Bath Spa University Chancellor Jeremy Irons has recorded a message of congratulations, to acknowledge and celebrate the class of 2020.
Jeremy Irons Opens Bath Spa University Locksbrook Campus
On Wednesday 4 March 2020, Jeremy Irons and Smudge were present to formally open the Locksbrook Campus of Bath Spa University.
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Inside Bath’s New University Campus – somersetlive.co.uk
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Photo via JASMINE NESBITT-LARKING 
Photo via JASMINE NESBITT-LARKING 
Photo via JASMINE NESBITT-LARKING 
Jeremy Irons at Bath Spa University Summer Graduation 2019
Jeremy Irons speaks at 🎓 Bath Spa Graduation : Friday 26 July, 10am. Jeremy’s speech begins at 1:10:40 into the livestream.
Photo by Cameron Reed @bath_dp on Instagram
Bath Spa welcomed alum Roger Deakins CBE, James Deakins and Chancellor Jeremy Irons to the Bath Spa film studios for a special Q&A
Jeremy Irons Opens New Theatre Workshops at Bath Spa University
Jeremy Irons was at Bath Spa University on Tuesday 5 February 2019, to open the new Oldfield Park Theatre Workshops. Jeremy got a tour of the new facilities, unveiled a plaque to mark the opening, watched drama rehearsals and met and observed many students as they worked.
Jeremy was also on hand to present a cheque to Water Aid and attend a Soup Luncheon at the Bath Spa Student Union.
18 pictures from the opening of Bath Spa University’s new Theatre Workshops – from Somerset Live
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo by Artur Lesniak/Reach 
Photo via Bath Catholic University Chaplain 
Photo via Bath Catholic University Chaplain 
Photo via Bath Catholic University Chaplain 
Photo via David Glass
Jeremy Irons at Bath Spa Uni’s Graduation – July 2018
Bath Spa Chancellor Jeremy Irons was on hand for the July 2018 graduation ceremonies at Bath Spa University. [Scroll down for the full Live Stream recording.]
Photo via Kayleigh Pearce
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While on campus, Jeremy filmed a couple of promotional videos for Bath Spa University:
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Watch the recording of the Live Stream from the 20th July Bath Spa University Graduation. Skip ahead to 34:00 to watch Jeremy shaking hands with and congratulating the graduates. Skip even further ahead to 1:11:00 for Jeremy’s speech to the Graduates and all present.
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Jeremy Irons’s Speech – Installation as Bath Spa University Chancellor
Jeremy Irons’s first speech as Chancellor of Bath Spa University at Bath Abbey, 4th November 2016.
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Jeremy Irons in Somerset Life Magazine
Jeremy Irons was interviewed by Bernard Bale for the June 2017 issue of Somerset Life Magazine.
You can buy a copy of the magazine here –> http://www.buyamag.co.uk/
Jeremy Irons – The National Student Interview
SOURCE: Jeremy Irons: “the arts are pivotal to our future”
Sally Hall – 26th January 2017
After a long and distinguished career in film and theatre, Jeremy Irons is a man with a deep understanding of the performing arts and how art can inspire and drive change in the world. A keen activist, Jeremy has long-used his fame to support charities and help further causes close to his heart.
He now turns his attention to education, having accepted the position as Chancellor of liberal arts institution Bath Spa University.
Jeremy will be championing the role of the arts in wider society, the benefits of an arts education in producing well-rounded, engaged citizens, and how the UK can maintain its reputation as a centre for educational excellence post-Brexit.
A man with an international career, Jeremy holds a fervent belief that all people should aspire to have a global outlook on life – understanding and appreciating what others have to offer and what you can offer back. In a post-Brexit Britain, Jeremy feels this is particularly relevant.
The National Student caught up with man himself, to talk Brexit, arts, and the importance of retaining an international mindset.
“Brexit has highlighted some real divisions in our society and the aftermath has magnified these tenfold,” he says.
He believes that instead of “pointing fingers of blame” it is essential that we “instead be questioning the reasons why so many people felt compelled to use their vote in protest at the current system in place in the UK.”
He says: “Part of the problem is the disconnection that the public feel towards a government that is increasingly centralised and therefore unrepresentative of local interests.
“It is an incredible shame that it has got to the point that this type of structure, rather than a local one, with a global outlook, has alienated so many and in all reality it is the young people – the students’ of Bath Spa University for example – that will bear the consequences of this summer’s vote.
“In order to learn valuable positive lessons from Brexit and to make the changes necessary in the coming years, it is therefore imperative that we are training our future leaders to be empathetic, intelligent and instill a sense of being part of the human race and not just British, or English or Welsh.
“With an international mentality, our young people can look outwards and create new ways of collaborating across Europe, and the world, and hopefully fix some of the political problems of today.”
Collaboration in all things is a stance that Jeremy feels passionately about, and he agrees that it is incredibly important to turn out graduates that are well-rounded if we are to progress as a society.
“Much emphasis is put on the STEM subjects, not only in terms of education at all levels but also in terms for the economy. There seems to be a feeling that technology is going to save us all – and indeed, science and technology bring a lot to us all.
