Honorary degrees announced for University ceremonies in November

By Martin Herrema

Olympic Gold hockey medallist and alumna Susannah Townsend MBE and architect Sir Terry Farrell are among those due to receive honorary degrees from the University in ceremonies during November.

Others set to be honoured by the University at ceremonies in Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals are dancer and choreographer Janet Smith MBE and anthropologist and writer Professor Hugh Brody.

Susannah Townsend MBE is a British field hockey player and Olympic Gold medallist. Susannah Townsend grew up in Canterbury and studied Sport and Exercise Science Management at Kent’s Medway campus, playing hockey for the University.

She made her international GB hockey debut in 2008 and was part of Team GB at the Rio Olympics. Team GB’s performance at the Rio Games was their most successful Olympics ever and the hockey squad’s journey to Gold captivated the nation. The thrilling tournament final, culminating in a penalty shoot-out against defending champions the Netherlands, topped a BBC poll of the nation’s favourite British moment in Rio.

Susannah Townsend will receive her honorary Doctor of the University degree, in recognition of her contribution to hockey and to women’s sport, at a ceremony at Rochester Cathedral on 22 November.

Sir Terry Farrell CBE is considered to be the UK’s leading architect planner, with offices in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

During almost 60 years in practice he has completed many award winning buildings and masterplans including Embankment Place and The Home Office Headquarters as well as millennium projects such as The Deep in Hull and Centre for Life in Newcastle. UK Masterplans include Greenwich Peninsula, Paddington Basin, Newcastle Quayside and the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus.

In East Asia, notable projects include Incheon airport in Seoul, Beijing Station and Guangzhou Station in China (the largest in the world). In Hong Kong he has designed the Peak Tower, Kowloon Station development and the British Consulate.

Sir Terry will receive his honorary Doctor of Letters degree, in recognition of his exceptional contribution to architecture, at a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral on 24 November.

Janet Smith MBE completed her dance training in New York and began her professional life as a solo dance maker and performer and a freelance teacher, forming Janet Smith and Dancers in 1976.

During an illustrious career, Janet Smith has choreographed and taught internationally. Under her leadership as Artistic Director of Scottish Dance Theatre, the company grew in size and stature and was recognised nationally for its leadership in dance and disability.

She has served on the Boards of London Contemporary Dance School and One Dance UK and is an Honorary Fellow of Dartington College of Arts. In 2008 she received the Jane Attenborough Dance UK Industry Award which honours an individual’s outstanding contribution to the art form.

Janet Smith will receive her honorary Doctor of Arts degree, in recognition of her pioneering contribution to contemporary dance, at a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral on 24 November.

Professor Hugh Brody is an anthropologist, writer, director and lecturer.

He currently holds a Canada Research Chair at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, is an Honorary Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge and since 2010 he has held an Honorary Professorship in the School of Anthropology and Conversation at the University of Kent.

His work as an anthropologist in Ireland in the 1960s led to the book Gola, The Life and Last Days of an Island Community. He worked with the Canadian Department of Indian and Northern Affairsand his report Indians on Skid Row led to changes in government policy, especially in relation to Native Friendship Centres.

He has directed films on many other topics, including the documentaries England’s Henry Moore and Inside Australia, about Antony Gormley’s installation of his sculptures in the Western Desert. This year he was awarded the Royal Anthropological Institute Life Achievement Award.

Professor Brody will receive his honorary Doctor of Letters degree, in recognition of his contribution to visual anthropology, at a ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral on 24 November.