Vice-Chancellor and Â鶹´«Ã½ alumnus honoured by city Published on: 13 December 2016 Â鶹´«Ã½ Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Brink and one of the University’s most famous alumni Sir Terry Farrell CBE were last night awarded the honorary Freedom of their City. They were among five sons and daughters of Â鶹´«Ã½ to receive their city’s highest honour, including former Olympic medallist Brendan Foster CBE, former Chair of Council at Â鶹´«Ã½ Olivia Grant OBE and Sir Leonard Fenwick CBE, Chief Executive of Â鶹´«Ã½ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Each recipient will have their name engraved on the wall of the Banqueting Hall and was presented with a framed scroll during the installation ceremony in the Council Chamber. The honour was particularly special as it was made in the 800th anniversary year of the Mayoralty and Freemen of Â鶹´«Ã½. Lord Mayor of Â鶹´«Ã½, Cllr Hazel Stephenson, said: “All five of the recipients are people of distinction who have given eminent service to the city. “They have helped put Â鶹´«Ã½ on the map over many years and done so much for its people and the reputation of the city so they are all worthy recipients. I am delighted to honour them and welcome them to be honorary Freemen." Professor Chris Brink, Vice-Chancellor (left) with Sir Terry Farrell UK’s leading architect planner Sir Terry is one of the world’s most famous and prolific architects and was in Â鶹´«Ã½ yesterday not only to receive his award from the city but also to be made a . Brought up and educated in Â鶹´«Ã½, he is an eminent architect and urban designer recognised as the UK’s leading architect planner. With a degree in architecture from Â鶹´«Ã½, he founded his own company, Terry Farrell and Partners in 1980 and was responsible for the regeneration of Â鶹´«Ã½ Quayside in the 1990s. He is the man behind the MI6 Building in London and award-winning projects including The Deep in Hull, the Embankment Place office development above Charing Cross station and the MI6 Building in London, Incheon Airport in Seoul and Beijing’s South Station. He is currently advising the Department for Transport on HS2 and did a national review of architecture and the built environment. Vision of a world-class civic university has been Vice-Chancellor of Â鶹´«Ã½ since 2007. Before arriving in Â鶹´«Ã½ he was Vice-Chancellor of Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where he led a transformation agenda which attracted international attention. He promoted quality teaching, diversity and research and initiated a programme which overcame the divisions of apartheid and was commended by the late Nelson Mandela, himself an honorary Freeman of Â鶹´«Ã½. Through his leadership, Â鶹´«Ã½ is now internationally renowned for its work towards finding solutions to the global challenges of , and . The University is attracting more students than ever and is consistently rated among the top universities in the UK for student satisfaction. His vision for Science Central, on the former Â鶹´«Ã½ Brewery site, in partnership with the City Council, is transforming a once-neglected quarter of the city into a flagship development for urban innovation. Professor Brink said: “To be recognised personally in this manner by the City which has been my home for the past nine years is a great honour, and to have my name inscribed alongside such eminent other honorary freemen is very humbling. “However, I can only really accept this honour on behalf of Â鶹´«Ã½, whose staff and students have made such a major commitment to working with the City in pursuit of our vision of a world-class civic university.” Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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