ANOTHER Place sculptor Anthony Gormley is to join TV mathematician Johnny Ball to receive an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University.
The two topped the list of 11 names released by JMU yesterday, including yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, who was the first person to sail non-stop and single-handed around the world.
Among the local names due to receive the accolades this summer are Roy Morris, chairman of regeneration group The Mersey Partnership, and Professor Gordon McGregor Reid, director general of Chester Zoo.
Mr Gormley, who created the Angel of the North in Gateshead, will receive his fellowship in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts.
His sculpture, Another Place, of 100 iron men facing out to sea at Crosby beach, has been credited with turning around the tourism fortunes of Sefton.
Mr Ball, best known for championing science and maths through his children's television shows Think of a Number, Think Again and Johnny Ball Reveals All, is being recognised for his services to broadcasting and education.
Last night, the father of DJ and broadcaster Zoe Ball, who still lectures on his beloved subjects to children and students around the country, including at JMU, said he was "chuffed to death".
He already has three honorary fellowships, from universities in Sheffield, Salford and Glasgow.
But this time the fellowship will be particularly special, Ball said, given his tremendous fondness for Liverpool, where he started his career as a comedian having ditched jazz drumming.
Mr Gormley said he was also looking forward to coming back to the city.
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