Chairman Dean gets doctorate from Leeds Met
Town Chairman Dean Hoyle has received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University as part of their summer graduation ceremonies.
Dean, a prominent and well-respected member of the business community in the region, was awarded a Doctor of Business Administration at the University’s Headingley Campus in a ceremony on Friday 27 July for his significant contribution to the business community and his commitment to fundraising and charitable pursuits.
Speaking about receiving the award Dean said:
“I am really proud to receive this award, but I wouldn't be here without the support of my family and those around me who have helped me to succeed. It’s a great honour and my thanks go to Leeds Metropolitan University. I would urge today’s graduating students to keep working hard to follow their ambitions and don’t give up if you encounter setbacks in business.”
The graduation celebrations took place at the University’s Headingley Campus from Monday 18 to Saturday 23 July, where over 5,000 students graduated over five days, alongside 10 honorary degree recipients.
Others receiving honorary degrees from Leeds Metropolitan include England rugby union head coach Stuart Lancaster, Red or Dead designer Wayne Hemmingway, Olympic torch designer Edward Barber, Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis and Mumtaz Khan Akbar is the founder and owner of the Mumtaz Food Group.
Dean was born in Wakefield and in 1997 established ‘The Card Factory’ which went on to become a business consisting of over 500 shops nationwide, employing over 5,000 staff. In 2010, Dean sold the business to became 100% owner of Huddersfield Town.
Dean was nominated to the list due to the Club’s fundraising activities; in the 2009/2010 season Huddersfield Town raised over £125,000 for the 'Keep It Up' campaign, a pioneering fundraising scheme created by the Club and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance with YAA's logo appearing on the front of the Club's first team home shirts. Dean also recently displayed his personal commitment to charitable causes by cycling from Huddersfield to Wembley to raise money for the Huddersfield Foundation to enable over 800 children from schools across Kirklees to attend the League 1 Play-Off final at Wembley.
