The University of Oxford awarded eight honorary degrees at its annual Encaenia awards ceremony today. Among the recipients were British athlete and Olympian Sir Mo Farah; Irish author and academic Professor Colm Tóibín; broadcaster and parliamentarian Lord Melvyn Bragg; and BBC journalist Clive Myrie. Dame Jacina Ardern, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, had also been due to receive an honorary degree but was unable to attend the Encaenia ceremony.
The ceremony took place in the Sheldonian Theatre with a procession beginning at the gate of Exeter College, moving through the Bodleian Library Quadrangle. The honorands followed senior members of the University, stopping en route at the Divinity School to sign the University’s Honorary Degrees book.
The other honorands included Professor Serhii Plokhii, Professor Timothy Snyder, Professor Robert S Langer, and Professor Erwin Neher.
The Chancellor of Oxford, Lord William Hague, and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey, were amongst senior members of staff leading the procession. Lord Hague opened the ceremony and admitted the honorary degrees to the recipients.
‘Encaenia’ means festival of renewal or dedication. Oxford’s Encaenia ceremony occurs each year during the ninth week of Trinity term. Last year’s recipients included the actor and comedian Sir Michael Palin, as well as the computer scientist Sir Demis Hassabis.
Entering the Bodleian Quadrangle, the honorands were in good spirits. Clive Myrie walked beside Lord Melvyn Bragg in the procession. The two were engrossed in conversation whilst Myrie photographed the Quadrangle on his phone. Sir Mo Farah wasn’t shy of the cameras, offering a cheeky grin for Cherwell’s photographer.
