Former Education Secretary awarded honorary degree

During a successful career in politics spanning nearly 15 years, Justine has led campaigns ranging from women rights and education, to supporting refugees and local economies.

Appointed as the Secretary of State for Transport in October 2011, Justine went on to become Secretary of State for International Development in 2012 and a member of the National Security Council. In 2014 she held the first ever Girl Summit in London, leading the work to help combat female genital mutilation and early forced marriage, going on to announce a new economic empowerment programme for women at the Global Goals Summit.

A long-term campaigner on Levelling Up both in and out of Parliament, in 2018 Justine co-founded the Social Mobility Pledge to bring businesses and universities together to improve social mobility.

In June 2021, Solent University partnered with Justine and committed to ‘Level Up’ the UK - the partnership saw the University sign up to a new levelling framework to measure social impact. The Levelling Up Goals are the first major piece of work launched by the most committed of these organisations, The Purpose Coalition.

Commenting on her award Justine says, "I’m really very honoured to be receiving this honorary degree from Solent University - it’s humbling, and Solent is a University that stands for delivering exactly what Britain needs - social mobility and equality of opportunity. It’s a wonderful day not only for myself but also so many Solent University students graduating today - many congratulations to all of them and I wish them the best of luck for their successful futures."

In her work, Justine continues to highlight critical issues which are very much in line with Solent’s commitments to student success, equality, diversity and social justice.