Thousands of Teesside University graduates will enjoy a summer celebration this year as the annual awards are held in July for the first time.
The ceremonies have been brought forward from November to allow more than 2,500 graduates and their guests to celebrate their success on campus during the summer.
A total of 11 ceremonies will take place across five days, from Monday 18 July through to Friday 22 July, with graduates from the University’s School of Health & Social Care, School of Arts & Media, School of Social Sciences, Business & Law, School of Science & Engineering and School of Computing celebrating academic success.
An honorary doctorate will be bestowed on John Barratt, President and Chief Executive Officer of US-based global design consultancy TEAGUE. He will receive a Doctor of Business Administration on the morning of Tuesday 19 July.
Founded in 1926, TEAGUE is considered to be the most important design consultancy in the world. John joined TEAGUE in 1999, after working in leading positions at Philips Design. He has dedicated his time to building on TEAGUE’s heritage, strengthening partnerships with some of the world’s leading brands including Intel, Starbucks, The Boeing Company and Samsung and pushing TEAGUE’s longstanding mission ‘to build a new and better world’ into the 21st century.
John studied at what was then Teesside Polytechnic, graduating in 1988 with a BA (Hons) Three Dimensional Design – Industrial Design.
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Teesside University Professor Paul Croney said: “I am delighted that the University is awarding an honorary doctorate to John Barratt, one of our own graduates, who has enjoyed a remarkable career.
“His success will inspire the thousands of Teesside University graduates who are receiving their degrees later this month.”
There have been considerable improvements and enhancements for the University’s summer graduations to make the best use of the University campus which has been the subject of more than £260m of investment in recent years. All ceremonies will be held in a specially-dressed Olympia main hall and there will be a marquee in Campus Heart for graduates and their guests to enjoy complimentary food and soft drinks.
An academic procession will leave the award-winning landmark building, The Curve, before each ceremony and each ceremony will be shown on the big screen in Campus Heart, as well as in the Students’ Union at the centre of the campus.
Professor Croney added: “Graduation is a special time to celebrate the academic success of our students.
“The new summer ceremonies will enable us to make full use of our fantastic Campus Heart and will provide a fitting setting for graduates and their families to recognise and reflect on their student learning experience and their achievements.”