Inspirational Figures Set to Receive Honorary Doctorates

20th October 2016

A globally-renowned film director, a world champion squash player and one of Britain's most powerful lawyers are to be recognised for their achievements with honorary doctorates from Sheffield Hallam University.

Around 14,000 students will be graduating this year at ceremonies in Sheffield City Hall between 14 and 25 November. Alongside them, ten inspirational figures from a variety of sectors will be joining them on the stage to collect honorary doctorates for outstanding contributions to their fields. Nick Matthew OBE is a three-time world champion and seven-time British national champion, making him England's most successful squash player of all time. In 2006, the Sheffield-born athlete became the first Englishman to win a British Open title in 67 years and, after career-threatening shoulder surgery, came back to win the prestigious trophy for a second time in 2009. Ken Loach is one of Britain's foremost filmmakers, with a career spanning more than half a century. He has enjoyed a long career directing films for television and the cinema, from Cathy Come Home and Kes in the 1960s, to Land and Freedom, Sweet Sixteen and The Wind That Shakes the Barley in more recent years. Clive Stafford Smith OBE is a lawyer who specialises in death penalty cases and other civil rights issues. He has helped to secure the release of 69 prisoners from Guantánamo Bay (including every British prisoner), and still acts for 15 more. In 2000, Clive was awarded the OBE for humanitarian services and in 2009 he was named one of the most powerful lawyers in Britain. Professor Philip Jones was Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University from 2007 to 2015. His academic background is in law and he has advised the Law Society and the Bar Council on the structure of professional legal education. During his time in charge, Sheffield Hallam became one of the largest universities in the UK. Sir (Robert) Alan Langlands is the twelfth Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds. Before joining the University, he was the Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England. He was formerly the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee and Chief Executive of the NHS in England. Professor John Martin is the chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at University College London. He co-leads clinical trials looking at stem cells in the heart and was the recipient of the first ever grant given by the UK Stem Cell Foundation in October 2006. Baroness Zahida Manzoor has campaigned to tackle race and gender inequalities in her role as commissioner for the Commission for Racial Equality and has been the CEO and Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales. She was awarded a CBE in 1998 for services to the NHS and for improving race relations and was appointed a Life Peer in 2013. David Moody spent most of his working life in the Sheffield steel industry, first with United Steels and later as chairman and managing director of Spartan Sheffield Ltd. He became the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire in April 2003 before being invited to become Lord-Lieutenant for the county in 2004.  In June 2016 he became a Freeman of the Borough of Barnsley. Beatriz Pont is an internationally acclaimed expert on educational policy and reform. Since taking her position within the Directorate for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), her work in school leadership and improvement has become known the world over. Baroness Vivien Stern CBE is a crossbench member of the House of Lords and works across the world as an advocate for human rights and social justice. She is an active campaigner and writer on global issues around penal reform and social justice, and has undertaken independent Government reviews on sexual violence, prisons and human rights.