured on the BAFTA-winning documentary Educating Essex, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Education. He is an alumnus of Chichester, having studied to become a physical education teacher in the 1990s.
His biographical book, The Best Job in the World, has become a textbook for teachers who aspire to be successful leaders in their field.
Shobana Jeyasingh, pictured centre below with Professor Clive Behagg and Head of Dance Cathy Childs, is a leading choreographer whose renowned work has created a contemporary dance genre from classical Indian dance Bharatanatya. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts.
A prestigious figure in British and international dance, her thought-provoking artistic work challenges cultural stereotypes through the medium of dance.
Professor Kari Fasting, pictured left below, is a past president of the International Sociology of Sport Association and a founding member of Women Sport International. She is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Social and Cultural Studies of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, Norway, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science.
Professor Fasting’s area of research is women in sport and, in recent years, her work has focused on sexual harassment. She is also an advocate for gender equality worldwide.
In a personal message to the graduating students, Vice-Chancellor Professor Clive Behagg said: “On behalf of the whole University of Chichester, please allow me to add my congratulations to those of your family and friends on this wonderful day. You have worked hard for your award and you deserve your success.
“As you move on to your life as a graduate, I hope you will always remember with affection the time that you spent at the University of Chichester, the friendships that you made, the intellectual change that you rose to meet, and the warmth of the community of which you were a part. We will always be proud of you.”
To join the University of Chichester’s Alumni Association visit alumni.chi.ac.uk.
Alternatively go to www.chi.ac.uk/alumni or view its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ChiUniAlumni.
