This is a partial list of alumni and staff of the Open University.
Alumni
editThe OU has over two million alumni, including:
Politicians
edit- Fleur Anderson – Labour MP
- Ian Byrne – Labour MP[1]
- Laurie Bristow – British diplomat[2]
- Aimee Challenor – transgender activist and former Green Party politician[3]
- Barbara Follett – former Labour MP
- Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner – former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, completed his degree whilst serving as Chancellor of the Open University
- Bill Henderson – member of the Legislative Council (Isle of Man) and former member of the House of Keys
- David Heyes – former Labour MP
- Adam Ingram – former Labour MP and Minister of State for Northern Ireland and the Armed Forces
- Andrea Jenkyns – Reform UK Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire and former Conservative MP[4]
- Marat Khusnullin – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
- Peter Law – Welsh independent (formerly Labour) politician and former MP and AM for Blaenau Gwent[5]
- Paul Marsden – writer, businessman and former Labour/Liberal Democrat MP[6]
- John McFall – former Labour MP and Lord Speaker of the House of Lords
- Wendy Morton – Conservative MP, Shadow Minister for Development and former Chief Whip of the House of Commons
- Chris Pond – former Labour MP
- John Reid – former Labour MP and minister, including the roles of Health, Defence and Home Secretary
- Graham Smith – republican activist and CEO of Republic
- Meles Zenawi – former Prime Minister of Ethiopia[7]
Entertainers
edit- Joan Armatrading – singer/songwriter[8]
- Elizabeth Arnold – children's writer
- Steve Backshall – naturalist and television presenter
- Nigel Benson – author and illustrator
- Connie Booth – actress[9]
- Katy Cavanagh – actress[10]
- Julie Christie – actress
- Lisa Coleman – actress and volunteer occupational therapist
- Micky Dolenz – formerly of The Monkees
- Lionel Fanthorpe – priest, entertainer, television presenter, author and lecturer[11]
- Romola Garai – actress[12]
- Hubert Gregg – radio presenter
- Jerry Hall – model/actress[8]
- Frank Hampson – creator of Dan Dare[13]
- Sheila Hancock – actress[9]
- Lenny Henry – entertainer[8]
- Nadiya Hussain – chef, author, television presenter[14]
- Matthew Kelly – television presenter[9]
- Mylene Klass – actress, singer, model, pianist and media personality[8]
- Clare Nasir – meteorologist and television presenter
- David Neilson – actor
- Ian Rankin – Scottish writer
- Talulah Riley – actress
- Dave Rowntree – drummer (formerly of Blur), Labour politician, solicitor and composer[15]
- Julia Sawalha – actress[8]
- Graeme K Talboys – writer and teacher
- Susan Tully – television producer and director; former actress
- Holly Willoughby – television presenter[8]
- Daisy Edgar-Jones – actress[16]
Scientists and engineers
edit- Colette Henry – social scientist and Head of Department of Business Studies at Dundalk Institute of Technology
- Nigel Roberts – computer scientist
- Chris Whitty – Chief Medical Officer for England
- Robin Wilson – mathematician
Law
edit- Nigel Bridge – Lord Bridge of Harwich, retired Law Lord
Sport
edit- Craig Brown – football manager
- Ben Davies – Welsh footballer
- Helen Richardson-Walsh – field hockey player
- Ran Sagiv – Israeli Olympic triathlete
- Frank Turner –Olympic gymnast
Military
edit- Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge – Royal Air Force officer[17]
- Peter Cottrell – author, historian and former Royal Navy and British Army officer
- Air-Vice Marshal David Anthony Hobart – Royal Air Force officer
Religion
edit- Eric Nash Devenport – former Bishop of Dunwich
- Zerbanoo Gifford – author, human rights campaigner and President of World Zoroastrian Organisation
Miscellaneous
edit- Bobby Cummines – charity chief executive and reformed offender[18]
- J. Colin Dodds – academic and former President of Saint Mary's University (Halifax)
- Christine Grosar – cave diver and explorer
- Rose Hanbury – peeress, model and political staffer
- Jeanette Henderson – author, academic, social worker, and radio broadcaster
- Myra Hindley – convicted murderer and prisoner[19]
- Gerry Hughes – sailor, and first deaf person to single-handedly cross the Atlantic[20]
- Natalya Kaspersky – IT entrepreneur, and co-founder and co-owner of Kaspersky Lab
- Ken Robinson – educationalist and author
- Gwyn Singleton – dyslexia activist and educationalist[21]
- Mary Stuart – academic and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lincoln[22]
- Peter Ventress – businessman
Honorary graduates
edit- Sir David Attenborough – British broadcaster and naturalist
- Tim Berners-Lee – engineer, computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web[23]
- Mary Beard – classicist and television presenter
- Gordon Brown – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010
- Cerrie Burnell – actress, author and former television presenter
- Sharon Corr – singer-songwriter and musician
- Brian Cox – physicist
- Richard Dawkins – British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author
- Edward Heath – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975
- Prue Leith – restaurateur, television presenter and writer
- Judy Murray – tennis coach
- Terry Pratchett – English fantasy author
- Benjamin Zephania – poet and author
Staff
edit- Katharine Ellis, music historian
- John Fauvel, historian of mathematics
- Derek S. Pugh, Professor Emeritus for International Management
- Robin Wilson, mathematician
References
edit- ↑ @@IanByrneMP (12 November 2019). ""One of my proudest achievements..."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "The UC Interview Series: Sir Laurie Bristow". uc.web.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ↑ Aimee Challenor: Yes, I'm trans, but I'm a Green party politician and proud of it’| Alfie Packham | Society | The Guardian
- ↑ Whale, Sebastian (29 May 2015). "Andrea Jenkyns: 'There's not much that really floors me'". totalpolitics. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ↑ Peter Law: 1948-2006 | Politics | The Guardian
- ↑ "Paul Marsden". BBC News. 16 October 2002.
- ↑ Plaut, Martin (21 August 2012). "Why the West backed Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Garner, Richard (23 October 2011). "From insomniacs to iTunes: rise of the Open University". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- 1 2 3 "The Open University". The Independent. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ↑ "Corrie star Katy is better by degree". The Bolton News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ↑ Fanthorpe on The Writers of Wales Database Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Passed/Failed: An education in the life of the actor Romola Garai". 25 March 2010.
- ↑ "Frank Hampson 1918 – 1985". Tameside Tourist Information Office. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ "About me · Nadiya Hussain". Nadiya Hussain. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ↑ Rogers, Jude (15 January 2023). "Blur's Dave Rowntree: 'I still wake at 3am thinking I've frittered my life away'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ↑ Little, Harriet Fitch (16 March 2020). "Meet the Charismatic Stars of the Highly-Anticipated Normal People Adaptation". Vogue. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ↑ News | The Open University Business School
- ↑ "Youngest armed robber: 'University changed my life'". BBC News. 10 January 2017.
- ↑ "Obituary: Myra Hindley". BBC News. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ↑ "Gerry Hughes". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ Singleton, Clare (31 October 2021). "Gwyn Singleton obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ↑ Professor Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor University of Lincoln Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "BBC News | EDUCATION | Open University's online graduation". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2020.