Honorary degrees for July 2024 announced

The University of Huddersfield will welcome three notable recipients of honorary degrees during graduation fortnight this July.

Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan, West Yorkshire Chief Constable John Robins and Ed Anderson CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Yorkshire, will all be honoured by the University alongside this year’s cohort of graduates at the ceremonies that begin on 8 July.

In a career stretching back to the early 1980s, Jenny’s costume designs have won awards and acclaim across a diverse range of British and international films. She worked on several of Merchant-Ivory’s period dramas including A Room With A View, Maurice and Howard’s End, and among her many other credits are Gosford Park and Sherlock Holmes. She won Oscars and also BAFTAs for her costume designs on A Room With a View, Mad Max: Fury Road and Cruella, and she recently worked on the forthcoming Mad Max prequel Furiosa. She visited the University in 2023 to speak at a symposium on how budding costume specialists can break into the screen industry.

John is the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police and has 34 years of policing experience. Uniquely for a Chief Constable, all of his service has been for one police force. Beginning as a Constable in 1990, John became the operational Superintendent for Bradford 13 years later, commanding high-profile events, policing operations and helping communities to recover after periods of heightened tension. After a spell leading the Criminal Justice Department, John returned to operational policing in 2008 as the District Commander of Kirklees. John became an Assistant Chief Constable in 2011, leading on Workforce, Development and Standards, and after roles in Local Policing and Professional Standards, Ethics and Equality, he became Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in July 2019. He was awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service in the same year, and in 2022 he was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.

Ed Anderson is an economics graduate and accountant. He has been the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire - the Monarch’s personal representative in the County - since 2018. Following a career in local government, he has had a range of senior roles including Leeds-Bradford Airport, the Airport Operators Association, Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust, Yorkshire Building Society and National Savings & Investments, which will be Chair of until June 2024. He is a former Chair of Governors at Leeds Trinity University where he currently serves as Pro Chancellor. He was also a member of Council of the University of Leeds for 15 years and served as Deputy Chair. Ed has also been a board member of Opera North, Leeds International Piano Competition and St Gemma’s Hospice. In 2022 he was awarded the CBE for services to the finance sector and public life in Yorkshire.