Rob Behrens CBE, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Coventry University today.
Rob is being honoured for his dedication to resolution services with higher education and significant contributions within the field of international development.
Rob said:
“I am delighted to receive this honour from Coventry University, where my professional life began, and from where I first learned about independent inquiries through a study of Lord Scarman’s inquiry into the Brixton Disorders in 1981.
“As an academic, civil servant and Ombudsman, I have been lucky enough to participate in a wide range of initiatives designed to resolve disputes, promote mediation and encourage comparative learning in the UK and across the world. Of these, a small contribution to the development of democratic public service in South Africa, to the building of dispute resolution mechanisms in higher education and the NHS stand out.
“At the root of them all is understanding the value of engagement between the world of practice and higher education, and I will always be grateful to Coventry University and colleagues there for pointing the way.”