Leaders in design, poetry and arts education awarded honorary degrees

Honorary degrees have been given to a trio of accomplished names in arts, culture and design.

Manchester Metropolitan University presented three honorary doctorates this week (July 18-22) during graduation ceremonies at the Bridgewater Hall.

Honorary degrees are awarded to those who have made major contributions to the academic work of the University or who have earned distinction for their services to their sector.

This week’s honorands were all awarded Doctor of Arts, and included those who were recognised for supporting University diversity initiatives and its poetry projects, including the Queen’s Anniversary Prize-winning Mother Tongue Other Tongue.

They were:

Ian Griffiths, Doctor of Arts (DArt), in recognition of his contribution to fashion design and his achievements as Creative Director at Max Mara including his commitments to diversity.

Griffiths graduated from Manchester Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) in Fashion in 1985 and has worked at the brand Max Mara as creative director for 31 years. Max Mara Fashion Group is present in 105 countries with more than 2,500 single-brand stores and over 10,000 multi-brand stores.

Griffiths returned to the University in March to give a guest lecture to Manchester Fashion Institute students, which also marked the launch of Max Mara’s funded student scholarships at Manchester Metropolitan that address the need to improve racial diversity and inclusivity within the fashion industry.

Imtiaz Dharker, Doctor of Arts (DArt), in recognition of her significant contribution to poetry and her support of the University’s poetry projects including the Mother Tongue Other Tongue programme.

Dharker is an award-winning British poet, artist and video filmmaker. She has published seven poetry collections, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and has won the Queen’s Gold Medal and Cholmondeley Award for her poetry.  She was a Poet in Residence of the Cambridge University library and is currently the Chancellor at Newcastle University.

Dharker has long been a collaborator and supporter of the University’s poetry projects. She judged the inaugural Manchester Poetry Prize in 2008 and is a strong advocate for the Queen’s Anniversary Prize-winning, Mother Tongue Other Tongue programme. 

Professor Geoffrey Crossick, Doctor of Arts (DArt), in recognition of his major contribution to Higher Education and his support for the arts and culture.

Professor Crossick has been active in higher education leadership and strategy, as a member of the Board of Universities UK, Chair of higher education’s Financial Sustainability Strategy Group, Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and in France as a member of the Council of AERES, which evaluated research and degree programmes in French universities. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of London 2010-12, having previously been Warden of Goldsmiths.

An urban social historian of 19th- and 20th-century Britain and continental Europe, Professor Crossick was a recent Chair of the Crafts Council, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and has been awarded Honorary Fellowships by Goldsmiths, The Courtauld Institute and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.