LJMU announces new honorary fellows

LJMU will celebrate the inspirational achievements of 16 new honorary fellows in a special ceremony later this year.

An honorary fellowship is the highest award we confer as a university. It is a public recognition of outstanding professional achievements and individuals are celebrated as role models for our students and our staff.

The new fellows come from a wide range of backgrounds, including health, education, music, television, the maritime industry and charitable organisations.

• Sonia Bassey MBE. Chair LCVS; Chair Mandela 8; Community Activist and Artist
• Sean Curran. Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC News
• Bea Freeman. Independent documentary maker, producer/director
• Professor Gregory Lip. Director of the Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science
• Commander Cedric Loughran RD MNM VR RNR. Former Captain of HMS Eaglet
• Claire Madeloso. Headteacher of Archbishop Blanch
• Claire McColgan CBE. Director of Culture and Major Events at Liverpool City Council 
• Julia Midgley. Printmaker and reportage artist
• Simon O'Brien. British television actor and radio presenter
• Mike Palmer MBE. Co-founder of 3 Dads Walking
• Laura Pye. CEO of National Museums Liverpool
• Jan Saron-Ross. Chief Executive of the Walton Centre
• Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE. CEO Maritime UK
• Richard Sinnott. Co-founder of Warrington Rowing Club
• Dato Thavalingam C. Thavarajah. Managing partner of T Thavalingam and Co
• Commodore Phil Waterhouse DL Royal Navy. Group Corporate Affairs Director, APCL and former Naval Regional Commander North of England

The new fellows will be conferred during a ceremony in October in the presence of LJMU Chancellor Nisha Katona and members of the fellowship.

History of honorary fellows at LJMU

In 1987, Sir John Moores became the first honorary fellow of the then Polytechnic and it established a tradition we are proud to continue today at the university named in his honour.

Since that inaugural conferment we have recognised the outstanding achievements of more than 300 distinguished individuals, who have become part of our extended university community and who align themselves with our activities and advocate on our behalf.

Find out more about our new fellows

Sonia Bassey MBE. Chair LCVS; Chair Mandela 8; Community Activist and Artist

A graduate in business and finance from LJMU, and former Director of Public Sector Transformation for Cheshire and Warrington until retirement in 2022, Sonia earned an MBE for her community service in Liverpool and was winner of the LCRCA 2023 Inspiration Award - Lifetime Achiever for her 40+ years in promoting race equality and social justice through the arts and neighbourhood and regeneration services.

Her recent projects have included: Liverpool 8's arts corridor, featuring the Nelson Mandela mural, transforming Princes Avenue embedding the Black community history into the very fabric of the design; becoming a founding member and Director of L8 Matters Community Land Trust and a Trustee of the National Community Land Trust Network; and leading the BLM March in Liverpool in 2020. 

Sonia is the first Black Chair of LCVS and former Chair of Africa Oye and is currently Chair and one of the founding members of Mandela8. Sonia has been instrumental in the Mandela Memorial installation in Princes Park, bringing the Mandela family to Liverpool, the annual Mandela Day celebrations and programmes in schools and for youth at risk of exclusion. 

Sean Curran. Parliamentary Correspondent for BBC News

A law graduate from LJMU and former president of our students’ union, Sean is now based at Westminster where he leads the team producing Today in Parliament and Yesterday in Parliament for BBC Radio 4. Sean has exemplified excellence in journalism, demonstrating unwavering dedication to informing and engaging audiences across the globe and has continued his connection with LJMU. Last year he hosted the Roscoe Lecture featuring our Chancellor, Nisha Katona, as part of our Bicentenary celebrations.

Bea Freeman. Independent documentary maker, producer/director

Bea's career in filmmaking has spanned five decades working with national broadcasters and using her filmmaking talents to highlight racial injustice in Liverpool. Born, raised and educated in Liverpool, Bea has remained rooted in the city and from an early age was involved in the L8 Black community. 

While at the Granby Housing Aid Centre in the late 1970s she was instrumental in setting up the first credit union. Her filmmaking work began with a Channel 4 commission which was a groundbreaking exploration of the Toxteth riots in 1981. Her dedicated work in amplifying under-represented voices is evident in all of her work and has had an impact with audiences across the globe. She has close connections with our Liverpool Screen School and most recently our School of Education.

