Professor Patricia Anne Harriss RN SCPHN FRCN FFOM (Hon) FRSA NTF Queen’s Nurse

(awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Cumbria | July 2023)

Professor Anne Harriss is a highly experienced university educator and is acknowledged both nationally and globally as a leader within Occupational Health Education. From the start of Anne’s career as an educator she has driven the education of occupational health nurses. She has influenced the establishment of the National School of Occupational Health and the curriculum standards for occupational health nursing courses of statutory bodies such as the English National Board for Nursing and Midwifery and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. In 2001 she developed and led a public health project for communities in rural Limpopo, South Africa. Anne has influenced the education of occupational health nurses in New Zealand and will be supporting the education of nurses in Sri Lanka.

Her interest in mental health led Anne to be the lead adviser in 2020 for the Society of Occupational Medicine and the Royal College of Nursing Foundation systematic review The Mental Health and Wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives in the United Kingdom. She has a particular interest in promoting mental health in the workplace, is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists special interest group on mental health and work and represents the Society of Occupational Medicine on the Government business dialogue on workplace mental health.

In 2020 Professor Harriss was elected President of the Society of Occupational Medicine. Anne continues to represent the Royal College of Nursing on the development of specialist occupational health nursing education through the National School of Occupational Health and the Council for Work and Health and is Emeritus Professor at London South Bank University.

Mrs Claire Hensman CVO

(in recognition of her lifelong and outstanding contribution to charity, community and service to the Monarchy in Cumbria. (July 2023)

Over more than four decades Claire has been involved in voluntary work. Her longest standing commitment was as a trustee and then chairman of the Bendrigg Trust – a short stay outdoor activity centre for disabled and disadvantaged young people. She was involved with the NHS for ten years, first as a member of the South Cumbria Health Authority and then as a Non-Executive Director of the Westmorland Hospital’s Trust until its abolition in 1998. From 1993-2006 Claire was a member of the Council of Lancaster University and from 2001 was a Deputy Pro-Chancellor. From 2010-19 Claire was a Non-Executive Director of the University of Cumbria.

Claire was High Sheriff of Cumbria between 2007-08 and became involved in work with offenders and in prisons: as a volunteer with the Shannon Trust, providing literacy support at HMP Haverigg; as a trustee of Step-by-Step Cumbria which helped rehabilitate people - particularly offenders, with addictions; and as President of the Cumbria Alcohol and Drugs Advisory Service (CADAS). Other local involvement over the years includes: as a General Commissioner of Income Tax; a member of the Lord Lieutenant’s Advisory Committee interviewing for the Magistracy; as a member of the Carlisle Cathedral Finance Committee and a Trustee of the Cathedral’s Development Trust, a Trustee of the Frieda Scott Charitable Trust, and Treasurer of Crosthwaite PCC.

In January 2013 Claire was appointed HM Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria – the King’s Representative in the County – and retired in July 2023 after 10 years. She is currently an ambassador for Cumbria Community Foundation, the Rose Castle Foundation, and a Trustee of the newly formed Bishopthorpe Charitable Trust.

Professor Helen James OBE EurIng CEng FIMechE FHEA BSc (Hons) MA DBA

(awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Cumbria | July 2023)

Helen has a distinguished career, with outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, women in STEM, education and over 20 years strategic leadership advocating universities as a catalyst for social mobility and economic growth.
Helen was born and raised in Barrow. At 16 she started her apprenticeship in mechanical engineering with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. Through this route she was sponsored to go to university, and upon graduating with a BSc (Hons) Engineering at the University of Leicester, moved to Portsmouth to work in the space industry. Helen then moved into tertiary and higher education, progressing to Principal Lecturer in mechanical and manufacturing engineering at the University of Brighton. Helen was the founding Head of Business Services a department supporting business engagement, IP commercialisation and economic development.

In 2001 Helen was head hunted to join a new senior team at the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education to create a university for north east Wales; this was achieved in 2008 and Glyndwr University was formed. Helen became Pro Vice Chancellor with many roles and led the Faculty of Technology, Computing and Science. During this period she studied part time at University of Bath securing her Doctorate and paving the way for the next stage in her career.

In 2014 she joined Canterbury Christ Church University as Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor of Higher Education Policy and Practice before becoming Deputy Vice Chancellor. Helen believes passionately in enabling access to STEM so young people can make informed decisions and has supported careers and outreach in schools for over 40 years including establishing Wrexham’s science centre. She now provides influence and leadership across several national organisations including being Chair of the Institution of Mechanical Engineering’s Education and Skills Board, a Member of the Royal Society’s Education Committee, Vice Chair of a Multi Academy Trust and advisor to the Strategic Industry Advisory Board, at Canterbury Christ Church University.

Professor Graham Wren OBE FREng FRSE

(awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Cumbria | July 2023)

Born in Workington, Graham became an apprentice at the Workington Steelworks. He attended Workington and Whitehaven Technical Colleges and gained entry to Newcastle University to study Mechanical Engineering. He then worked as a Project Manager for UKAEA at Sellafield and across the UK. Graham was director of the Forensic Science Laboratories and the RAF Aviation Toxicology Service and a senior civil servant before joining the private sector.

From 1994 and over the following two decades he worked in, and ran, major companies such as GSE Systems in Europe and was involved in regeneration projects such as Gen2, Energus and the Westlakes Science Park in Cumbria. He has been a director on more than 30 company and research centre boards and represented the UK Government to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).

