Honorary graduates exemplify the highest levels of achievement in their spheres of activity and reflect our inspirational Durham community.
Honorary awards are nominated by members of University staff and approved by our Senate. They are conferred at our Winter or Summer Congregation ceremonies when thousands of our students officially graduate from the University.
This celebration of our honorary graduates’ achievements acts as a great example to our students as they set out on their own paths into the world.
Explore the recipients of Durham University's Honorary Degrees and Awards for Winter Congregation 2025.
Biography: After graduating from Durham in 1984, Sir Jonathan Jones KCB KC (Hon) has enjoyed a hugely impressive legal career.
Sir Jonathan has held a string of high-profile roles, including as the permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department – the most senior legal official in the UK government.
He was appointed honorary King’s Counsel in 2019 and made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) for public service in 2020.
He continues to support our Law School and has offered to support future St Chad’s College students through lectures and career mentorship.
Biography: Professor George Efstathiou received a PhD in 1979 from Durham University and has since become a household name in astrophysics.
He was an original proponent of the ‘Cold Dark Matter’ theory on the origin of galaxies, which has become the Standard Model of cosmology. Professor Efstathiou has won numerous awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Based at the University of Cambridge, he often collaborates with Durham colleagues and has close links with our Institute for Computational Cosmology.
Biography: Matt Baker is one of the most popular British television presenters active today.
He co-presented the BBC children’s television show Blue Peter from 1999 until 2006, BBC One’s Countryfile since 2009 and The One Show from 2011 to 2020.
Matt was born in County Durham and attended Durham Sixth Form Centre.
Later he moved to Edinburgh to undertake training as an actor at Queen Margaret University School of Drama.
Biography: Born in Hartlepool, Suzanne served in the further education sector for more than 30 years, including as Principal and Chief Executive Officer of East Durham College.
Having begun her tenure in September 2012, she led the college to three highly positive Ofsted inspections and oversaw significant multi-million-pound investments in the college infrastructure. This includes the £13m Houghall campus, where students now have access to state-of-the-art agriculture facilities.
Suzanne was a respected leader who fundamentally cared about learners and the transformational difference education can make to their lives, especially to those who are hardest to reach. Suzanne was a great champion for the FE sector and the North East.
Suzanne played a key role in the development of the Durham Learning Alliance, a partnership between Durham University and four County Durham colleges to expand education opportunities. She retired from East Durham College in 2024, and sadly died just a few weeks later.
Congregation is an annual event at Durham. The ceremonies allow our students to celebrate all they have achieved in their time at university, not only academic, but social and pastoral too.
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