Professor Sir Graeme Davies (1937–2022)

It is with great sadness that St Catharine’s has learnt that Professor Sir Graeme Davies (1967; Honorary Fellow 1989) died on 30 August 2022. The College flag will be flown at half-mast in his memory today.

While teaching as University Lecturer in Metallurgy at Cambridge, Sir Graeme was elected to the College’s Fellowship in 1967, and went on to serve as both Dean and Tutor. He moved to the University of Sheffield in 1977 to take up the role of Professor of Metallurgy, before serving in a series of leadership roles in UK higher education: Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool (1986–91), Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (1991–95), Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow (1995–2003), Vice-Chancellor and President of the federal University of London (2003–10), and University of Lincoln Governor (2013–2022), alongside many international appointments. In recognition of his services to higher education, he received an Honorary Fellowship from St Catharine’s in 1989 and was knighted in 1996.

Professor Sir Mark Welland (2016), Master of St Catharine's, commented, "On behalf of the College, I want to express my deepest sympathies to Sir Graeme’s family and friends. Born and educated in New Zealand, St Catharine’s is proud to have been part of his early career in the UK in the 1960s. I know he will be missed by many and that we are just one of many educational institutions indebted to Sir Graeme for his countless contributions and life-long commitment to higher education.”