The Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, Professor David Greenaway, has added his tribute to the global accolades for the extraordinary life and work of Nelson Mandela.
Mr Mandela was awarded an honorary degree by The University of Nottingham in 1996 in recognition of his leadership in fighting apartheid.
Nottingham joined seven other universities – Oxford, Cambridge, London, Bristol, Warwick, De Montfort and Glasgow Caledonian – in awarding Mr Mandela a degree on Wednesday 10 July 1996.
There were so many universities that wished to confer an honorary degree on him at the time, that it was decided to have one occasion for all of them and incorporate it into one ceremony that took place at Buckingham Palace during a state visit from 9 to 12 July.
Professor Lawrie Challis, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the time, gave a speech at the ceremony in which he described Mr Mandela as “the Mahatma Gandhi and the Abraham Lincoln of our time”.
The current Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway said today:
“I had the honour of meeting Mr Mandela when I spoke at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Summit in 1997, an unforgettable experience. He was one of the giants of the twentieth century. He did much more than just change South Africa, he helped redefine an entire continent’s role in world politics and, in doing so, he inspired a generation in how to achieve change."