February 2003
Lead Stories

Proud Day for Graduates

Community leader Harjap Pooni, actor Duncan Preston, leading automotive engineer Malcolm Thomas and influential health adviser Ian Donnachie received Honorary Doctorates from the University in December alongside more than 1,100 students who graduated from the University and Bradford College.

Community Leader Harjap Pooni with Professor Charles Husband of the Ethnicity and Social Policy Research Unit

For the last twenty years, Senior Analyst Programmer Harjap Pooni has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Sikh community in Bradford.

Harjap received a doctorate from the University for his work in encouraging greater harmony between the City of Bradford's communities and in promoting cultural, educational and social initiatives, particularly amongst the young people of Bradford.

He was welcomed to the University by Professor Charles Husband, of the Ethnicity and Social Policy Research Unit, who discussed with him the University's policy, practice and theoretical work of relevance to minority ethnic communities.

When asked how he felt about his degree, Harjap said: "I am delighted and honoured to have received this Honorary Doctorate. It is a wonderful feeling and I feel I have achieved the greatest thing in my life." A graduate of Leeds Metropolitan University, Harjap is a founder member and former Secretary of the Bradford Sikh Parents' Association and for nine years was Secretary of the Yorkshire Sikh Forum. He is currently Senior Adviser.

His work has included helping to set up a day-care centre for the elderly and he is now devoting much of his time to establishing a community centre for young people and their families. He is an active fundraiser for many causes, most recently for the Lord Mayor's Appeal.

Harjap has been a key player in helping to organise the annual Vaisakhi festival and last year he helped to organise a Tricentenary Celebration, an event which received messages of support from Tony Blair and William Hague.

For the last three years he has advised Bradford NHS Hospitals Trust as a member of the Service Equality Steering Committee and last year was invited to join the Bradford & District Minority Ethnic Police Liaison Committee.

As Director of the Racial Equality Council's Come Training (COMTRAN) project, he ran a skills project for 16- to 25-year-olds. He has also acted as a consultant to Bradford's Quest for Economic Development.

Duncan Preston, who was born in Eccleshill, in Bradford, received a doctorate for his contributions as an actor. Although he now lives in London, he says he still retains strong links with Bradford.

A former Bradford Grammar School pupil, Duncan discovered his love for acting when he attended the Priestley Centre, formerly the Bradford Civic Playhouse, in Little Germany, during the 1960s.

Duncan Preston with his partner, actress Susan Penhaligon.

Duncan is well known for his roles in the TV sitcoms Dinnerladies and Surgical Spirit. His long-standing collaboration with Victoria Wood has seen him take on many characters in Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast, and Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story. He has appeared in two films written by Victoria Wood: Pat and Margaret, and Happy Since I Met You, both of which starred Julie Walters. He has also made regular appearances as "Kevin the Teenager's" dad in BBC1's Harry Enfield and Chums.

His television appearances reads like a TV guide to prime time viewing: The Professionals, All Creatures Great and Small, Bergerac, Heartbeat, My Family, Casualty, The Bill, Robin of Sherwood, EastEnders, The New Statesman Press Gang, Boon, Peak Practice, Coogan's Run, Midsomer Murders and Holby City.

His impressive range of theatre credits include roles in various Royal Shakespeare Company productions. In Romeo and Juliet he played Romeo's loyal cousin and close friend, the sensible, trustworthy Benvolio. Other characters have included: Malcolm in Macbeth; Krap in Pillar of the Community, Jerome in Bingo, and Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream. His film credits include Porridge, A Passage to India, Robin Hood, Scandalous, If Tomorrow Comes, Macbeth, and Milk.

Duncan, who was accompanied to the University by his partner, actress Susan Penhaligon, and his brother who lives in the district, said he was thrilled to be back in Bradford and to receive his Honorary Degree.

He said: "I feel absolutely knocked out by it. I never expected it for one second."

Duncan is currently working on the second BBC drama series Born and Bred, starring James Bolam and Michael French.

Malcolm Thomas (pictured left) received a doctorate from the University in recognition of his contributions to automotive engineering, design, manufacture and management, to education at all levels and to the promotion of diversity within the engineering profession.

