Honorary Graduates for the Faculty

Terence Ryan

Professor Terence Ryan

Professor Steven Ersser, Dean of the Faculty of Health & Social Care and Professor of Nursing & Dermatology Care presented Professor Ryan:

Professor Terence Ryan is one of the world’s foremost leaders and visionaries in dermatology and indeed in the field of health care generally, having been a tireless lifelong champion of the field. He is a renowned clinical academic in the field of dermatology and has held several international leadership posts in the field- seeking to improve the quality of life of people living with skin disease worldwide. His scholarly contribution to the field of dermatology, skin health, community dermatology and lymphology has been prolific and highly influential. Terence Ryan has been Honorary President of the International Society of Dermatology. In 2007 he received one of the highest international accolades in the field, the “Distinguished Services Award” of The International League of Dermatological Societies.

On retirement in1997 as a Consultant Dermatologist in Oxford, he became an Emeritus Professor of Dermatology at Oxford University, and at Oxford Brookes University, reflecting his strong collaborative links with and as champion of nursing and its academic development. He served as Vice Warden of Templeton Green College, Oxford for 7 years, promoting academic development in health care. He holds honorary international appointments at the Jefferson Medical School, Philadelphia; Limerick and Beijing and Nanjing (Peking) Universities.

Professor Ryan is also a humanitarian leader- having been a tireless advocate for the sick, poor and marginalised in developing countries- and in particular has been a champion for the development of community dermatology. He remains active in the field as Chair of the International Society of Dermatology WHO Task Force on Community Dermatology. Whilst Chair of the International Foundation for Dermatology, he took an active role in bringing dermatology, sexually transmitted diseases and leprosy into general health services of the developing world.  He advises the World Health Organisation Global Alliance on the elimination of lymphatic filariasis, which is a major disease affecting millions and one that impacts on sufferers’ skin and their quality of life. Prof Ryan has promoted the integration of traditional health with Western medicine and worked to support the retraining of village health care workers in the fields of skin care, sexual health and leprosy. Prof Ryan was also a Medical Advisor to the St Francis Leprosy Guild and was a member of the LEPRA Medical Board. His wider contribution to health care community has been recognised by the St John Ambulance Association as a Knight of St John and for his international work by the Rotary Club -as a Paul Harris Fellow.

Aside to his recognition in medicine he has always been an active champion of the nursing service and opportunities for nurses within Universities. Indeed, previously he sought to influence the Oxford Medical School to embrace University education for nurses and, despite the obstacles; he went on to support interdisciplinary clinical academic involvement of nursing at the National Institute of Nursing in Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.

Terence Ryan has been an inspired health care and academic leader to a wide range of health professionals and community health workers. Over the last 14 years he has been an active supporter of the International Skin care Nursing Group. On a personal note, Terence Ryan has also served as a long-term mentor to me supporting me to take up the first Chair in nursing and dermatology care worldwide. He is active supporter of our Research Group here at Hull and is actively advising some of our research students.

Professor Ryan has been at the forefront of dermatology worldwide and skin health over the past few decades. His leadership, vision and commitment to improving the health care of people in resource poor and developed countries –has been exemplary and an inspiration to many. His wider view of health care and public health, his international perspective and profound belief in the importance of interdisciplinary working, education and research –highlights his shared values with the University of Hull and our Faculty of Health & Social which has a growing interest in skin health, global health, community and sexual health.
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Carolyn Roberts

Lady Carolyn Roberts

Professor Kathleen Galvin, Professor of Nursing Practice, of the Faculty of Health & Social Care presented Lady Roberts:

Lady Carolyn Roberts is an exceptional leader in nursing and health visiting, having dedicated a lifetime's work to delivering enhanced clinical services and to improving the healthcare experience of patients and public, especially the disadvantaged. She has also played an important national role in advising the government on the safety and licensing of medicines and in focussing attention on the ethics of patient care – a topic of considerable media attention in recent months.

Born in Leeds, Carolyn's early career was spent not on hospital wards but in the offices of the computer giant, IBM. Her Damascene conversion took place when she was being treated for a severe reaction to ampicillin and saw at first hand the transformational effects of high-quality patient care. She qualified as a registered nurse at Leeds General Infirmary and went on to train as a health visitor at Leeds University.

Primary health care has been the backbone of her outstanding career, initially as a health visitor and then as a researcher investigating the role of health visitors in promoting the well-being of older people. Her research set out to overcome professional and institutional boundaries by encouraging staff to work in both hospital and community settings, as a means of achieving continuous and co-ordinated care. This pioneering work was underpinned by her MSc in Health Administration and Research from Hull University. More recently, she has applied her organisation and research expertise to Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield and Oxford health authorities, bringing together skills and knowledge in clinical practice, research, education, management and policy to the considerable benefit of the agencies concerned. She has made it her business to break down barriers – whether these are related to social class, race or gender – and to improve the standards of ethical practice in both health and social care.

Carolyn’s understanding and appreciation of the ethical concerns of the general public led to her appointment as a trustee of the ETHOX Foundation, and to a six-year term as its chair. An independent registered charity, the Foundation exists to enhance the communication and ethical decision-making skills of medical and nursing professionals. It enjoys strong links with the Universities of Oxford and Warwick, as well as having had a seat on the Associate Parliamentary Health Group – a valuable conduit to government ministers and NHS executives which Carolyn has fully exploited. As chair, Carolyn set out to strengthen the governance and sustainability of ETHOX and to develop its influence on the ethics of care. This work led to her becoming a founding member of the Royal College of Nursing Ethics Committee. She is also a Fellow of Royal Society of Medicine, an Invited Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the City Women’s Network. 

In 2007 Carolyn was invited to become the first nurse member of the Commission on Human Medicines, which advises the UK Government on the safety, quality, efficacy and licensing of medicines. Described as a ‘superb’ Commissioner, she has added a unique perspective to the workings of the Commission, based on her role as a nurse prescriber and her extensive experience of both the nursing profession, and the field of health care ethics. Carolyn has also served on a number of the Commission’s Expert Advisory Groups since 2003. 

An exemplary and passionate nurse, Carolyn has been unstinting in her efforts to enhance the quality of health and social care – as practitioner, researcher, senior manager and nurse prescriber. 

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