Graduation address: Alastair Merrill, Vice-Principal (Governance)

Graduation Office

Thursday 3 July 2025

Thursday 3 July 2025 – afternoon ceremony

Vice-Chancellor, special guests, colleagues, but especially our graduates, congratulations.

You have done it. You have crossed the stage, some of you smiling, some of you serious. You were “super te’ed” and hooded. You have shed the red gown forever and donned the black and, in the case of our doctorates, the blue. You got through all those deadlines, the moments of stress and elation, the times when it did not seem possible and the times when it all came together. You survived the hangovers, the excessive caffeine consumption, the May Dips, the drenching after your exams.

You are all graduates of the University of St Andrews.

So, take a moment to revel in that, and to congratulate yourselves.

And take a moment to thank the family, friends and supporters who have helped you on your journey to this point – without their love and commitment, none of this would have been possible.

As you turn this new corner in your lives, it is worth bearing in mind the words of Alan Turing, the father of modern computing:

Given the turbulence and uncertainties of the current world, it is perhaps just as well that we can only see a short distance ahead. And there is certainly plenty to be done. The knowledge and skills that you have gained during your time in St Andrews have never been more relevant. The logical reasoning, problem solving and interpretating information that were central to your studies as mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists will play a vital role in bringing fresh ideas to tackle the huge challenges that the world will face over the next decades.

Just as important are the values that as a university we embody – a hunger for knowledge and the pursuit of excellence, but always with compassion, empathy, kindness and respect for the individual. Values that our honorand today, Alan Cumming, also holds dear.

You are now part of a huge global community of St Andrews alumni. You share in the common experiences that make St Andreans special. But it is your individuality that makes you special. Nothing symbolises your individuality more than your name.

Because names matter. Your name is your identity, whether it is the name you were given at birth or a name you have subsequently taken. The name you call yourself defines you, probably more than anything else. It is a quintessential part of the person that is you.

Your name will be entered in the Register of the General Council. And calling you forward individually by name to be touched by the birretum is at the very heart of the graduation ceremony. Even those who cannot be here in person have their names read out as they graduate in absentia. All names are heard.

One of the many things that makes a St Andrews graduation really stand out is the attention that we pay to your names. Each of you, in the weeks before graduation, was invited to send in a voice recording of the name by which you want to be known.

If you happened to pass by the offices of the Deans any evening over the past few weeks, you are more likely than not to have heard a strange and rhythmic chanting. Listening carefully and you would hear that this is not some ritual incantation, but the names of those who are about to graduate, each one being carefully rehearsed to get the pronunciation as close as possible to perfect.

This afternoon 267 names have been read out, 243 graduated in person and 24 in absentia, more than 2,350 in the course of this week. In the 11 years of graduation ceremonies that I have attended, I have heard upwards of 25,000 names and applauded almost as many individuals crossing the stage. Each one of those was a unique moment of individual celebration.

But, as an aside, a dataset of 25,000 graduates over 11 years does provide a great opportunity for predictive modelling and analysis. Did you know, for instance, that each graduate takes on average 35 seconds to cross the stage? And at this afternoon’s garden party, each of you will consume 1.53 glasses of prosecco, 1.89 sandwiches… and 2.7 mini fudge doughnuts.

Now I am conscious that I am standing between you and those 2.7 doughnuts, so let me once again congratulate you on what you have achieved, and what you will achieve. And let me close with the words of Professor Hannah Fry, who has done so much in recent years to popularise the study of mathematics:

Whatever futures you may build, I wish you success, happiness and fulfilment.