St Andrews University honoured its own as two local heroes received special accolades.
Bunny Christie, the internationally-renowned theatre designer, received a Doctor of Letters as the institution held its belated St Andrew’s Day graduation ceremony.
Born and schooled in the town, Ms Christie was honoured for her work which saw her become the first woman to receive the Olivier Award for theatre set design.
Presented by Zinnie Harris, from the university’s School of English, the former Madras pupil was hailed for the scale of her designs at some of the world’s premier theatres.
“Bunny’s ability to deliver beautiful and arresting theatre design on a huge scale has gone on to be a hallmark of her work,” she said.
Also taking centre stage yesterday was former university cleaner Catherine Robertson, who received the University Medal for her 38 years of service.
In keeping with the local theme a third Fifer was also celebrated, with Professor John Wallace, the former principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, made a Doctor of Music.
The former Buckhaven High pupil is a celebrated trumpeter and was head of the RCS for 12 years before standing down in September.
He was hailed for his contributions to the performance and teaching of music.
As well as local recipients, the university also reflected its worldwide reach by presenting a Doctor of Letters to Canadian poet Anne Carson.
Also recognised as an essayist and translator, the TS Eliot prizewinner was described as “arguably the most distinguished poet-translator of classical literature writing in English today”.