Oscar-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan was thrilled with her honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield as she joined hundreds of students to celebrate graduation week on campus.

Chief Constable of West Yorkshire John Robins and Ed Anderson CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, were also awarded honorary doctorates at ceremonies in the university’s Oastler Building.

Jenny, who has won Academy Awards for films as diverse as A Room With a View, Mad Max, Fury Road and Cruella, also met Costume with Textiles graduates Ellie Johns, Hannah Dixon, Charlotte Edwards, Zara Williams and Anya Carmichael at the Lawrence Batley Theatre where the students showed off their work from the final year of their degrees.

Jenny revealed she had just had Huddersfield graduates alongside her when working on a new film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s The Choral in West Yorkshire which wrapped just a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Jenny (above) said: “What an extraordinary honour and I cannot thank you enough for thinking of me. It is particularly wonderful, because as a costume designer we are often quite low in the pack – the costume crew are often way down on the list of a filming unit.

“I had an amazing morning going around the studios, the incredible facilities and some of the work done by the students here. I’m thrilled as I have had Huddersfield students working with me on my last job, a film called The Choral which was filmed in this part of the world.

“It’s an Alan Bennett story set in World War One so it feels like I’ve come full circle because it’s a Yorkshire story and here I am in Huddersfield.”

John Robins (below, left), who became West Yorkshire Chief Constable in 2019, said he was humbled by his honorary doctorate and urged graduates to throw themselves into whatever career they choose.

“Whatever careers or career you choose, I wish you genuinely all the professional satisfaction and enjoyment that I’ve had out of my own career,” he said.

“It’s not for me to give you advice, but all I would say is work hard. Throw yourselves into your work, your chosen work, and enjoy it. Find time to enjoy your careers whatever you choose.”

 

 

Ed Anderson (below), currently Chairman of National Savings and Investments and formerly chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport, encouraged graduates to try something new and different for their next step.

“The university has a special place in my heart, and there is a world full of opportunities for our graduates,” he said.

“Some of you in the audience will know what they want to do but others, like myself, will not. I advise you to be open-minded, to embrace opportunities and to take on challenges outside of your comfort zone.”

 

 

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.