“But this can often be at the cost of the arts – a sector that has been pivotal to innovation for decades – and is often overlooked in terms of its contribution to the world.
“The number of jobs that exist and are continuously created in the arts is astounding and the contribution to the economy is growing year-on-year.
“Given this, it makes sense to bring the liberal arts and technology and sciences together – who knows what is possible if we break down the barriers between the two, which are quite artificial. There is no natural reason for the two to be mutually exclusive.”
Jeremy Irons is the new Chancellor of Bath Spa University.
Times Higher Education: Interview with Jeremy Irons
Interview with Jeremy Irons by Hilary Lamb
We talk to the new chancellor of Bath Spa University about censorship, Brideshead Revisited and why campuses should be a place for outrage
December 22, 2016
Jeremy Irons trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has appeared in a wide variety of films from The French Lieutenant’s Woman to The Lion King. In 1991, he won an Oscar for his role in Reversal of Fortune. He is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, a patron of the Chiltern Shakespeare Company, and he holds an honorary degree from Southampton Solent University. He was recently inaugurated as the first chancellor of Bath Spa University.
Where and when were you born?
Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 1948.
How has this shaped you?
I went to boarding school when I was seven and it taught me the importance of family because we were together for only a third of the year.
What motivated you to take on the role at Bath Spa, considering that you have not been involved in higher education before?
It was an unexpected door opening. When I was invited [to take on the role], I felt unqualified but was convinced by Christina Slade, the vice-chancellor, and her board. I thought, well, I can give what I can give and it will be a very steep learning curve. I like that; I will always enjoy what life throws at me.
What do you hope to achieve as chancellor?
One of the things that Bath Spa focuses on is the link between culture and creativity and enterprise and the humanities. I think of myself as having rounded interests with some interest in politics, horses, sport, sailing, theatre, film-making, painting and architecture. I hope that my disparate interests can encourage the spirit that is already at Bath; that of cross-culturalisation between disciplines.
The Spiked rankings of free speech on campus have rated Bath Spa as a ‘hostile’ environment for free speech. Where do you stand on the issue of campus censorship?
I am entirely against that attitude. I hope that when I finish my chancellorship, Bath Spa will be seen as a place where individual expression of thought is admired. I think that university is a place for debate, outrage, and for putting forward and debating contentious ideas. It should be a place where you experiment with where you stand in life. If you don’t do that at university, where in God’s name are you going to do it? Of course, we should be kind to each other and understand each other’s perspectives but we must [also] be robust and challenge each other. I hate the idea that people could be attacked for saying what they think.
In Europe and the US, the populist Right has been using emotional appeals to win support. What could progressive politicians do to combat this?
I think that the vote for Donald Trump was very similar to the vote for Brexit. There seems to be a disconnect between what the people want and what they perceive government doing. There seems something deeply wrong with politics in that our leaders seem influenced far too much by the global economy, by large transnational corporations who have no interest in creating a fairer, more acceptable society. And our government should be doing that as well as worrying more about balancing the books. We need more idealism in government. I’m concerned that students are not entering into that debate. Well, they stirred a little bit after Brexit but, in my day, universities were a ferment of political idealism, thought and discussion. It’s all part of [the debate over] political correctness and not upsetting people. This is not a way to educate our children. We must all be rebellious. We must revolt against unfairness and the status quo, and if students are not going to join in that debate, who will?
You were involved in one of the most famous dramas set at a university. Has Brideshead Revisited had an impact on how higher education is perceived?
When it aired, I think it did change things a little bit; not necessarily for the better. One of the great things that can happen at university is that you have fun and you mix with a variety of people from different backgrounds, as Charles Ryder did.
If you were higher education minister for a day, what policy would you introduce?
I’d encourage firms to [offer] paid sabbaticals to their employees, [so they could] go and teach in universities, [to achieve] a real cross-fertilisation between business, industry and the professions, and teaching.
Do you have a personal rule that you never break?
I always try to treat people with respect and kindness, although I have a wicked sense of humour. Of course from time to time I fail, but that’s a rule that I try to follow. If you [stick to] it, it will keep you on the right path, even if you strongly disagree with people.
Will that wicked sense of humour put you in conflict with some students?
I suspect that it might, and I look forward to that.
Which of your characters would you most like to have as a roommate?
Father Gabriel from The Mission, he was a great guy.
What would you like to be remembered for?
As a stirrer-up of the shit: in other words, [bringing up] those things which need to be talked about that people aren’t talking about. I think that’s one of the functions of the arts, to make us see more clearly through the murky depths.
Jeremy Irons in the Christmas 2016 Issue of SpaLife Magazine
Jeremy Irons is featured in the Christmas 2016 issue of SpaLife Magazine from Bath Spa University.
View the entire magazine at Issuu
[One item in the article is incorrect. Jeremy was not leaving the day after his Investiture as Chancellor to fly to Los Angeles to begin filming Batman. He was flying to Atlanta, Georgia to begin filming An Actor Prepares.]
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Click on the images below for full-sized views:
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jeremyirons.net 
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