Journalists Lyse Doucet and Krishnan Guru-Murthy and author Dolly Alderton to receive honorary degrees from the University of Exeter

The BBC and Channel 4 broadcasters and writer of the current hit TV series “All I Know About Love” will join scientist Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and author Kamila Shamsie, whose achievements will also be marked.

Ms Doucet, most recently seen reporting on the war in Ukraine and the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, is the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent. She has also been posted to Jerusalem, Amman, Tehran, Islamabad and Abidjan.

In 2012 she co-founded the Marie Colvin Journalists’ Network, along with Channel 4’s International Editor Lindsey Hilsum and documentary producer Jane Wellesley, to honour Marie Colvin who was killed in Syria, and to support female journalists in the Middle East.

Ms Doucet said: "I am deeply honoured to join Exeter’s distinguished academic community with its sterling record in both research and teaching, including in regions such as the Middle East where I’ve lived and worked for many years."

Mr Guru-Murthy is the main anchor of Channel 4 News. He also presents the foreign documentary series Unreported World and the podcast interview series Ways To Change The World. Mr Guru-Murthy has also been a presenter on Newsround, a reporter on Newsnight and helped to launch the BBC News channel as a main presenter.

Ms Shamsie’s eight novels have been translated into over 30 languages. Home Fire won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Hellenic Prize, was long listed for the Man Booker Prize, and shortlisted for eight other prizes; Burnt Shadows won the Premio Boccaccio (Italy) and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction; A God in Every Stone won the Anisfield-Wolf Award (USA) and was shortlisted for the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature (India).

University of Exeter alumnae Ms Alderton has written two Sunday Times best-selling books. Everything I Know About Love, a memoir and Ghosts, a novel. She wrote and executive-produced the TV adaptation of Everything I Know About Love, shown on BBC One this month. She has also hosted the number one podcasts The High Low, Love Stories and Sentimental in the City. She has written a column for The Sunday Times Style since 2015 and is their resident Agony Aunt.

Professor Schellnhuber, Director Emeritus of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which he founded in 1992, will be honoured in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the fields of climate change and earth system science. Since 2019 Professor Schellnhuber has been working intensively on the transformation of the built environment and the potential of wooden buildings as carbon sinks.

This year over 14,000 people will be graduating during 58 ceremonies in June and July in Exeter and Cornwall. They are the first full-scale summer graduation ceremonies to be held since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The University of Exeter's new Chancellor, Sir Michael Barber, is presiding over the events for the first time. Awards are being handed to honorary graduates from the arts, sciences, music, journalism, the charity sector and law. More honorary graduates will be announced in the coming days and weeks.