The Queen of Sweden, former Mars CEO Grant Reid, gender and equality campaigner Khadija Coll MBE, and entrepreneur Robert Kilgour will receive honorary doctorates from the University of Stirling next week.
The leading figures will be celebrated for their outstanding contributions to the arts, society, and business at Stirling’s summer graduation ceremonies, which take place across three days from June 27 to 29.
Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden will be recognised for her exceptional services to dementia. The Queen has long held a passion for caring for those living with dementia and has close relations with the University of Stirling’s world-renowned researchers in dementia and healthy ageing through her charity foundation, Silviahemmet.
Grant Reid, a graduate in management economics from the University of Stirling, grew up in Kincardine and now lives in the USA. He served as CEO of Mars Inc for nine years, during which time he twinned an ambitious growth programme with a bold leadership agenda, with a particular emphasis on climate change and sustainability.
Khadija Coll MBE, who has worked with refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland and Africa, is the founder of the charity One Community Scotland, which supports families and young people settling into Glasgow. Born in Kenya and a resident of Scotland since 1998, she is also a long-time campaigner against female genital mutilation and gender-based violence.
Robert Kilgour, a former Stirling student, is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist whose business interests have ranged from local radio and insurance to care homes. Currently the Executive Chairman of Renaissance Care, he is also the founder of Four Seasons Health Care. Robert’s first business venture, whilst still a student, was selling jeans and t-shirts at a stall at Edinburgh’s Ingliston outdoor market.
The honorary graduates will join 2,251 University of Stirling students over three days of ceremonies and celebration on the Stirling campus, where graduates will be joined by family and friends.
Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, said: “We are delighted to be awarding these honorary doctorates to such a diverse and well deserving group, who each in their own way have had an influence on our society. They truly are inspirational in their fields, and role models for our graduating students.”