Professor Gregory Lip. Director of the Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science

Professor Lip is the Founding Director of the Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science (LCCS), which is a research centre of excellence for LJMU. Over the last five years, Gregory has developed a truly collaborative multidisciplinary centre encompassing LJMU, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool Health Partners and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (and other NHS Partners). As a clinical academic and consultant cardiologist, he has developed a multi-disciplinary team of clinical academics, basic/translational scientists and data science experts enabling translation of research into clinical practice, which is particularly important in the Liverpool region which has some of the highest morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Commander Cedric Loughran RD MNM VR RNR. Former Captain of HMS Eaglet

A chartered engineer and graduate from the university, Cedric is described as a most knowledgeable, loquacious maritime polymath. In the RNR he joined as an ordinary seaman and went on to become captain of HMS Eaglet before being appointed head of the Royal Navy Amphibious Warfare branch. In 2003 Commander Loughran was called upon to serve on Flagship HMS Ark Royal for Operation Telic in Iraq.

He combined a full civilian career concurrently with his role in the RN and Reserve. Sailing with Sugar Line and Mobil Shipping, he came ashore to work for the Mobil Oil Company and latterly for MCA. He served as the UKs head of fishing safety for both the United Kingdom and Falkland Islands. He has retained strong links to LJMU’s teaching and research activities in maritime areas over the past 30 years and is credited with making the lives and living conditions of fishermen safer through his work.

Claire Madeloso. Headteacher of Archbishop Blanch

A master’s graduate from LJMU Claire is the Headteacher of Archbishop Blanch (one of only three Ofsted-graded outstanding mainstream secondary schools in Liverpool) and her involvement in key educational boards, such as the Liverpool DfE Education Priority Investment Area Board and Chair of Governors at Halewood Primary, demonstrate her networks and influence across the city, Merseyside and North West educational communities. 

Claire is highly regarded across the region as a passionate, committed and authentic educational leader interested in structures of leadership in schools. Her advocacy for women in leadership, dedication to social justice, and active involvement in the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority's educational initiatives have made her a high profile and exceptional role model. 

Claire McColgan CBE. Director of Culture and Major Events at Liverpool City Council 

A drama graduate from LJMU, Claire is responsible for Culture Liverpool, Marketing Liverpool, Business Liverpool, City Halls, Cruise, Film Office and Tourist Information. She is credited with orchestrating the biggest and boldest live public events in the city including the Giants spectacular, the Three Queens and the Liverpool Eurovision city as well as creating the recent Taylor Town installations to celebrate the Liverpool Taylor Swift concerts.  

Julia Midgley. Printmaker and reportage artist

Julia is one of the UK's most highly respected and prolific documentary drawing practitioners. Her work has been exhibited throughout the country and she has been commissioned to document activities and events as artist in residence in arenas as diverse as the Wimbledon Championships to the first year of the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. For 26 years she taught students at the university’s School of Art and Design before retiring in 2013.

She has continued her association with the university through her support for student prizes and in 2023 she was commissioned by LJMU to document our Bicentenary celebrations.

Simon O'Brien. British television actor and radio presenter

For almost 40 years, Simon has successfully combined dual media careers of acting and presenting. His acting has involved sitcoms, soaps (most notably his role in Brookside), children’s TV and theatre. His presenting work has included radio and television, including travel programmes, football shows, property programmes and upcycling shows, recently winning a BAFTA, two RTS awards and a broadcast award.

Simon is also a property developer and an active campaigner for environmental issues. This (and his love of cycling) led to his leading roles in both Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in reviewing green spaces and promoting active travel.

Mike Palmer MBE. Co-founder of 3 Dads Walking

Mike is one of the '3 Dads Walking' - three fathers who lost their daughters to suicide and who have since become national campaigners for suicide prevention in young people. They have completed high profile walks across the country in memory of their daughters and to highlight the need for suicide prevention in schools. They have also successfully lobbied the Government to make suicide prevention mandatory on the national curriculum in schools, which is now out for public consultation. Mike is working with our School of Psychology on a major school-based suicide prevention programme.

