Honorary and Emeritus Awards
Council Ordinance 14
Honorary Degrees
14.1 On the recommendation of the Honorary Degrees Committee through the Senate, Council shall have the power to award the following honorary degrees:
- Doctor of Business (DBus)
- Doctor of Divinity (DD)
- Doctor of Education (DEd)
- Doctor of Engineering (DEng)
- Doctor of Humanities (DHum)
- Doctor of Letters (DLitt)
- Doctor of Music (DMus)
- Doctor of Social Sciences (DSocSci)
- Doctor of Science (DSc)
- Doctor of Technology (DTech)
- Doctor of the University (DUniv)
- Doctor of Laws (LLD)
- Master of the University (MUniv)
14.2 In order to qualify for the award of the degree of doctor, candidate shall need to have exhibited:
- Outstanding scholarly achievement, usually recognised internationally;
- Outstanding service to the national or international community;
- Outstanding service to the University; and/or
- Outstanding service to the local community.
14.4
14.4.1 Individuals who, for a significant period, have had significant contact with the University to its benefit, but who are not of the academic standing to be eligible for honorary doctorates shall be eligible for the award of the MUniv degree. This award is appropriate for individuals who have made a significant contribution to the University, its staff or its students, but who do not meet the criteria for honorary doctorates.
14.4
14.4.2 Such persons may work in organisations with which members of staff are collaborating in a variety of ways, for example, they may be instrumental in providing and maintaining work placements, they may make significant contributions in other areas of academic, social or sporting life of the University, or they may be members of staff in the University who have made a significant personal contribution to the activities of the University.
Honorary Fellowships
14.5 On the recommendation of the Honorary Degrees Committee through the Senate, Council shall have the power to award honorary fellowships to the following categories of individual:
- retired staff (of any designation or grade) of the University who have given exceptional service to, or made a significant contribution to the development of, the University, through the calibre and integrity of their work, and/or by demonstrating commitment of time, effort and loyalty to the institution. This contribution might have been, for example, to teaching and learning support activities or to the development of the University’s work or profile with external bodies.
- local people or others who have established a close working relationship with the University and have thereby made a significant contribution to its development.
- local people or others who might be expected to establish a close working relationship with the University and thereby to make a significant contribution to its development.
Emeritus Professorships
14.6 On the recommendation of the Honorary Degrees Committee through the Senate, Council shall have the power to confer the title of Emeritus Professor on any professor of the University on or after his/her retirement, subject to that person meeting the following criteria:
- that the Professor should normally have attained the age of 60 and have retired from full-time academic employment;
- that the Professor should normally have held Professorial rank at Brunel University for a period of at least nine years;
- that the Professor should have contributed to the life of the University or the wider community with distinction.
14.7 Within these criteria, a Professor who has retired from the University after the age of 60 and who no longer holds a current contract of full-time employment with the University or with an Associate Institution will be eligible for consideration for conferral of the title of Emeritus Professor.
14.8 An Emeritus Professor shall, for all purposes of courtesy and on ceremonial occasions, have the same privileges as a member of the Senate. S/he shall be a member of the University Court, but shall not be entitled to be a member of the Senate or any other University body.
14.9 An Emeritus Professor may be appointed on an annual basis to supervise research students, and to act as an internal examiner for candidates for research degrees.
Withdrawal of Honorary and Emeritus awards
14.10 On the recommendation of the Honorary Degrees Committee through the Senate, Council shall have the power to revoke the award of an honorary degree or fellowship, or the conferment of the title Emeritus Professor, where it is satisfied that the individual concerned has acted in such a way as to bring or be likely to bring the University in to disrepute.
