Honorary Graduates 2022

The Most Rev and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, Doctor of Theology (honoris causa)

Stephen Cottrell is the 98th Archbishop of York, with oversight for the ministry and mission of the Church of England in the northern third of England. The confirmation of his election took place on 9 July 2020. Before this he was Bishop of Chelmsford, and he has also served as Bishop of Reading, in parishes in London and Chichester, as Missioner and Evangelist in West Yorkshire and nationally as part of the Archbishop of Canterbury and York’s mission team, and as Canon Pastor of Peterborough Cathedral. There are close ties between the Archbishop of York and York St John University, and he is Patron of the University’s Institute for Social Justice, reflecting our shared commitment to addressing unfairness and inequality in society.

 

Lisa Holdsworth, Doctor of Letters (honoris causa)

A highly successful writer and scriptwriter, with credits including Call The Midwife, Ackley Bridge and Midsomer Murders, Lisa Holdsworth’s television career began with an episode of Fat Friends in 2001. She won the Writer of the Year accolade at the RTS Yorkshire Awards 2011 for her work on New Tricks. Her play about Bradford writer Andrea Dunbar, Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, was included in the Observer critics’ review of the top 10 theatre shows of 2019. She is also the chair of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, leading the push to ensure fair rates of pay and working conditions for writers in TV, film, theatre, audio, books and videogames. She highlights issues of gender bias, regionality and diversity in commissioning through lobbying, articles and interviews.

 

The Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin MBE, Doctor of Theology (honoris causa)

Rose Hudson-Wilkin was consecrated as the Bishop of Dover in 2019, having previously served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons – she is the first black woman to hold both these posts. She was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in April 1994, shortly after it became possible for women to do so. She has led prayers at many public church services, including the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the funeral of Margaret Thatcher. Born and bred in Montego Bay, Jamaica, she first came to the UK in 1979 to train as an evangelist at the Church Army College in London. She received an MBE in 2020 for services to young people and to the Church of England.