Sir Sean Connery Collects Honorary Doctorate from Home-town University in Edinburgh

HONG KONG, June 19 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — The world-renowned actor Sir Sean
Connery will be awarded an ‘Honorary Doctorate of the University’ by his home-
town university today (Friday, 19 June).

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090619/HKF006 )

The Edinburgh-born Scot will collect his degree at a ceremony from
Edinburgh Napier University, situated in Scotland’s capital city. Sir Sean
will be accompanied by his wife, Lady Micheline Connery at the special event
at the university’s historic and beautiful Craighouse Campus.

Edinburgh Napier University is a friendly, lively, modern university, with
campuses conveniently located around Edinburgh – one of the UK’s most student-
friendly cities. Edinburgh Napier offers over 200 undergraduate and post
graduate courses and has around 15,000 students from over 80 countries.
Edinburgh Napier was ranked number one for Graduate Employability in Scotland.

Sean Connery is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award winning
actor and producer who has acted in over 60 films. In 1987, he won the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. He has also
starred in such great films as The Hunt for Red October (1990), Rising Sun
(1993), Dragonheart (1996), Finding Forrester (2000) and seven James Bond films. He was knighted by the Queen in July 2000.

Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh on the 25 August 1930 to Joe and Effie
Connery. His Irish grandfather Tommy made the crossing from Ireland to
Scotland in search of work, subsequently moving the Connery family to
Edinburgh where he made a living driving a horse and cart collecting old
clothes. Sean’s Scottish Grandfather, Neil Maclean, was a stonemason who later
retired to the countryside in Fife (Scotland), and his holidays which featured
cart-horse rides across the fields gave the young city boy a glimpse of what
must have seemed like the prairies of the cowboy movies he loved.

Sir Sean is Honorary Chairman of Friends of Scotland – a US charity formed
to create, stimulate and sustain an interest in Scotland and its history. He
is also a Patron of the Screen Academy Scotland. This joint venture between
Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh College of Art was set up in 2005 to
educate and train film making talent. Its students and alumni are now making
impressive in-roads into the world of film. Sir Sean is also Patron of the
Edinburgh International Film Festival and has helped foster relationships
between the two organisations.

In 2000, Sir Sean Connery received a Knighthood from the Queen at a
ceremony in the palace of Holyrood House in Edinburgh, describing it as one of
the proudest days of his life.

Professor Dame Joan Stringer, Principal & Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh
Napier University, said: “We are delighted to both welcome Sir Sean Connery home to Edinburgh and to award him with an Honorary Doctorate for his immense
contribution to acting. He is an inspiration to so many people, but
particularly to our students studying with the Screen Academy Scotland who
would hope one day to work with such great actors as Sir Sean.”

Sean Connery said: “I am delighted to receive this Honorary Degree from
Edinburgh Napier University. It is pleasure to be involved with a university
which does so much to help develop the Scottish film industry.

“I would like to congratulate the university on its work in this area and
its ongoing commitment to the Screen Academy. I wish them continued success.”

Notes to Editor

Other recent recipients of Honorary Degrees from Edinburgh Napier
University are:

    March 2009
    -- Doug Allan, International wildlife and documentary cameramen

    Nov 2008
    -- David Quarmby, Chairman of the Independent Transport Commission
    -- Giovanni Benedetti, Chairman of Benedetti International
    -- Catherine Lockerbie, Director of the Edinburgh International Book
       Festival
    -- Brian Taylor, BBC Scotland's Political Editor

    Media contact:

     Vinelle Leung, Fleishman-Hillard
     Tel:   +852-2111-3556
     Email: vinelle.leung@fleishman.com

     Patrick McFall, Communications, Edinburgh Napier University
     Tel:     +44-0-131-455-6314
     Email:   p.mcfall@napier.ac.uk
     Website: http://www.napier.ac.uk

SOURCE Edinburgh Napier University