Susan Brookes with her daughter Sophie at Univ in 2024

This year, four members of Univ were recognised for their extraordinary service and contributions in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Susan Brookes (née Richards) (1982, Law) was awarded a CBE for services to People in Custody. During her 37-year career within the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), Susan was the Governor of a number of establishments and, most recently, Interim Director of Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement. She is credited with leading changes which supported the SPS in becoming a more trauma-informed organisation and, even in retirement, continues to work to support those within the prison service.

Susan said, “From my perspective, any recognition for this award is shared by the members of all of the teams of staff I have worked with over the years,”

Susan is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Glasgow exploring whether the findings from existing research evidence on the developmental needs of boys and young men are reflected in current Scottish Government priorities; and if there are gaps identified, why might these exist and how can they best be addressed to support effective practice and prevent offending.

Gareth Capner

Gareth R.J. Capner MA, FRTPI, a friend of Univ who helped to initiate the College’s Univ North development, and who has advised on planning for the development, was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours. This recognition is for his outstanding services to good quality housing, a field in which he has dedicated more than five decades of distinguished public, private, and voluntary sector leadership. Mr Capner was the first graduate in town planning from the University of Sheffield in 1968, having joined the inaugural course in 1965. He began his professional career in local government, including key roles at Berkshire and Kent County Councils, and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, before moving to the private sector in 1979. He became the first town planning associate at Barton Willmore, later founding the Barton Willmore Planning Partnership. As Senior Partner from 1996 until his retirement in 2008, Mr Capner grew the practice to become the UK’s largest independent planning consultancy, employing over 350 staff across 13 offices with a turnover of £33 million.

Mr Capner said, “I have been involved in housing and planning in the public sector, for a long time in the private sector and now in a volunteer capacity for my local community and other organisations. It has been a very rewarding experience, and it has been a great privilege to receive this honour from His Majesty”.

Dominic Harrison

Dominic Harrison (1982, History) was awarded an MBE for services to the Prevention of Gambling Harms. Dominic has been a trustee of GamCare, a gambling addiction charity, for 12 years and has chaired its audit, risk and development committee for the past three years. GamCare’s National Gambling Helpline provides support to over a thousand each week, as well as offering a number of individual and group-based prevention programmes and treatment services.

Dominic said, “This is a remarkable group of people, very committed to a very, very important cause, and this is 100% for the team. I feel rather unworthy if I’m honest. But the reaction has been exceptionally positive and I’m humbled.”

Professor Sir Simon Wessely

Professor Sir Simon Wessely (1978, Medicine), who is an Honorary Fellow at Univ, was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to Mental Health. Professor Sir Simon Wessely is a world-renowned psychiatrist and epidemiologist who was knighted in 2013 for services to military healthcare and psychological medicine and, in 2017, became the first Regius Professor of Psychiatry in the country. He is currently Professor of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London.

His research has explored unexplained symptoms and syndromes, military health, epidemiology, clinical trials and the way in which populations and people react to adversity. Professor Sir Simon Wessley maintains a strong interest in interdisciplinary work and is a leading figure in global psychiatry and an advocate for science, education and public engagement.

Professor Sir Simon Wessely said, “Being the first psychiatrist to receive this honour shows just how far mental health in general, and psychiatry in particular, has advanced since I started my psychiatry training at the Maudsley Hospital back in 1984. I was fortunate to then move to the Institute of Psychiatry in 1991, where I have been ever since. Whatever I have achieved since then would never have been possible without the support of both what is now the IoPPN and the wider King’s College London. But the most important thing of all has been the privilege to work with such generous, talented and extraordinary colleagues over all these years. My thanks to each and every one of you.”

Published: 3 July 2025

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