Laura Pye. CEO of National Museums Liverpool

Originally from Liverpool, Laura has spent her professional career in museums and the cultural sector. She describes herself as a heritage professional and seeks to develop an understanding and pride in people about where they come from and their cultural identity. Laura returned to the city in 2018 to lead National Museums Liverpool (NML).

She is focused on making NML the best and most culturally significant organisation it can be. LJMU is a key partner for NML which recently hosted our Littlewoods legacy exhibition relating the story of its founders, Sir John Moores and his brother Cecil, who employed more than 30,000 local workers, the majority of whom were women. The exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool brought many of those workers back to retell their own stories.

Jan Saron-Ross. Chief Executive of the Walton Centre

A nursing graduate from LJMU, Jan is the Chief Executive of The Walton Centre. She has been in the NHS for over 30 years, starting her nurse training in Liverpool and worked at The Royal Liverpool as a surgical nurse, matron and divisional nurse director, before moving to Warrington and then Southport. She joined The Walton Centre in November 2018, as the Director of Operations and Strategy and Deputy Chief Executive and was appointed as the Trust’s Chief Executive in June 2021.

Chris Shirling-Rooke MBE. CEO Maritime UK

Chris became Chief Executive of Maritime UK in Summer 2023, the umbrella body for the £116 Billion UK maritime sector, which brings together the shipping, ports, professional services, engineering and leisure marine industries. He has continued to lead the establishment of Maritime UK’s cluster support programme for coastal communities, a partnership between the Department for Transport and Maritime UK supporting regional maritime clusters, fostering collaboration and driving growth across the United Kingdom.

Previously, Chris was Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime, the sector champion for the maritime industry in the North West of England and was awarded an MBE for his services to Maritime in 2020. He remains a keen advocate for an inclusive workforce both as a member of WISTA (Women's International Shipping and Trading Association) as well as Chair of the Maritime UK Mental Health Network. Chris is also Chair of the Nautilus Welfare Fund Committee.

Richard Sinnott. Co-founder of Warrington Rowing Club

Richard established Warrington Rowing Club in 1986 with the principle that rowing is sport for all, not just the privileged. Richard’s 35-year coaching career has resulted in athletes winning medals at several Olympics, World, World U23 and Junior World Championships.

It is Richard’s services to grass roots sport that has received the most acclaim. In 1999 Warrington was the first club in the UK to participate in a scheme linking state schools to rowing clubs. In 2016 Richard co-founded a charity that is now known as All Aboard Youth Rowing. This project recruits disadvantaged children from local state schools, with a view to enhance their life skills through the sport of rowing. Currently the charity deals with 43 state secondary schools, with up to 450 youngsters a week taking part and has gained national recognition. 

He works closely with LJMU’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences providing placement opportunities for students and participating in research and knowledge exchange activities.

Dato Thavalingam C. Thavarajah. Managing partner of T Thavalingam and Co

A law graduate from LJMU, called to the Bar in 1989 (Gray’s Inn), Dato' Thava has established himself as one of the leading labour and employment lawyers in Malaysia consistently recognised and ranked by Benchmark and Client Choice awards.  Most recently he was awarded the Labour and Employment Lawyer of the Year by asialaw. 

He is the author of many books and articles specialising in labour and employment labour law. He continues his association with the university through his work with our partner institution YPC Malaysia, giving his time and expertise to inspire the students in his home city, Kuala Lumpur.

Commodore Phil Waterhouse DL Royal Navy. Group Corporate Affairs Director, APCL and former Naval Regional Commander North of England

Phil joined the Royal Navy as a junior sailor in 1982, progressing through the ranks before earning his commission in 1988. After a full career at sea as a logistics officer, his final appointment, as a commodore, was as Naval Regional Commander Northern England and the Isle of Man. In this role, based in Liverpool but covering the entirety of the North of England, he ensured that the Royal Navy was understood, respected and valued for its international and national work. 

He was also Commander Royal Navy Cadet Forces providing leadership and support to the navy's 34,000 cadets and volunteers across the country. Leaving the Royal Navy in 2023, Phil is now the Group Corporate Affairs Director for APCL – a shipbuilding and ship repair group of companies – where he is responsible for all stakeholder engagement. A staunch supporter of the third sector, he is patron, president, ambassador, chair and trustee of six charities and not for profit organisations which focus on support for service and maritime personnel, their families and veterans. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester.