Honorary fellows: 2012
Honorary fellowships were conferred on the following people in the July and November ceremonies of 2012.
July ceremonies
Anne Pierson
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts and creative writing.
Anne Pierson was born into a Yorkshire mining family and left school at 15 with no qualifications. After studying for A and O-Levels in the evening, she trained to be a teacher and taught at secondary schools in Manchester and East London. After a year at Central School of Speech and Drama she became Assistant Director at Stockton-On-Tees Arts Centre, joining the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal in 1977.
On the verge of bankruptcy, Anne developed the Brewery into a leading arts centre, culminating in a new £3m theatre and cinema. The Anne Pierson Young Cumbrian Writers Award was established in her honour, uncovering exceptional talent in the regions schools and colleges. More recently, she wrote the play for a comedy, performed at Theatre by the Lake, and has acted as Voluntary Acting Director of Fairfield Mill Arts and Heritage Centre, Sedbergh, developing a centre of excellence of textiles and residencies.
John Myers
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the radio industry.
Born in Carlisle in 1959, Myers started his radio career in 1980 at BBC Radio Cumbria before developing the national radio brands for Border Television in the early 90s. A respected presenter and producer, John was MD of a number of companies while broadcasting under the pseudonym "John Morgan". He then became Chief Executive of GMG Radio, developing the Real Radio, Smooth Radio and Rock Radio brands and overseeing other GMG Radio acquisitions.
In 2009, he was asked by the Labour Government to produce a report on the future of local radio in the UK ("The Myers Report”), and in 2011 reviewed efficiencies at four BBC radio stations before working with Tynwald in the IOM and a number of world-wide radio groups. John later took on the role of CEO and Chairman of The Radio Academy alongside chairing The Radio Festival and The Sony Radio Academy Awards.
Today, he’s a consultant to a group of global companies, working on strategy and development. He’s a director of the Entrepreneurs Forum, an established after dinner speaker in Leadership management and Chairman of Myers Media. He’s won a number of awards over the years, perhaps proudest of the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Commercial Radio Industry and being named as one of just 40 people who helped change the future of radio.
http://myersmedia.co.uk/john-myers/
David Gould
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the campaign for peace and community cohesion.
After the London bombings in 2005, David Gould was encouraged to join ‘Multicultural Carlisle’, providing opportunities for the enjoyment of the rich diversity of cultures within the City and raising awareness of multiculturalism and integration. David was Chair for two years; seeing many isolated minority ethnic communities gain confidence to express themselves and their culture with pride. In 2011, David established a Multicultural Centre; breaking down the isolation experienced due to language and cultural barriers.
In his inter-faith work, he supports the Amnesty International’s ‘Perpetual Candle of Hope’ at Carlisle Cathedral and organised a visit from the Indonesian Double Gamelan Orchestra. He also organised several peace marches and worked with local schools and community groups in promoting non-violence and community cohesion and interfaith understanding. He helped to form an Interfaith Forum here in Carlisle.
Wider afield he has worked with the Warrington Peace Centre, being a speaker at various events and also joined in their Conflict Resolution work between former combatants in Northern Ireland. After moving to the Midlands in 2014 he soon became involved with the U3A (University of the Third Age, a self-help shared learning organisation for pensioners) and is currently Chairman of his local organisation. He was voted onto the PCC of his local church. He also joined Sanctus St Marks, an organisation that looks after the welfare of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Stoke-on-Trent where he became the Volunteer Case-Work Coordinator, a role that combines his Social Work background with his Theological Training and his Counselling Skills. He calls this ‘Social Work with prayer’ in an Interfaith setting, while hearing of the harrowing stories of danger, loss, death, rejection and refusal. His home is one of the emergency places for homeless Asylum Seekers. He also preaches in a couple of local churches a few times a year.
Stephen Borthwick
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the world of rugby union football.
Steve was born in Carlisle in 1979 and lived in the city until the age of 10 when his family moved to Preston. He was captain of the Hutton Grammar School Rugby team and during a degree from the University of Bath in Economics and Politics joined Bath rugby club in 1998. At Bath he played 246 senior games over the next ten years, captained at 21, before joining the Saracens in 2008. Steve gained 57 Test caps for England, touring North America, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He was part of the England squad that finished runners-up to South Africa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Between 2008 and 2010, Steve captained the England team on 21 occasions, becoming fourth on the all-time list for the number of appearances as an England captain. Stephen coached Japan at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and is currently Forwards Coach of the England rugby team.
Professor Graham Upton
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to higher education and to the University of Cumbria. (awarded July 2012)
Graham Upton was born in Birmingham and was educated in Australia, where he taught in secondary and special schools before moving back to the UK in 1972. He worked in the University of Wales and Leeds Polytechnic before moving to the University of Birmingham where he was Pro-vice-chancellor and Professor of Special Educational Needs and Educational Psychology. In September 1997, he took up the post of Vice-Chancellor at Oxford Brookes University which he held until he retired in August 2007.
From 21 May 2010 until July 2011, Professor Upton was Interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cumbria. Since then he has served as Interim Vice Chancellor of Glyndŵr University and of Birmingham City University. He is a Deputy Lieutenant and a former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire. He is married to Bebe Speed, an ex-director of West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy.
Professor Shirley Reveley
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to nursing and the establishment of the nurse practitioner programme and service. (awarded July 2012)
Shirley is a registered nurse and has worked as a midwife and health visitor and entered higher education in 1986 as a Nurse Teacher and Health Visitor Tutor. After a degree at The Open University and an MA and PhD at the University of Lancaster, Shirley worked at St Martin’s College from 1992 -2005, becoming Head of School of Nursing and Midwifery. She established the first nurse practitioner service in Cumbria, published two text books and several articles before being invited to take up a Visiting Professorship at the University of Skovde in Sweden.
In 2005 Shirley became the Director of Nursing at The Open University and its first Professor of Nursing. In 2007 she was promoted to the post of Dean in the Open University’s Faculty of Health and Social Care, before retiring in 2010. Shirley has been a non-Executive Director at Cumbria PCT, NCUHT and is currently Chair of Cumbria Health on Call, Trustee of Hospice at Home, Carlisle and North Lakeland and Associate Consultant at the Royal College of Nursing.
Paul Rose
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the understanding of the natural world, the challenges of scientific research and his broadcasting work. (awarded July 2012)
Born in Elm Park, east London, Rose’s first job was at 16 in the Ford motor plant in Dagenham. In 1974 he moved to America and qualified as a mountaineer, diver, polar guide and yacht skipper. He ran the US Navy diver training programme at Naval Station Great Lakes and trained divers in the police, fire department and underwater recovery teams.
He returned to Britain in 1988 and has been a mountain and polar guide, led expeditions across the ice-cap in Greenland, and provided logistics support for polar science expeditions. He was base commander of Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, for the British Antarctic Survey for 10 years until 2002, for which he was awarded the Queen’s Polar Medal. He received the US Polar Medal for his work with Nasa and the Mars Lander project, which involved climbing Mount Erebus, Antarctica’s most active volcano. Paul lives beside Windermere in the Lake District.