- Dame Yve Buckland is chair of University Hospitals Birmingham and was Aston University Pro-Chancellor from 2017 to 2024
- Her honorary doctorate recognises her significant contribution to higher education and health services
- Dame Yve has held a number of national NHS advisory roles over the past 15 years.
Aston University has awarded an honorary doctorate to the chair of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust and its former Pro-Chancellor, Dame Yve Buckland.
The honour, which was awarded at a graduation ceremony at Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on 17 July presided over by Aston University Chancellor Dr Jason Wouhra, recognises Dame Yve’s significant contribution to higher education and health services.
Dame Yve was appointed Aston University Pro-Chancellor in 2017. During her time in office she played a major role in the oversight of the University governance and the management of the University Council and its committees and was instrumental in the development of Aston University’s 2030 strategy.
She stepped down in April 2024, when she was succeeded by Dr Matthew Crummack.
Dame Yve has held numerous influential managerial roles in healthcare and hospitals. After becoming Nottingham City Council’s first female chief officer in the 1990s, in 2000, she was appointed by the government to set up the Health Development Agency, which gathered evidence to tackle key public health problems such as childhood obesity and smoking. She received her damehood for services to public health in 2003 as a result of this work.
From 2005 to 2010, Dame Yve was chair of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement based at Warwick University, Between 2015 and 2020, she was the chairman of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, and from 2019 to 2022, chairman of Dudley Group Foundation Trust of hospitals.
In 2020, Dame Yve was appointed chair of the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (ICS), which includes all health and social care partners, commissioners and the local authority. Its purpose is to support partnership and drive improvement. She chairs University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust, one of the largest hospital trusts in the UK.
For more than 15 years, Dame Yve has also held a number of significant national advisory roles, including serving on the NHS National Board to establish Health Watch, as a member of the NHS National Leadership Council Board Development Advisory Group and the NHS National Group to develop the Public Health White Paper.
Speaking of her award, Dame Yve said:
“I am truly delighted to receive an honorary doctorate from Aston University. I am very proud to see the University go from strength to strength and to witness its impact in Birmingham, the West Midlands Region and beyond.
“Aston’s students are its beating heart and it’s a particular privilege to receive this award alongside them at their degree ceremony.”
Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said:
“I am delighted to present Dame Yve with this honorary doctorate.
“Over nearly seven years she chaired the University Council with distinction, working closely with two vice-chancellors, executive colleagues and a range of independent, staff and student members of Council. Dame Yve has been tireless in her support and stewardship of the University, representing its interests through the Council and its committees and advocating for it locally, regionally and nationally.”
- Notes to editors
About Aston University
For over a century, Aston University’s enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.
Aston University’s history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.
Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming the Guardian University of the Year in 2020.
Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Helen Tunnicliffe, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44) 7827 090240 or email: h.tunnicliffe@aston.ac.uk.
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