Cumbria’s first female police chief to receive university honour

Carlisle-born Michelle Skeer OBE QPM retired from the county’s police force in 2023, after more than 30 years, and went on to a national role in His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

She was Cumbria Constabulary's first homegrown Chief Constable and the first woman to hold the role when she was appointed in 2018.

Now Michelle (pictured, left) along with a Cumbrian peer, a county business chief, an Icelandic artist and academic, and a Cumbrian woman who has dedicated her life to higher education and public service are to receive University of Cumbria honorary awards during its graduation ceremonies taking place 19-21 November 2024.

They will be joining more than 1,100 successful students, who will have their degrees and academic awards formally conferred. 

Graduands will be marking their achievements gained from across a spectrum of areas and academic institutes – including education and teacher training, arts, forestry, project management, business, and health including nursing, paramedic practice, physiotherapy and social work. 

Many who have completed their courses via distance learning, through workplace training or education, and from their bases across the UK and the world will be travelling to the ceremonies taking place at Carlisle Cathedral. 

Neighbouring venues of Tullie and the Crown & Mitre Hotel will be accommodating activities and celebrations before and after formal ceremonies have taken place inside the cathedral. 

The graduations take place in the city’s 900-year-old cathedral as multi-million-pound improvements continue in Carlisle city centre.  

As this work continues, Institute of Education, Arts and Society staff and students from the university are working with Cumberland Council and museum and art gallery Tullie to develop a public art project that will showcase local talent over the period of the city centre improvements.  

The improvements are part of a portfolio of transformational projects revitalising Carlisle and include the city’s Station Gateway project, Carlisle Southern Gateway on English Street, and University of Cumbria’s Citadels campus. 

Figures receiving honorary awards from University of Cumbria at next month’s graduations are: 

Tuesday 19 November 2024

Ceremony 2 (12pm) - Professor Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir (B.Ed) (MFA) (Phd) will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of her lifelong and significant contribution to contemporary arts research and practice. 

Ceremony 3 (3pm) - Lord Inglewood will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his lifelong and outstanding contribution to public service.

Above (l-r): Professor Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir and Lord Inglewood

Wednesday 20 November 2024 

Ceremony 5 (12pm) - Barbara Stephens OBE will receive an Honorary Doctorate, the university’s highest honorary award 

Ceremony 6 (3pm) - Jo Lappin MBE will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the economy of Cumbria. 

Above (l-r): Barbara Stephens OBE and Jo Lappin MBE

Thursday 21 November 2024  

Ceremony 8 (12pm) - Michelle Skeer OBE QPM will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of her lifelong and outstanding contribution to public service. 

Above: University of Cumbria Vice Chancellor Professor Julie Mennell DL

Vice Chancellor Professor Julie Mennell DL said: “Our graduation ceremonies are a culmination of all the hard work and commitment our students have to their courses and chosen field. They are always a highlight seeing our students return to the university community with their loved ones to celebrate with us. 

“Our university is proud of what we have achieved in the last academic year including breaking the ground of our new Barrow campus development, the establishment of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine and the recent Graduate Outcomes survey that ranks us as the top university in the North West and tenth university nationally for graduates in work and further study 15 months after graduating.   

“As a university of, for and from Cumbria, we’re excited to see how our latest graduates will use their new higher-level skills to strengthen the workforce in their chosen fields”. 

Ends