Committed healthcare innovator receives honorary fellowship from the University of the Highlands and Islands

A nationally renowned and respected surgeon, teacher and researcher is to receive an honorary fellowship from the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Honorary fellowships are given to people who have made a significant contribution to the university or who have gained recognition for their activities in education, industry, public service or cultural and creative work.

Professor Alasdair (Alexander) Munro, from Inverness, has been a driving force in the development of healthcare in the Highlands and Islands during his 50-year career and the award recognises his personal contribution and the leading role he played in the growth of the university in the area of health.

He will receive the prestigious honour alongside more than 300 students at the Inverness College UHI graduation ceremony, which takes place at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on Friday 4 October.

As chair of the Centre for Health Science, which is now owned by the university, Professor Munro played a leading role in establishing the Highlands and Islands Research Institute, now the Centre for Rural Health, which has generated much needed healthcare research activity in the region. 

Professor Munro, who graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree in 1967, said:

“I am pleased to be receiving an honorary fellowship of the University of the Highlands and Islands. When I retired from the national health service in 2003, I was asked to help with the concept of the Centre for Health Science in Inverness. I am delighted to have been involved with this very exciting development over many years.”

“The centre is now full, with a growing reputation in healthcare research and education. I have helped with several projects.  Some of these turned out as planned, others happened unexpectedly. All of the successful ones were the result of good team work. The university is now well established and has made a major contribution to many aspects of health over the years.”   

Professor Crichton Lang said:

“Professor Munro is an outstanding individual who has been a driving force in the facilitation of unique collaborations between academia and industry, including the development of the Highland Diabetes Institute and the Highland Clinical Research Facility, which have paved the way for future research, development and patient care in the Highlands and Islands.”

Friends, family and teaching staff will join students at the Inverness College UHI graduation ceremony, which takes place over two ceremonies to accommodate the large number of graduates.

Students graduating from courses within the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business graduate at 10.30am, with a ceremony for the Faculty of Science, Health and Engineering following at 1.30pm.

The students are celebrating successful completion of a range of qualifications from higher national certificates and diplomas through to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.