Professor Graham Orpwood's commendation video transcript

Professor Graham Orpwood

PROFESSOR WARREN MANNING: Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Mayor of Derby City, High Sheriff, Honoured guests, Graduates and Graduands of 2024, and all our guests here today. It gives me great pleasure to be presenting today a posthumous award of Honorary Doctor of the University, in memory of Professor Graham Orpwood.

Professor Graham Orpwood dedicated more than 50 years of his career to teaching and research into curriculum design and assessment, which has impacted and continues to impact, the lives of millions of students across the world.

He most recently held the roles of Professor Emeritus at York University, Toronto, and Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Education, University of London. He was formerly Director of International Partnerships of Vretta Incorporated, an international leader in e-assessment and e-learning.

Graham was born in Weston-Super-Mare and raised in Bristol. He went to Oxford University, studying Chemistry and his career began as a chemistry teacher.

In 1965, his illustrious career took him from the chemistry classrooms of England and Canada to the forefront of educational research, policymaking and teacher training. He shared his assessment expertise through participation in advisory boards, committees, conferences, radio shows and even TV interviews.

Graham had great passion, energy and enthusiasm to support learners across the world, even in his 80s, he was fully dedicated to the dream of a world where everyone enjoys maths. He'll be remembered for his unwavering belief that everyone can excel if taught in the right way, and that everyone can and should be helped to become numerate.

His work has received numerous international accolades, and his publications have become go to repositories for assessment specialists. His support and advocacy for numeracy training (and coining of the term 'numeracy gap') was recognised in 2022, when he obtained the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International E-Assessment Association Conference.

In 2019, a collaboration agreement was signed between the University of Derby and Vretta UK for a three year project to provide support for Derby students' numeracy skills. Together with Graham, the University developed a range of new research skills courses, now used by thousands of learners, which transformed student outcomes and supported local small businesses to upskill their workforce. The partnership continues today, extending across the whole University and to our international partners in China and in Greece.

Graham was a regular visitor to Derby and a valued friend to the University. He was looking forward to receiving this award at the end of last year, but ill health prevented him from attending the ceremony and he sadly passed away on the 5th November 2023.

Chancellor, in recognition of his advocacy for numeracy training and his outstanding achievements in transforming the e-assessment landscape worldwide, we are delighted to present Graham's granddaughter, Katie Beale, with the posthumous honorary degree of Doctor of the University on behalf of her grandfather, Professor Graham Orpwood.

Katie would like to say a few words of response on behalf of her grandfather.

KATIE BEALE: Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Vice-Lord Lieutenant, Mayor of Derby City, High Sheriff, Honoured guests, Graduates of 2024, and all of our guests here today. On behalf of my grandfather, Graham Orpwood, I would like to thank the University of Derby and everyone here for this great honour.

My mum and I were at a university open day nine months ago, when we got the news about him being granted this honorary doctorate. He called us right away and he was so thrilled. It meant a great deal to him to be recognised for something that he was always so passionate about.

My grandad was funny, he was generous, and he was an encouraging figure in my education. He had the power to take you into his world and share wonder for learning. That enthusiasm was with him his whole life and is why he wanted to improve education.

My grandad and I shared a love for philosophy, and we talked about it often over the last few years. With his encouragement, I've chosen to pursue an undergraduate degree in philosophy, which I'll hopefully be starting later this year.

The impact of his work really became clear to our family in the days and months after his passing. People from around the world reached out to us with stories about how he had mentored them and how he made a real difference to education systems and students worldwide.

I know how much it meant to him to receive this recognition, and I'm sorry he couldn't be here today, but I'm so proud of my granddad and our family is truly grateful for you choosing to honour him today. So thank you.

Professor Graham Orpwood's commendation video

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