Honorary Fellows 2017

Alan Davies

Former Director of IT Services at University of South Wales

Alan Davies was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University in recognition of his contribution to the University during his long career in IT.

As a graduate of the former Glamorgan Polytechnic, he started working for the University in 1980 as an Analyst Programmer and recently retired after 36 years, finishing his career as the Director of IT Services.

Aled Siôn Davies MBE

Paralympic gold medallist

Aled Siôn Davies MBE was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University in recognition of his contribution to British athletics.

Aled was born in Bridgend in 1991 with a combined disability of Talipese and Hemi-hemilia, causing extremely limited functionality in his right leg. In 2005 Aled was invited to Cardiff by Federation of Disability Sport Wales to try out athletics with a group of elite paralympians.

He went on to win a gold and bronze medal at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and a gold at the Rio games in 2016. He set a new world record of 17.52m to win gold in the F42 shot put at the 2017 London World Para-athletics Championships. Having already claimed gold in the F42 discus, this is the third time in succession he has triumphed in both events at the competition.

Amy Wadge

Singer songwriter 

Amy Wadge was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University for her contribution to music, particularly songwriting.

Originally from Bristol, award-winning songwriter Amy moved to Wales more than 20 years ago to study Acting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

After three years in Cardiff, she had fallen in love with South Wales and decided to stay. Despite working with artists all over the world, she writes and records the majority of her music in her studio at her Pontypridd home.

Amy won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, after co-writing Thinking Out Loud with Ed Sheeran.

Iolo Williams

Conservationist and TV presenter

Iolo Williams was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University for his contribution to British wildlife and broadcasting services in Wales and the UK.

Originally from Mid Wales, Iolo graduated with a degree in Ecology at North East London Polytechnic almost 35 years ago. After graduating he worked for the RSPB for 15 years as Species Officer for Wales, working with some of the country’s rarest breeding birds.

The TV presenter, who is best known as a popular member of the Springwatch and Winterwatch teams, caught the attention of the BBC, who followed him in his RSPB role for Visions of Snowdonia and Birdman. Iolo left the Society in the late 1990s to work full-time in the media and his programmes, in both English and Welsh, concentrate on the wildlife of Wales and the world. He has written several books on Welsh wildlife in both English and Welsh, and is a regular contributor to several magazines, including BBC Wildlife.

John Selway

Portrait artist (1938-2017)

The late John Selway was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for his contribution to art, particularly painting and printmaking.

A contemporary of David Hockney and Peter Blake at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s, John was a senior lecturer at the Newport School of Art for many years.

His art, which as well as print-making and painting, also included sculpture and engraving, led to collaborations with several writers. Subjects included the Holocaust and post-war Europe, while he was also fascinated with his home country Wales and the writings of Dylan Thomas.

John enrolled at arts school in Newport at 15 and continued studying around National Service before getting a place at London's Royal College of Art. He taught at Newport for more than 25 years before retiring in 1991.

La-Chun Lindsay

Managing Director, GE Aviation Wales

La-Chun Lindsay was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University in recognition of her contribution to the aviation engineering industry.

Originally from South Carolina, La Chun graduated in 1995 in Ceramic Engineering and joined GE Quartz in 1997, before moving to Wales in 2015.

Before becoming Managing Director in 2015, she led the assembly, test and overhaul division at GE Aviation’s Lynn site in the US.

La-Chun is an active supporter and advocate for the LGBT community in Wales, and was recently ranked 4th in the WalesOnline ‘Pinc List 2016: The 40 most influential LGBT people in Wales’.

Nigel Owens MBE

International rugby union referee

Nigel Owens was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University in recognition of his contribution to sport and his charitable work.

Originally from Mynyddcerrig, Carmarthenshire, Nigel Owens was appointed as an international referee in 2005 and made his World Cup debut in 2007. He is also the most capped referee in European competition.

Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Owens was named 'Gay Sports Personality of the Year' at Stonewall's awards ceremony in London.

In 2015 he was appointed as the referee for the Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham.

Phil Davies

Head Coach of the Namibian national rugby team

Phil Davies was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University in recognition of his contribution to sport and rugby coaching.

Phil has played and coached rugby in more than 20 countries during his career. Recognised as one of the most successful Welsh rugby players of his generation, he is best known as one of Wales’ most capped rugby union forwards, which included captaining for Wales, gaining 46 caps, and over 350 games for and Captained Llanelli for a period of six years.

During 2015, he was appointed as head coach for Namibia Rugby Union, who, under his leadership, competed at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. He also recently led a successful Rugby World Cup qualification campaign for Japan 2019.

Phil has been running his own business, Phil Davies | Sport | Media | Leadership, since 2015. A a Swansea-based sport consulting firm, the business specialises in the areas of leadership coaching and high performance teams.

Dr Rhobert Lewis

Former Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Science at University of South Wales

Dr Rhobert Lewis was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the University in recognition of his contribution to the University during his 26-year career.

He studied industrial chemistry as an undergraduate, and has a PhD in Physical Chemistry. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr Lewis was heavily involved in the growth of science-based courses – including Forensic Science, Sport Science, Police Sciences and Chiropractic – which have proved among the most successful programmes ever delivered at the University. He retired in 2016 after 26 years at USW.

Steven Moffat OBE

Former Producer for BBC's Doctor Who and co-creator of Sherlock

Steven Moffat was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters for his contribution to television, particularly screenwriting.

The Award-winning Doctor Who writer, who is originally from Paisley, Scotland, announced in 2016 that series 10 would be his last, after six seasons as executive producer.

His contribution to the first series of Doctor Who’s revival was notable for introducing the character of Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, who would go on to become the lead in the spin-off series Torchwood.

Steven is also co-creator of hit series Sherlock, which was met with huge success on its broadcast in 2010, and went on to win the BAFTA special award in 2012. He was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to television.

Tim Rhys-Evans MBE

Conductor and founder of Only Men Aloud

Tim Rhys-Evans was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University in recognition of his contribution to choral music, and his charitable work.

Originally from New Tredegar, Tim’s career began as an opera singer and vocal coach at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, before forming the all-male choir Only Men Aloud in 2000. The group went on to win hit BBC show Last Choir Standing in 2008.

He went on to set up Only Boys Aloud in 2010 with other members of the choir, encouraging boys aged 13 to 19 to broaden their horizons, grow in self-confidence and keep out of trouble.

Tim was awarded an MBE in 2013, recognising his contribution to the music industry and to charitable services.

Professor Emerita Dame Teresa Rees FAcSS, FLSW

Professor of Social Sciences

Dame Teresa Rees was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University in recognition of her contribution to research into gender equality and social sciences.

She was made a Commander of the British Empire for her work on equal opportunities and higher education in 2003, and became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2015 for services to social sciences. Teresa, or Terry as she is more widely known, studied Sociology and Politics at the University of Exeter, graduating in 1970. She then took her doctorate in sociology from the University of Wales. She held an academic post at Cardiff University (1974-93), and was Reader and then Professor at the University of Bristol (1993-2000), before returning to Cardiff in 2000.

Teresa Rees is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading social scientists, with an international reputation for her ground-breaking research on gender inequalities in education, training, labour market policies and in science policy. In each of these areas she has made pivotal contributions to evidence-based policy in the European Union, the UK and Wales.