Events

We've got the Mad Stad, the Mad Acad, and now it's Mad Grad.

See the report by BBC South Today's Ben Moore here:

In a formal ceremony at the University's Great Hall on Friday 14 December, Mr Madejski was also made an Honorary Doctor of Letters and presided over his first official engagement as Chancellor at a graduation ceremony.

An honoured John Madejski

More than 100 invited guests, VIPs, University staff and well-wishers watched as Mr Madejski received his doctorate and was then formally installed as Chancellor.

"I am honoured"

Mr Madejski said: "I am honoured to be appointed Chancellor of the University of Reading and I look forward to promoting this well respected educational institution.

"This comes at a very exciting time where recent research has identified the town of Reading as being the number one economic performer.

He adds: "We can be proud of this and also our University which provides students from the UK and across the world the opportunity to study in a fantastic environment at this leading centre for higher education."

He told the audience how as a child growing up in Wokingham Road he used to cycle through Whiteknights Park – now Whiteknights Campus - and how he used to look at Old Whiteknghts House and dream of one day living there. 

John Madejski as Chancellor

The installation – the most formal event in the University’s calendar – saw Lord Carrington, who was appointed the University's sixth Chancellor in March 1992, formally hand over the reigns with a handshake.

Chancellor's role

The Chancellor's role is to act not only as a figurehead for the University's activities, but also as an individual who will appeal to, and provide a role model for its students and its local, national and international stakeholders.

John Madejski - a life in bullet points

• John Madejski OBE DL, was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in 1941.
• In 1976, he founded the Thames Valley Trader, now known as Auto Trader.
• In 1998 he sold his company Hurst Publishing for £174 million.
• Mr Madejski became chairman of Reading FC in 1990, and has given his name to the club's Madejski Stadium.
• In 2006 he led the Royals to the Premiership for the first time in their 135-year history.
• He is also a benefactor to the Royal Academy of Arts, while the John Madejski Centre for Reputation at Henley Management College, the new garden at the Victoria and Albert Museum, a lecture theatre at the University itself and a gallery at the Museum of Reading also bear his name.
• Most recently, he helped fund the John Madejski Academy in Whitley, a secondary school striving to provide young people of Reading with a new type of creative learning environment.
• In 2000 Madejski was awarded the OBE in "recognition of his contribution to Reading Football Club and the Reading community".
• He is also Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.
• In 2006 he was admitted as a Freeman of the Borough "in recognition of the distinguished service rendered to the Borough of Reading, by his contribution to the growth and success of football in Reading, and by his support for education and arts".