Graham is now Senior Executive and Special Advisory to the Principal at the University of Strathclyde. Since 2008 he has overseen several ambitious projects to drive engagement with industry. These have included the Technology and Innovation Centre; the Centre for Continuous Manufacturing and Crystalisation; the Power Networks Demonstration Centre, and the National Manufacturing Institute in Scotland.

Professor Wren is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered Director. In 2018 Graham was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and in 2021 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He was also awarded the John Williams Medal by the University of Newcastle and the Strathclyde Medal from the University of Strathclyde. In 2019, he was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, in recognition of his services to Education, Science and Engineering. In 2023 he was admitted into the Worshipful Company of Engineers. In 2024, Graham was awarded the honour of Freedom of the City of London.

November 2023

Rebecca Gadsby

(in recognition of her outstanding contribution to innovation within the performing arts industry | awarded November 2023)

Beck is an award-winning Theatre Director. Nottingham born, her fascination with storytelling, ignited in her early years during school drama classes, evolved into a lifelong passion for the performing arts. Upon graduating with a degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Warwick she has directed almost 70 full-scale theatre productions, achieving critical acclaim in both the local and national press.

Her 2011 production of Sense & Sensibility was filmed by the BBC and used in their documentary, The Many Lovers of Austen. In 2015, she directed the UK’s largest open air theatre event at Chatsworth House with Pride & Prejudice. Beck has her own production company - Inside Theatre, and since 2016, has been experimenting with digital technology in the theatre, funded by the Arts Council, Innovate UK and in association with several other partners. Its aim is to inspire the next generation of theatre makers by empowering young creators and directors to craft their own productions, bridging the gap between the theatre industry and young people.

Beck made a significant contribution to the development of the University of Cumbria’s performing arts programmes over several years. As a visiting director, she developed the professional practices of many performance students and is passionate about nurturing the next generation of creatives. Beck was named among the "100 ones to watch" by the UK Creative Industries Council and, in 2022, won "Best Digital/Creative Start-Up" at the Mainframe Awards for creating the world's first immersive theatre app. The app has since garnered global attention and accolades for its innovative approach and is intended to assist storytelling, fuel imaginations, and engage younger audiences. Her work continues to inspire a new generation of theatre creators and digital artists.

Annie Mawson MBE MRSM BA (Hons)

(in recognition of her lifelong and outstanding contribution to community arts therapy in Cumbria. | awarded November 2023)

Annie Mawson was born and grew up near Cleator Moor, West Cumbria. She studied geography at the University of Newcastle with her first teaching job being as Head of the Geography Department at St Anne’s School in Windermere. Music was always her passion and, in 1977, Annie joined Roundhills Special School in Kendal as a music specialist. It was through this work that she discovered how music was often the only strategy that reached children when all other forms of communication had failed.

When the school closed in 1990, Annie was determined that the provision would continue and founded the Sunbeams Music Trust, initially offering music therapy in people’s homes or in residential homes. To help fund the programme she became a professional singer and harpist. Annie worked tirelessly to raise awareness and funds to realise her main ambition - the creation of a purpose-built music centre located in Cumbria. From the first donation of £13.60 to £1 million awards and numerous individual and company donations, the Sunbeams Music Centre was finally built and opened its doors in September 2016.

Annie has received local and national recognition for her endeavours. In 2000 she was honoured with the title “Cumbrian Woman of the Year”. In 2004 she was awarded an Honorary Professorship of the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain and received an MBE for her services to the therapeutic use of community music in Cumbria in the Queen’s New Years Honours 2014.

The Sunbeams Music Centre, near Penrith, allows Annie and her team deliver ‘Music for Life’ and ‘Music for Dignity’ community music therapy projects, throughout Cumbria and in the Centre for over 15,000 people with special needs every year. The interaction which takes place is profound with the social integration of looking for the ‘ability in the disability’ helping to eliminate discrimination and preconceptions and making a real difference. Equally as important is the support provided to the families and the wider community.

http://sunbeamsmusic.org

Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE

(awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cumbria | November 2023)

Rory Stewart has been described by the New York Times as “living one of the most remarkable lives on record.” He has walked 6,000 miles alone across Asia, including crossing Afghanistan during the winter following the US invasion. He has held a professorial chair at Harvard University, served as the acting Governor of an Iraqi province, and founded and run one significant international charity, Turquoise Mountain, and served as the President of GiveDirectly, one of the fastest growing NGOs in the world.
Rory has presented three BBC documentaries and written five books. He has served in the UK cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development, and before that as Prisons Minister, Minister for Africa, Minister for Development and Minister for the Environment. He now teaches Grand Strategy at Yale University in America and co-hosts the UK’s number one podcast ‘The Rest is Politics’.

He has won awards in many of these different fields - from his charitable work (the Livingstone Gold Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society) his writing (the Ondaatje Award of the Royal Society of Literature), his documentary work (a Scottish BAFTA), his travels and exploration (the Ness Award of the Royal Geographical Society) and his work as a diplomat in Iraq (for which he was awarded the OBE).

Esquire Magazine has listed him as one of the 75 most influential figures of the 21st century.
But the focus of much of his life, and thought, has been Cumbria. He spent almost a decade as the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border during which time he walked throughout his constituency, visiting every town and village on foot. In ‘The Marches’ (which won the Lakeland Book of the Year), and his documentary Border Country: the story of Britain’s lost Middleland, he puts Cumbria at the very centre of the United Kingdom, recovering its centuries as the heart of a Kingdom separate from both England and Scotland - evoking its language and landscape and the traces that survive around us.

Half English, half-Scottish, making his professional career on the borders of the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, he has found, in Cumbria, his spiritual home.

http://www.rorystewart.co.uk