Bath Spa University has awarded honorary degrees to two people it has described as inspirational for its community – the former head of MI5 and a renowned music publisher.
Lord Jonathan Evans of Weardale and Sarah Liversedge Platz were presented with honorary doctorates in recognition of their outstanding achievements, and excellence, in their respective fields as part of the university Winter Graduation ceremonies, pictured.
During ceremonies at The Forum Lord Jonathan Evans received an Honorary Doctor of Letters while Sarah Liversedge Platz was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music.
The university described the pair as an inspiration to its community.
Lord Jonathan Evans, pictured, is the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public
Life and sits in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. He was previously director general of the Security Service – MI5 – from 2007 to 2013.
He is now a non-executive director of Ark Datacentres and chairman of the Public Interest Committee of accountancy group KPMG UK.
He is also Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, chair of Kent Search and Rescue and a visiting professor at King’s College London. He graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in Classical Studies.
He was nominated by the university’s Professor of Policing and Criminology and co-director of its Centre for Leadership, Ethics and Professional Practice (CLEPP), Allyson MacVean.
Accepting the honorary doctorate, Lord Jonathan Evans said: “I admire the work of the Centre for Leadership, Ethics and Professional Practice at Bath Spa University so I am particularly honoured to be awarded an honorary degree by the university."
As an alumna, Sarah Liversedge Platz, pictured, is no stranger to Bath Spa University, having graduated with a first-class degree in Composition.
Since then she has gone on, via the BBC, to develop a successful music publishing business and has received a number of music industry awards.
In 2004 she set up BDi, a Grammy award-winning independent music publishing business representing songwriters, composers and TV production companies.
She said: “I am so honoured to receive this recognition from an institution that means so much to me. My time at Bath Spa as a music undergraduate was incredibly special.
“The university is a place that really nurtures and inspires creative minds. It helped me lay foundations that would serve both myself and the songwriters and composers I've worked with throughout my career decades later.”
Each year Bath Spa, one of the UK’s leading creative universities with more 7,000 students, confers honorary awards to individuals who have made a notable and sustained contribution to their academic fields or profession, to society, or to the University.
All staff, with input from students, are able to propose potential recipients of honorary awards. Nominees are approved by the university’s board of governors.
