celebrates Lord Swraj Paul’s 25th Anniversary as Chancellor

UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lord Swraj Paul’s chancellorship, the University of Wolverhampton hosted Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prof Maithree Wickramasinghe, the First Lady of Sri Lanka, recently.

The visit coincided with the award of honorary professorship to the First Lady of Sri Lanka. Mrs Saroja Sirisena, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the UK; Dr Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India, Birmingham; Mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre; Lynn Plant, Mayoress of Wolverhampton; and Angela Spence, Chair, University of Wolverhampton Board of Governors, were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

Lord Swraj Paul of Marylebone, PC, has been Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton for 25 years, taking on the role from the Earl of Shrewsbury, who stepped down in 1998. Chairman of the Caparo Group, Lord Paul is a leading businessman and an active member of the House of Lords.

A generous benefactor

A significant philanthropist, Lord Paul is a generous benefactor supporting hundreds of students and graduates at the University of Wolverhampton, which has three buildings named for his family: the Lord Swraj Paul building and the Ambika Paul building (City Campus Wolverhampton) and the Angad Paul building (Telford Campus).

Speaking on the occasion, Spence said, “It’s a real pleasure to have welcomed our esteemed guests from Sri Lanka. The university has enjoyed a close partnership with Sri Lanka for decades, offering qualifications in Engineering and Built Environment disciplines since 2006 through Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College. In those 17 years, we have expanded our teaching portfolio, introducing IT and Computing Courses, Business and MBAs, and most recently undergraduate Law degrees.

“Without a doubt, Lord Paul’s generosity to this institution and our students knows no bounds and it’s wonderful to welcome him back to the university for such a prestigious occasion.

“I was particularly pleased to approve the Honorary Professorship for Professor Wickramasinghe after reading the biography of her achievements. We are honoured to recognise such an esteemed international academic.”

Growing and flourishing

Lord Swraj Paul, said: “It has been an immense pleasure for me, as Chancellor for the past 25 years, to have watched the university grow and flourish and I have been honoured and privileged to have supported thousands of students on their journey of opportunity in Wolverhampton.

“As well as offering financial support with the naming of key buildings across the university campuses, I have offered assistance, advice and guidance for students on their employability path, have encouraged enterprise through awards and bursaries, have made contributions to invest in innovative research projects, helped PhD students, and I have provided emergency funding for students experiencing financial hardship

“It has been a long and fulfilling journey for me and one that I have enjoyed. I hope our relationship continues for years to come,” he said. The university awarded an Honorary Professorship to Prof Maithree Wickramasinghe in recognition of her extensive research, training and policy work on gender equity and equality.

Gender equity policies

Prof Wickramasinghe (PhD) is the Chair and Senior Professor of English at the Department of English and the founding Director of the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

An expert on gender, she is a scholar whose work interfaces research, teaching/training, policy development, evaluation, advocacy, and activism. She has almost thirty years’ experience formulating gender equity and equality polices/strategies, conducting gender sensitisation training, and evaluating women’s and gender programmes for higher educational institutions and organisations.

Prof Wickramasinghe said: “I am delighted at the recognition given to my work – both as an academic and a practitioner in the spheres of gender and higher education. My contribution is part of a continuum of work by feminist and women academics in Sri Lanka and abroad who have transformed research into teaching, training, advocacy, policy and programming within higher education as well as in other domains.

“I am greatly indebted to those who have paved the way and those who have walked with me. It is an honour, and I would like to thank the University of Wolverhampton wholeheartedly for this distinction.”