Relaxing after the degree ceremony, Malcolm said the atmosphere of the University during the day had been "very welcoming".

He said: "I found the whole day very enjoyable. I thought that the proceedings had the right blend of formality for such an important occasion, but it was also relaxed and friendly so people really enjoyed it."

Malcolm is Engineering Director, Product Development Europe, with responsibility for the engineering design and development of all Ford of Europe cars and trucks. Previously, he was Director, Small Car Vehicle Line, SVC, Ford Automotive Operations with global responsibility for small cars including the Ka, Fiesta and Puma.

He joined Ford Motor Company Ltd in 1973 as a Manufacturing Planning Co-ordinator, following several years on the engineering staffs of the British Motor Corporation and Chrysler UK. Malcolm has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Nottingham University and an MBA from the Cranfield Business School.

When asked how he felt about receiving an Honorary Doctorate, he felt it was a "great honour", not only for himself but also for the Ford Motor Company. He said: "Although this degree is awarded for contributions to engineering, it is important to stress that it is received for diversity, which I am particularly proud of. It is particularly an honour to receive a doctorate from a University with the reputation of Bradford where diversification is not just incidental, but is what Bradford prides itself on."

Between 1975 and 1989 Malcolm held various engineering management positions within KD Operations. In 1989, he was appointed Manager, Interior Trim and Seating Engineering, and Body Engineering, a position he held until his assignment to Genk, Belgium, in 1991, as Manager of the Mondeo Product Engineering Launch Team.

Following the outstanding success of the European launch of Mondeo, Mr Thomas and his team co-ordinated the launch of Contour and Mystique at the Kansas City plant in the US. In 1994, he was promoted to Director, C/D Vehicle Line. In 1996, he became Director of Small Car Vehicle Line, a position he held until 2000.

Malcolm is also a non-Executive Director of MIRA, is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and sits on the Board of the Automobile Division.

Ian Donnachie was awarded a doctorate in recognition of his achievements in health service management and outstanding contribution to improving the health of Bradford as Chief Executive of Bradford Health Authority.

During his visit he met first-year students Romana Mughal and Heather Sowden from the newly-launched Clinical Sciences courses.

Ian Donaachie with first-year students from the newly-launched Clinical Sciences course.

Ian, who attended the ceremony with his partner Janet Soo-Chung, said: "I am delighted to be here today, but I was quite surprised to be asked. The whole of the business of health is to work in teams - the NHS itself is about working in partnership - so this Honorary Degree is to recognise not just what I have achieved but what people in health have achieved within the sector."

Born in 1947, Ian commenced his career in the NHS as an Accountancy Trainee at St Bartholomew's, London. In 1969, he was made Deputy Hospital Administrator of St Thomas's Hospital, London, before being appointed to Hospital Administrator for Bristol Health District in 1973, then Area General Administrator for City & East London Area Health Authority in 1977. In 1980, he became Regional General Administrator for Yorkshire Regional Health Authority.

In 1983, Ian was appointed Chief Executive at St James's University Hospital NHS Trust in Leeds, a post he kept until 1992 when he became Chief Executive of Riverside Hospitals and latterly Hammersmith & Queen Charlotte's Hospitals. In 1994, he was appointed Chief Executive of Bradford Health Authority. Ian is currently consultant for the Nuffield Trust, working for Oxford University and Radcliffe Hospitals Trust.

His commitments include: Board member and Director of Martin House (Children's Hospice), National Council Member of NHS Confederation, Executive Board Member of the Wolfson Centre for Drugs and Therapeutics at the University of Newcastle, and Non-Executive Director of the National Poisons Information Service Board. He has been a member of the Expert Reference Group on Diabetes NSF, Chairman of the West Yorkshire Workforce Development Confederation and Project Leader of the West Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority.

Ian has overseen the launches of the following Trusts: SJUH as first-wave Trust; Riverside Mental Health; Riverside Community; Chelsea & Westminster; Hammersmith Hospitals; and four Bradford first-wave Primary Care Trusts. Bradford was awarded Primary Care Trust of the Year in 2000 and 2001.

18 February 2002

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