Stuart Rawlins

Areas of Interest

Charity, Literature

Honorary Award

Honorary Master of Arts, 2000

Biography

Born in Essex and educated in Chelmsford, Stuart Rawlins is former editor and editorial director of the Essex Chronicle media group. He began his newspaper career with the East Anglia Daily Times newspaper before moving to the Essex Chronicle where he held a number of senior positions in the group before being appointed editor in 1993. He stood down as editor in 2006 but continued to represent the newspaper as associate editor on a number of organisations. In 2004 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex. In his role as editor he sought to enhance the newspaper's role within the community by promoting social cohesion and fostering social responsibility within the region. As such he held, and still does hold, leading positions on community groups.

He is a vice chairman of Essex Crimestoppers, chairman of Mid Essex Enterprise Agency, chairman of Business Help East, a consortium company of the enterprise agencies in the county, a member of Chelmsford Business Forum and chairs the forum's promotions group. He is also chairman of a scout group in the Chelmsford area.

In 2000 Stuart Rawlins was awarded an Honorary Master of Arts.

Citation

"The Senate of Anglia Polytechnic University has great pleasure in recommending the award of an Honorary Master of Arts Degree to Stuart Rawlins, Editor and Editorial Director of the Essex Chronicle, editor extraordinaire and coarse fishing enthusiast.

Today we honour Stuart Rawlins, who is the Managing Editor of the Essex Chronicle series of newspapers, wherein he seeks, consistently, to portray APU advantageously, as he supports the cultural and economic development of this region, which is the University's catchment area.

He was born and brought up in the county of Essex where, as a boy, he attended Chelmsford Technical High School. He started his career in newspapers with the East Anglian Daily Times, then moved to the Essex Chronicle. He has held a number of senior appointments within the company, including serving as editor on the Brentwood Gazette, sister paper to the Essex Chronicle. Under Stuart's guidance, The Essex Chronicle has won the prize for the Best Paid For Newspaper in the UK and is probably, the oldest business in Essex, having been launched at a site in Chelmsford High Street in 1764, making it 236 years old. Stuart has a deep conviction that as part of the Essex Chronicle team, they have an important role in cementing relations within the community, of acting as a social glue, bringing cohesion and integrity to society. Indeed he admires and seeks to reflect, the late Hugh Cudlipp's concept of a four-fold role for a community newspaper of being: a recorder, an informer, a community watchdog and a reflection of the history of the community it serves.

His devotion to seeking to enhance the community of which he is a part, has led Stuart into an active involvement with a broad spectrum of local and regional organizations. For example, he is President of the Essex Anglia Region, Society of Editors, Chairman of the Borough Forum Steering Group (which has the role of informing the community about a whole range of issues of concern like transport, crime, young people, town centre management etc.) he is Director of the Chelmsford Enterprise Agency (which in this area of so many hundreds of small businesses, is of pivotal importance) he is on the board of the Crimestoppers Trust (which allows people to telephone anonymously, a nation-wide free telephone number at any time of the day or night to provide information about crime) and is also involved with the Essex Prince's Trust.

This admirably concerned person is quietly passionate in seeking to direct his influence, in his Director role of the local newspaper, as a catalyst in the enhancement of the material, bodily and spiritual well-being within the business, the educational and the social communities within this region. He has always taken a keen

interest in and been an active supporter of this University.

It is for these reasons, therefore, that I invite you, Vice-Chancellor, to confer on Stuart Rawlins, an Honorary Master of Arts degree of this University."