page_title: Durham University
section_title: Notable alumni
hierarchical_section_title: Durham University / Notable alumni
caption_attribution_description: Chief Executive, Eden Project
context_page_description: Durham University is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to open in England for more than 600 years, after Oxford and Cambridge, and is thus one of the institutions to be described as the third-oldest university in England. As a collegiate university its main functions are divided between the academic departments of the university and its 16 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide teaching to students, while the colleges are responsible for their domestic arrangements and welfare.
  The university is a member of the Russell Group of British research universities after previously being a member of the 1994 Group. Durham is also affiliated with the regional N8 Research Partnership and international university groups including the Matariki Network of Universities and the Coimbra Group. The university estate includes 63 listed buildings, ranging from the 11th-century Durham Castle to a 1930s Art Deco chapel. The university also owns and manages the Durham World Heritage Site in partnership with Durham Cathedral.
context_section_description: Durham alumni are active through organisations and events such as the annual Reunions, Dinners and Balls. There are 67 Durham associations ranging from international to college and sports affiliated groups that cater for the more than 109,000 living alumni.
  A number of Durham alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of government, law, science, academia, business, arts, journalism, and athletics, among others. These have included Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury (St John's, 1992), Sir Milton Margai, first prime minister of Sierra Leone (MD, 1926), the 7th Queensland Premier John Douglas (BA, 1850), Henry Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford, Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1887 to 1892 (Law, 1847), Herbert Laming, Baron Laming, head of the Harold Shipman inquiry and the investigation of Britain's social services following the death of Baby P, (Applied Social Studies, 1960), Dame Caroline Swift, the lead counsel to the Shipman inquiry, and Mo Mowlam, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time of the Good Friday Peace Agreement (Sociology and Anthropology). Durham graduate Libby Lane was the first woman to be consecrated bishop in the Church of England.
  Durham graduates also hold noteworthy positions in the law, including Supreme Court Justices Lord Hughes (Law) and Lady Black (Law), the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane and the current Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland (Law) amongst others.
  Within the military graduates include General Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt (Economic History), the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence (Geography), Chief Executive of Defence Estates and husband to The Princess Royal, and Rear-Admiral Amjad Hussain (Engineering, 1979) highest-ranking officer from an ethnic minority in the British Armed Forces.
  In academia, Durham graduates include John D. Barrow (Mathematics and Physics, 1974), winner of the Templeton Prize, Sir George Malcolm Brown (Chemistry & Geology, 1950), invited by NASA to work on the moon rock samples recovered from the Apollo 11 lunar mission, George Rochester (1926), co-discoverer of the kaon sub-atomic particle, alongside Sir Harold Jeffreys (Mathematics, 1919), winner of the Royal Society's Copley Medal, Sir Kingsley Charles Dunham (Geology 1930) former director of the British Geological Survey and E. J. Field, early discoverer of what are now called prions and significant contributor to MS research. The current Vice-chancellor of the University of Wollongong (Paul Wellings), former Vice-chancellor of Cardiff University (David Grant), and Chris Higgins, former vice-chancellor of Durham, are also graduates.
  Several alumni hold top positions in the business world. Richard Adams (Sociology), founder of fair trade organisation Traidcraft, Paul Hawkins (PhD in Artificial Intelligence), inventor of the Hawk-Eye ball-tracking system, Dame Elisabeth Hoodless (Sociology), former Executive Director of Community Service Volunteers, Sir Nick Scheele (German, 1966), former President and chief operating officer of Ford Motor Company, entrepreneur Brenda Lindiwe Mabaso-Chipeio, David Sproxton (Geography, 1976), co-founder of Aardman Animations who produce Wallace & Gromit, Tim Smit (Archaeology and Anthropology), co-founder of the Eden Project and David Walton (Economics and Mathematics, 1984), member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.
  Prominent journalists and media specialists include: George Entwistle, former Director-General of the BBC, Sir Harold Evans (Politics and Economics), editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981 and The Times from 1981 to 1982, Nigel Farndale (Philosophy), Sunday Telegraph journalist, George Alagiah (Politics), presenter of the BBC News at Six, Matthew Amroliwala (Law and Politics, 1984), BBC News channel presenter, Biddy Baxter (1955), former producer of Blue Peter, Arthur Bostrom (BA Hons), Officer Crabtree in  'Allo 'Allo!, Nish Kumar (English with History), stand-up comedian, Jamie Campbell (English Literature), filmma
caption: Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project
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