Professors Dame Angela McLean and Gary England awarded RVC Honorary Degrees

 Published: 30 Jul 2025 | Last Updated: 30 Jul 2025 11:51:45

At the 2025 graduation ceremony, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) awarded Honorary Degrees of Veterinary Medicine to two eminent leaders in science and veterinary medicine – Professor Dame Angela McLean and Professor Gary England.

Professor Dame Angela McLean

Conferred by RVC President & Principal, Professor Stuart Reid CBE, these honours recognise significant contributions to research, education and public service and a profound impact in the veterinary and scientific communities.

Dame Angela, who has served as the Government Chief Scientific Adviser since 2023, was recognised for her outstanding leadership and innovative applications of mathematical models to aid understanding of the evolution and spread of infectious agents.

Graduating from the University of Oxford with a degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Biological Sciences, Professor Dame Angela was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and received the Gabor Medal and Weldon Memorial Prize. A renowned academic, she has utilised her expertise in this area to formulate evidence-led public policy, including co-developing the Oxford Martin School Restatements – an activity which restructures and presents evidence underlying an issue of policy concern or controversy in concise, uncharged form for lay audiences. She received her Damehood in 2018 for services to mathematical biology and to scientific advice to government.

Professor England, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham, was recognised for his pioneering contributions to veterinary clinical practice, education and research, particularly in the field of small animal reproduction.

Professor Gary England

Graduating from the RVC in 1986, Professor England continued at the RVC to gain specialist clinical qualifications in diagnostic imaging and reproduction, as well as completing his PhD and post-doctoral training. He has since held various leadership roles at Guide Dogs UK, including Acting Chief Executive, and has led ground-breaking research, including the first successful in vitro fertilisation in dogs and studies linking environmental chemical exposure to declining fertility. A committed academic and clinician, Professor England has played a central role in strengthening veterinary education in the UK, founding multiple organisations focused on postgraduate training and professional development, and establishing the UK’s first new veterinary school in decades at the University of Nottingham where he has served as Dean for 20 years. He also played a key role in the wider profession with leading roles in both the revised Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the UK Veterinary Schools Council, in which he served as its first Chair.

Professor Stuart Reid CBE, President & Principal of the RVC, said:

“Honorary degrees are a means by which we at the RVC can recognise and promote the excellence of outstanding members of our community. We are now fortunate to be able to count both of our honourees amongst our alumni and to hold them up as role models for future generations of our student body. To both Angela and Gary, I offer our congratulations and, more importantly, our thanks.”

Notes to Editors

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About the RVC

  • The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.  
  • It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA (probationary) in the USA and Canada. 
  • The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2025.  
  • The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.  
  • The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
  • The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire. 

 

 

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