Alwen Williams receives honorary doctorate
Dame Alwen Williams, our former group chief executive, received an honorary doctorate from the University of East London (UEL) this week. As chair of the Barts900 campaign, Alwen remains active on behalf of the Trust. She is working closely with the Barts Charity to mark the 900th anniversary of St Bartholomew’s hospital by raising funds to build a breast cancer centre there and a clinical research facility at The Royal London.
She received her honorary doctorate in science from the vice chancellor and president of UEL, Professor Amanda Broderick, at a winter graduation ceremony on the Docklands campus for graduands from the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience - the ceremony took place on 18 January. Our hospitals have close links with UEL and offer placements to its nursing students, while some of its lecturers also practice with us.
Upon receiving her honorary doctorate during the ceremony for graduands in the Royal Docks School of Business and Law, Dame Alwen said:
“I am proud to receive this award from the University of East London - it is an enormous honour.
"I have a deep affinity with east London, having lived in the area for three decades and having given birth to my two children here, and having worked for the NHS in east London for 26 years. Although I was brought up in the West Midlands I am now an east Londoner through and through. It has been a great privilege to have lived and worked in this vibrant, inclusive and diverse community."
She also urged the new UEL graduates to join the NHS. She said:
"It's a real sense of vocation serving the people of east London and doing a job that is worthwhile.
"It's a great organisation for career development with a huge number of different roles, from frontline clinical roles to managerial roles, professional roles and ancillary type service roles."
