Graduation review Wednesday 11 July

Wednesday saw the School of Sport Studies, Leisure and Nutrition graduate in the morning and the Public Health Institute and the School of Education in the afternoon ceremony.

Jane Cordell, Director of Result CIC, which specialises in providing training and coaching for people with disabilities or impairments, received her Fellowship today in recognition of her outstanding contribution to disabled rights and promotion.

Jane is listed on the Power 100 list of the UK's most influential people with a disability or impairment. Jane received four awards for her work as the first senior deaf diplomat in Poland, for supporting its disability rights legislative reform. Jane graduated with a degree in English from Cambridge University and became deaf in her mid-twenties. She then took an MEd at the Open University. Her career encompasses professional music, teaching and lecturing, editorial work, diplomacy, charity governance, including Chairing DaDaFest (Deaf and Disability arts), coaching, equality campaigning and social entrepreneurship. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2016.

Her Fellowship was presented by LJMU Honorary Fellow Ruth Gould.

Speaking to the graduates at the morning ceremony, Jane said: “It is important to recognised ability and potential. I'm going to use this Fellowship to encourage and press for a new normal. Disabled people are not separate and we need to keep this conversation going. Empathy is key for innovation.”