Over 950 postgraduates set to graduate next week

The achievements of graduates will be celebrated next week across eight ceremonies taking place over three days, from Tuesday 28 to Thursday 30 April.

Held at the University of London’s iconic Senate House in Bloomsbury, the graduates will be addressed by Baroness Chakrabarti CBE, Birkbeck’s President, and speeches will be delivered by Birkbeck alumni, including alumna Nadine White (BA English, 2016), multi-award-winning journalist and filmmaker who was recently featured in the annual BBK magazine.

Four newly elected Fellows will also be recognised at the ceremonies by formal orations. Honorary Fellowships are elected annually and are awarded to individuals who have given outstanding service to Birkbeck, or have attained distinction in the arts, literature, science or public life. The four elected Fellows this spring are Cindy Leslie, Megan Reeves, Leslie Tucker and Sir Andrew Cahn. Their biographies are below:

Cindy Leslie

Cindy had a long and distinguished career as a partner in a large City law firm specialising in commercial dispute resolution.

Since then, she has used the experience of having seen at first hand the operation of some excellent boards, as well as of some shockingly bad ones, to help her in a variety of non-executive board positions. These include chair of governors of a school in North London; and board member of the Architects Registration Board (the regulator for architects); of Ofqual (the regulator for exams and qualifications); of the Royal College of Psychiatrists; of the national charity, Perennial (the Royal Gardeners Benevolent Society); and of Birkbeck, University of London. She makes good use of lessons learnt on one board for the benefit of another despite very different contexts.

Cindy has also sat on numerous fitness to practise panels for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service.

Megan Reeves

After receiving a BA Hons in Media Studies at PCL (now University of Westminster), Megan Reeves trained as an accountant. She joined St George’s Hospital Medical School as Deputy Director of Finance in 1990 and was awarded a MA in Higher & Professional Education from the Institute of Education in 2000. She joined Birkbeck in September 2002 as Deputy College Secretary (Faculty of Continuing Education), with a remit to lead the integration of the administration, systems and finances of that Faculty with the rest of Birkbeck.

In 2008/9, Megan co-led the integration of the Faculty of Lifelong Learning into Birkbeck’s new academic structure. Following that restructure, she worked on projects and reviews aimed at improving systems and processes across the University, including managing and restructuring Facilities and Estates Services over five years. In 2019 she was responsible for the Health and Safety function and co-led the University’s response to COVID.

Latterly, in 2022/3 Megan undertook the reorganisation of the school-based Professional Services, to augment Birkbeck’s new academic structure. In her 22 years at Birkbeck, Megan worked closely with staff, students and governors to make a valued contribution to the realisation of its strategic aims.

Leslie Tucker

A founding member of the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (CBCD), Leslie Tucker was the backbone of the Centre for nearly 28 years. She played a pivotal role in shaping its growth and success, contributing to more than 100 research projects and expertly guiding their implementation from study design through to training and resource management.

Leslie’s strategic insight, organisational leadership, and generous collaborative spirit was central to establishing the CBCD as a world-leading centre for infancy research and training. She was an exceptional mentor to faculty, students, and early-career researchers, particularly in supporting successful research and fellowship applications that have helped secure more than £50 million in funding. She was also instrumental in the conception and development of two landmark facilities: the bespoke Henry Wellcome Building and the world’s first ToddlerLab. Acting as the crucial bridge between scientists and the Estates team, Leslie helped shape every detail, from architectural design to specialist equipment.

Beyond Birkbeck, Leslie has championed major fundraising and outreach efforts bringing the same energy to her local community, leading her Residents’ Association and securing funding for environmental and educational initiatives.

Sir Andrew Cahn

Sir Andrew Cahn is a distinguished public servant who has worked in the Foreign Office, the Cabinet Office, the European Commission and finally as CEO of UK Trade and Investment. He was part of the team that created the European Single Market. After retirement from the public service, Andrew had an extensive portfolio of non-executive roles including Lloyds of London, Nomura International and Huawei (UK). He has served as a trustee for the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the Institute for Government, and as Chair of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birkbeck University.