Honorary Awards 2023

Betty Campbell, MBE

Pioneering educationalist, community leader, and activist 

The University of South Wales is awarding a posthumous honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) to Mrs Betty Campbell MBE. This is the first posthumous honorary degree that has been awarded by the University.

Born and raised in Butetown, Cardiff, to a working-class family, Betty Campbell grew up determined to become a primary school teacher. After having her first three children, she was one of the first nine women to attend Cardiff Teacher Training College after it lifted its gender ban. Mrs Campbell went on to teach, and then in the 1970s became Head Teacher at Mount Stuart Primary School, making her Wales’ first black head teacher.

Betty Campbell was an early champion of decolonising the curriculum in Wales, piloting innovative educational programmes both within the school and in other public settings. Under her leadership, Mount Stuart Primary School became a template for multicultural education.

On her many trips to America from the 1970s onwards, she made it her mission to build a library and wealth of resources to support her innovative approach to education and Mount Stuart Primary School's curriculum.

Ann Clwyd

Politician and former MP

Ann Clwyd is a politician who served as the Welsh Labour MP for Cynon Valley from 1984 until 2019. She was the longest-serving Labour MP in Wales by the time she stepped down, having represented her constituency for 35 years. Ann is a former BBC journalist and served as an MEP before she was first elected in a 1984 by-election. She is a long-standing human rights activist and has campaigned on international and domestic issues.

Gareth Williams

Former Senior Partner, Hugh James Solicitors

Gareth Williams is the former Chair of the Board of Governors and Chair of the Nominations Committee at USW. He is now a consultant with Hugh James, the largest law firm in Wales, where he was a partner for nearly 50 years and senior partner for 12 years. Gareth’s reputation was as a commercial and sports lawyer. He was the lawyer for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for 25 years and its company secretary for almost a decade. A former deputy judge, Gareth was the first solicitor in Wales to be a licensed insolvency practitioner. Since his retirement, he has been the chair of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, the home for professional cricketers in Wales.

Huw Stephens

Award-winning broadcaster and Welsh-language presenter

Born into a creative family (his father, the late Meic Stephens, was a literary editor, journalist and poet), Cardiff-born Huw Stephens has always had an interest in local music, and credits that to being born in a country filled with rich culture and talent.

This led him into the music industry, and he was a DJ at the local Rookwood Hospital, Llandaff at the age of 15. He became known for his ear for new sounds and soon progressed to the BBC, where he became the youngest-ever radio presenter on Radio One at the age of 17 in 1999.

Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, co-founding the Sŵn music festival and the Welsh Music Prize. He presented a History of Welsh music for BBC TV, and the Story of Welsh Art. Huw Stephens now broadcasts on 6 Music, Radio 4, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, and presents the Glastonbury coverage for BBC television.

Jane Tranter

Television producer and co-founder of Bad Wolf

Jane Tranter is one of the industry’s most respected and celebrated television executives. A recipient of the BAFTA Special Award for her contribution to television, Jane previously served as the BBC’s Head of Fiction and was Executive Vice-President for Programming and Production at BBC Worldwide. In 2005, she oversaw the hugely popular revival - and relocation to Cardiff – of Doctor Who. In 2015, Jane co-founded Cardiff-based production company Bad Wolf with Welsh television producer Julie Gardner, and it is now the largest UK production company outside of London, producing series such as BAFTA award-winning His Dark Materials and the critically acclaimed Sky series I Hate Suzie.

Pippa Britton OBE

Double Paralympian and double World Champion

Pippa Britton is Wales’ most successful archer. Pippa has had a record-breaking career, representing Wales in able-bodied competitions more than 20 times. During her career she also received major spinal surgery twice and has used these experiences as a way of providing inspiration to others.

Pippa has since retired from competing but has used her experience as a way of giving back, becoming a motivational speaker, and vice-chairing on various boards such as Sport Wales, UK Anti-Doping campaign, and the British Paralympic Association.

Pippa is also an ambassador for charity, BRIT, which provides support for young adult mental health in the UK. Through BRIT, Pippa represents Welsh educational institutions, including the University of South Wales. Pippa was awarded an OBE in The King's Birthday Honours List 2023.

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

Chief Fire Officer of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is Chief Fire Officer of the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and one of the most senior female firefighters in the UK. After leaving home as a teenager, she went on to join the fire service aged 18, alongside studying a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Sabrina, who grew up in Newport, later completed a PhD and has since undertaken research into incident command in the emergency services. In 2019, she was named one of Marie Claire's Future Shapers.

Sandra Spray

Former Director of HR & OD, NHS Wales Business Services Centre

Sandra Spray has previously held positions at USW, including as the Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors, the Chair of the Remuneration Committee, and the Chair of HR Committee. Sandra is a retired Director of HR & OD at the NHS Wales Business Services Centre. Her prior posts also include heading up the HR and OD service in the North Glamorgan Trust, Merthyr Tydfil. She has held directorships in the Cardiff ITEC, both as non-executive Chair and Deputy, and has previously served as interim Chair and Deputy Chair of The College Merthyr Tydfil.