A night of recognition and reflection: celebrating our Honorary Fellows
The Honorary Fellows gala dinner is a time-honoured tradition at LSE, held to celebrate those individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the School, either in their fields or for society at large, above and beyond reasonable expectations. Over 400 fellows have helped LSE remain at the forefront of global social science.
This year’s event brought together 75 Honorary Fellows, Emeritus Governors, influential alumni and faculty to celebrate our 130th Anniversary and showcase the prestige and impact of our Honorary Fellows over the course of LSE’s history.
Following a vibrant drinks reception in LSE’s Old Building, the high-profile guests were seated for a four-course dinner and Dr Susan Liautaud, LSE Chair of Council opened the evening with a warm welcome, followed by end of year reflections from Professor Larry Kramer, LSE President and Vice-Chancellor. He gave an insightful update on the school’s recent achievements and future ambitions, concluding with a heartfelt toast to the Honorary Fellows and our global alumni community.
The legacy of people like Sir Arthur Lewis, Lord Robbins and Lord Beveridge reminds us of the historic role Honorary Fellows have played – and continue to play – in enriching the intellectual life and global impact of our institution. To all our Honorary Fellows, thank you for your unwavering support, your wise counsel, and your extraordinary dedication to the School and its people.
Professor Mick Cox captivated the audience with a talk titled “Honorary Fellows: A Brief Tour”, offering a fascinating look at the history of the School’s Honorary Fellows and the things they have achieved, including former Prime Minister Clement Atlee, the first female President of Ireland, Mary Robinson and the iconic Mick Jagger, to name a few.
LSE has decidedly humble origins. It was perhaps unsurprising therefore that it did not go in for honours: possibly why it took it over 60 years to start awarding Honorary Fellowships. Around the time the scheme was launched in 1958 LSE was certainly well established; it could even lay claim to four Nobel Prizes, though not in economics (that came later). But having decided to launch the Honorary Fellow scheme, the School went to work in earnest. In 1958 alone it elected 22 Fellows and by the end of the 1960s another 50 or more. In the 1970s it then elected around a 100. And so on right up to today.
The evening closed with a reminder of LSE’s ongoing commitment to excellence and bold ambitions, from the University’s physical transformation, including the acquisition of 61 Aldwych, to embedding AI literacy across departments and disciplines. Looking ahead to the School’s 130th anniversary year, events like the Honorary Fellows gala dinner serve as a reminder of the enduring bonds between the School’s past, present and future and LSE’s founding mission, ‘to understand the causes of things, for the betterment of society’.
The award of Honorary Fellow allows the School to acknowledge those who have made an outstanding contribution to LSE and its community above and beyond reasonable expectations and over a sustained period of time. Those eligible for this award are: alumni, as well as former members of Council and retired staff including Emeritus Fellows, Visiting Fellows and Visiting Professors.
