- Business leader Dr Jason Wouhra OBE officially becomes Aston University’s Chancellor
- His installation ceremony was part of University’s first winter graduation, which was held in Birmingham city centre
- This year also marks 130 years since the foundation of Birmingham Municipal Technical School which eventually evolved into Aston University.
Birmingham entrepreneur and business leader Dr Jason Wouhra OBE has been officially installed as Aston University’s new Chancellor.
Dr Wouhra, the University's youngest Chancellor and the first of Asian heritage, was presented with the chancellor’s chain at the beginning of the Aston University’s first winter graduation which was held at Symphony Hall in Birmingham city centre. Spread across three ceremonies, approximately 4,500 graduates and guests attended the event.
The decision to hold a ceremony in the city centre coincides with the University marking 130 years since the foundation of Birmingham Municipal Technical School, the educational establishment which in 1966 evolved into Aston University when it gained its Royal Charter.
Dr Wouhra is Aston’s fifth Chancellor, and as ceremonial head of the University his high-profile role includes presiding over events and conferring degrees upon hundreds of graduating students each year.
A trailblazing business leader and entrepreneur, Dr Wouhra was previously awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston for his contribution to entrepreneurship and business development in 2014. A former director of East End Foods, Dr Wouhra is the founder and chief executive of Lioncroft Wholesale - a leading UK independent business - as well as the current chairman of Unitas, the UK’s largest independent wholesale buying group. Outside of the food and drink industry, Dr Wouhra was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2017 for services to business and international trade, and in 2013 became the youngest and first chair of Asian heritage of the Institute of Directors in the West Midlands - a position which saw him take on a business advisory role for the then-Prime Minister David Cameron. He was appointed to Aston University’s governing body, the University Council, in June 2020, and last year launched the Lioncroft Foundation to support charitable initiatives across the globe.
His installation ceremony as part of winter graduation was presided over by Aston University’s Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Professor Aleks Subic, who said:
“Graduation is a significant milestone for our students, and I’m delighted that this year’s winter ceremonies also marked the installation of our new Chancellor, Dr Wouhra. He brings an impressive track record as an entrepreneur and business leader, with a profound belief in education’s power to transform lives—qualities that will both inspire and nurture our next generation of leaders. With the appointment of our first Chancellor of Asian heritage at Aston University, we are demonstrating our commitment to creating an inclusive, entrepreneurial and transformational university deeply engaged with businesses and community in Birmingham and the broader West Midlands region.”
Dr Wouhra added:
“It is a huge honour and a privilege to be officially installed as Chancellor of Aston University, and it is of course deeply humbling to be the youngest ever Chancellor and first of Asian - and in particular Sikh - heritage in Europe.
“But today’s ceremony was rightly about our graduates, who I know with the lessons of our university under their belt can go on to achieve extraordinary things. The city of Birmingham - with Aston University at its core - has a history of incredible entrepreneurship, and I hope those who graduated today take with them the essence of that entrepreneurial spirit. It’s the ethos that I have built my career on, and I look forward to working with the university team to further instill that mindset into our students to continue to help set them apart and leave a lasting legacy for the UK and beyond for generations to come."
Dr Wouhra replaces Sir John Sunderland who served in office for the past 13 years.