Honorary graduates for 2025 announced

Posted on 3 July 2025

The University of York has announced that 10 leading figures will receive honorary degrees during graduation ceremonies at Central Hall.

Graduations will take place this month at Central Hall

Author, Margaret Atwood; broadcaster, Greg James; historian, Greg Jenner; author Dr Amitav Ghosh; and music industry leader, Dr Charisse Oyediwura , will be among those honoured during the celebrations.

Honorary degrees will also be awarded to author, Namita Gokhale; businessman, Steve Foots; physicist, Professor Nicolas Gisin; Professor of Software Engineering and Computer Systems, Peter Gorm Larsen; and science and engineering policy leader, Dr Hayaatun Sillem.

Margaret Atwood is an author of over 50 books, and renowned for her fiction, poetry, and essays. She also works as a cartoonist, illustrator, and playwright. Her notable novels include The Handmaid’s Tale, followed by the Booker-winning sequel The Testaments. Atwood has received numerous accolades, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, and was made a Companion of Honour.

Broadcaster, writer and podcast host, Greg James, is best known as the voice of BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show. A lifelong cricket fan, Greg co-hosts the hugely popular Tailenders podcast alongside Jimmy Anderson and Felix White. His TV work spans music festivals, award shows and documentaries for BBC Three, including collaborations with Russell Kane.

He’s also co-author of the bestselling Kid Normal children’s books and presents The Fast and The Curious, exploring the world of Formula 1.

Greg Jenner is a public historian, author, and broadcaster, best known as the creator and host of the award-winning BBC podcast You’re Dead To Me and as the author of several bestselling humorous history books for adults and children.

He spent 11 years working on the hit BBC series Horrible Histories and is a leading figure in making history engaging through entertainment. In 2025, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of York’s Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP).

Acclaimed author, Dr Amitav Ghosh, has penned nine novels, four non-fiction books, and two essay collections. His works have garnered numerous prizes and are translated into over thirty languages. In 2018, became the first English-language writer to receive India’s highest literary honor, the Jnanpith Award. He was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 2024 and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Charisse Oyediwura is a music industry leader, and CEO of Black Lives in Music (BLiM), founded in 2020 to champion equality for Black and ethnically diverse musicians. Under her leadership, BLiM has delivered landmark research, such as Being Black in the UK Music Industry and launched Classically Black, the UK’s first classical music festival for underrepresented talent.

She sits on the DCMS Licensing Taskforce, the boards of Help Musicians and LIVE, and advises WarChild UK.

Writer and literary curator, Namita Gokhale, has authored 25 books across fiction, non-fiction, and anthologies, and is co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Her debut novel, Paro: Dreams of Passion, now a Penguin India Modern Classic, has remained in print for over 40 years, including a new UK edition. Committed to promoting Indian literary voices, she was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2021 for her novel Things to Leave Behind.

Businessman, Steve Foots, is the Group CEO of Croda International, a FTSE 100 speciality chemicals company. A University of York graduate, he serves as Industry Co-Chair of the Chemistry Council and will join the Board of Tate & Lyle as a Non-Executive Director in July 2025.

Professor Nicolas Gisin is a physicist, internationally renowned for his work in quantum communication and the foundations of quantum mechanics. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Geneva and a professor at Constructor University, Switzerland. His pioneering research in quantum cryptography and entanglement has led to multiple patents and startups, including ID Quantique, a leader in quantum cybersecurity.

Science and engineering policy leader, Dr Hayaatun Sillem, is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation.

She co-founded the Academy’s Enterprise Hub, a leading deep tech accelerator, and co-chaired Sir Lewis Hamilton’s commission on improving black representation in motorsport. Named one of Europe’s ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech, she was awarded a CBE in 2019 for services to international engineering.

Peter Gorm Larsen is professor of Software Engineering and Computer Systems at Aarhus University, and leads the AU Centres for Digitalisation (DIGIT) and Digital Twins. His research focuses on improving complex, mission-critical systems - especially cyber-physical systems - through robust tools that support early-stage modelling to reduce development risk.

They will receive their honorary degrees during graduation ceremonies at the University’s Central Hall from Saturday, 19 July to Friday 25 July 2023.