From vice-chancellors and policymakers to university chaplains and caterers, people from across the sector were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list this week (see below for the full list).
Drummond Bone, vice-chancellor of the University of Liverpool and a member of Times Higher Education's editorial board, was knighted for services to higher education. Sir Drummond, who is due to retire this year, said that he shared the honour with his university colleagues.
"The world of higher education is changing dramatically. Universities make huge contributions to the UK economy and to civil society, but they also have a global role, and the University of Liverpool is now known around the world," he said.
Another vice-chancellor honoured was Janet Finch, head of the University of Keele, who was made a dame for services to social science and to higher education.
She said: "I have been fortunate, in my professional life, to have been given opportunities to provide leadership not only of the university but also in national bodies where there is an opportunity to make a difference."
A third vice-chancellor to be honoured was Dianne Willcocks, of York St John University, who was awarded a CBE.
Picking up awards alongside university leaders were figures from across the sector. Among those given MBEs were Kaur Kulwant, general catering assistant at the University of Birmingham. Ms Kulwant, who has worked for the university for 32 years, said: "It was a great surprise to get a letter from the Queen. I was very pleased."
Raymond Lucas, a gardener at Newman College of Higher Education in Birmingham, and Diane Williams, a chaplain at the University of Edinburgh, were also awarded MBEs.
Knights Bachelor
Knighthoods
James Drummond BONE, Vice-Chancellor, University of Liverpool.
Christopher EDWARDS. For services to Higher Education, Medical Science.
Andrew James MCMICHAEL, Director, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford.
William MOORCROFT Principal, Trafford College.
Nicholas John WALD, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary, University of London.
Order of the British Empire
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Janet FINCH, Vice-Chancellor, Keele University.
Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
John CLELAND, Professor of Medical Demography, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Anthony COHEN, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
Paul COLLIER, Director, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
Brian DUERDEN Professor of Medical Microbiology, Cardiff University School of Medicine.
Christopher DYER, Director, Centre for English Local History, University of Leicester.
Edmond FIVET Lately Principal, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
William GEORGE Lately Regius Professor of Surgery, Western Infirmary, Glasgow.
Anthony GOLDSTONE Consultant Haematologist, University College London Hospital Trust and Director, North London Cancer Network.
Paul HARVEY, Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
Mark HAYSOM Chief Executive, Learning and Skills Council for England.
Peter HEWITT Lately Chief Executive, Arts Council England.
Peter Simon, Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.
Hugh MCKENNA Dean, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, University of Ulster.
Magdalene Anyango Namakhiya, Professor of Ceramics at University College for the Creative Arts at Farnham.
Peter NOYCE Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Manchester.
Michael PILLING Lately Director, Natural Environment Research Council Distributed Institute for Atmospheric Composition, University of Leeds.
Randolph RICHARDS Professor in Aquatic Veterinary Studies, University of Stirling and Director, Institute of Aquaculture.
Duncan ROBINSON, Lately Director, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
DianneWILLCOCKS Vice-Chancellor, York St John University.
Order of the British Empire
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Muhammad ABDEL HALEEM King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies.
Dennis ANDERSON, former Professor of Energy and Environmental Studies at Imperial College, London.
Frances BALKWILL Professor of Cancer Biology, Queen Mary, University of London.
Raymond BROWNE Business Continuity Manager, Technology Strategy Board, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Frederick BURDEKIN, Emeritus Professor, University of Manchester.
John COGGINS, Vice-Principal, Faculties of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Clinical Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow.
John CUMMINGS Professor of Experimental Gastroenterology, University of Dundee.
Candace CURRIE Director, Child and Adolescent Health, University of Edinburgh.
Wendy DAVIES, Professor of History and lately Pro-Provost-Europe, University College London.
Susan Louise, Mrs HENDERSON Team Leader, Skills for Life Strategy,
Unit, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Irene HIGGINSON Professor of Palliative Care and Policy, Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College London.
Graham HOYLE Chief Executive, Association of Learning Providers
Susan JEBB Head of Nutrition and Health Research, Medical Research Council Human Nutritian Research Unit, Cambridge.
Richard KENWAY, Vice-Principal, High Performance Computing and e Science and Tait Professor of Mathematical Physics, University of Edinburgh
Jim AL-KHALILI Professor of Physics and Professor of Public Engagement in Science, University of Surrey.
Gloria LAYCOCK Director, Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science, University College London.
Brian LISTER Principal, Cumbernauld College.
George LUNT Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Bath
Robert MCCLELLAND, Emeritus Professor of Mental Health, Queen's University Belfast.
Anne MORAN Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ulster
Patricia NINER Senior Lecturer, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Birmingham.
Michael OSBALDESTON Director, Cranfield School of Management.
Brian ROBSON Director, Centre for Urban Policy Studies, University of Manchester.
Julia SLINGO Director of Climate Research, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading.
John SPENCE Research Professor, Department of Mechancial Engineering, Strathclyde University.
Sylvia WALBY Professor of Sociology, Lancaster University.
Julian WOOLFSON Chair of Governors, Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, London.
Order of the British Empire
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Alan Kenneth BURNETT Head of The Department of Haematology, Cardiff University School of Medicine
Jonathan GAMBLE Director for Adults and Lifelong Learning, Learning and Skills Council.
Gudrun, Mrs GILSON Higher Executive Officer, Higher Education Governance Team, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Barry HARDY For voluntary services to Lifelong Learning and to the Open University in Inverness.
Iraj HASHI, Professor of Economics, Business School, Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent. For services to education and economic reconstruction in Kosovo.
Kulwant, Mrs KAUR General Catering Assistant, University of Birmingham.
Michael LEE Lately Director of Geology and Resources, British Geological Survey.
Raymond LUCAS Gardener, Newman College of Higher Education, Birmingham.
Christopher ORR Artist and Head, Printmaking Department, Royal College of Art.
Margaret ROSS Professor of Software Quality, Southampton Solent University.
Anthony TAYLOR Chair of Governing Body, Walsall College.
June Barbara BOYCE-TILLMAN Professor of Applied Music, University of Winchester.
Janet, Mrs WALES Study Support Manager, Runshaw
Patricia, Mrs WHITE Member, Technical Support Team, Department of Oncology, Queen's University, Belfast.
Diane WILLIAMS Chaplain, University of Edinburgh.