University set to honour former Rolls-Royce chief

The University of Derby is set to recognise the former chief executive of Rolls-Royce with an honorary degree.

Warren East will be among those to be recognised at the university’s forthcoming summer graduation ceremonies, which will take place from 19 to 21 July at Derby Arena.

As well as Mr East, among the recipients of honorary degrees will be Martin Austin, the founder of Derby-based consultancy Nimbus Disability and legendary West Indian cricketer and ex-Derbyshire County Cricket Club player Michael Holding.

They will join around 2,700 graduating University of Derby students at the ceremonies.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, the university’s vice-chancellor, said: “Graduation is a wonderful opportunity for the university community to come together to recognise and celebrate the hard work and achievements of our students.

“I am delighted that we can also take this opportunity to recognise individuals who have made an impact in the university, city and county through industry and academic partnerships, championing disability rights and raising our region’s profile.”

Honorary graduates are chosen to recognise people’s contribution to the university, city or county.

Mr East, who will be made an Honorary Doctor of the University, was appointed as chief executive of Rolls-Royce, which has its civil aerospace and defence divisions in Derby, in 2015.

He took on the position following a series of profit warnings, returning the engineering giant to profitability and steering it through turbulent times, including the pandemic and its impact on global aviation.

He established and began to execute the strategy to prepare the business for a thriving future in a net-zero carbon world.

This included sponsorship of Rolls-Royce Submarines’ partnership with the university in 2022 to create the Nuclear Skills Academy, and the Down to Earth Derby project, encouraging nature-based regeneration in the city.

Mr Austin, who will be made an Honorary Master of the University, founded Nimbus Disability, which supports organisations to meet the needs of their disabled customers.

Nimbus has developed CredAbility, a quality assurance mark which demonstrates a commitment to quality for people with disabilities, and the Access Card Scheme, which allows people with disabilities to discreetly communicate their needs to entertainment and tourism providers.

Known as ‘Whispering Death’ for his pace bowling technique, Michael Holding, who will be made an Honorary Doctor of the University, was one of the most feared fast bowlers in the world.

He played for Derbyshire from 1983 to 1989 and was the club’s president in 2017.

Other recipients of honorary doctorates will be motorcycle racing icon Ron Haslam, mathematician Professor Nigel Hitchin, musical comedian, actress and writer Isy Suttie and art historian Miltos Frangopoulos.