Lanfranco, Trump, Desmond Morris and Michael Camilleri conferred honorary degrees

The University of Malta has conferred Degrees (Honoris Causa) on four persons who have distinguished themselves in their fields and who have contributed significantly to the good of the Maltese nation and the global community.

The Degree of Master of Philosophy was conferred on Guido Lanfranco, the Degree of Doctor of Literature was conferred on Dr Desmond Morris (in absentia), the Degree of Doctor of Literature was conferred on Dr David H. Trump, while the Degree of Doctor of Science was conferred on Professor Michael Camilleri.

The Chancellor of the University of Malta presided over the ceremony held at the Church of the University, in Merchants Street, Valletta.

Orations were delivered by Dr Joseph A. Borg, Head, Department of Biology (for Mr Guido Lanfranco), by Professor Mark-Anthony Falzon, Head, Department of Sociology (for Dr Desmond Morris), by Dr Nicholas Vella from the Department of Classics and Archaeology (for Dr David H. Trump) and by Professor Richard Muscat, Pro Rector (for Professor Michael Camilleri).

In his oration on Mr Lanfranco, Dr Joseph A. Borg said: “Occasionally, we become acquainted with a person who has spent a lifetime working for the benefit of society. The impact of such an individual on people from all walks of life is considerable, including inspiring others to take up a particular interest or, even more significantly, a life-long profession. Guido Lanfranco is an outstanding example of such an individual.”

Professor Mark-Anthony Falzon’s oration on Desmond Morris stated that the University of Malta had chosen to honour “an ape of great distinction. Desmond Morris is a polymath who challenges and inspires us to observe and think again, and to do so in style and with impeccable wit.”

Dr Nicholas Vella spoke of Dr Trump and his commitment to lifelong learning and the values of reaching out to the world passionately and without prejudice and preconceptions.  “To know that we have in Dr David Trump a champion of those values, and an archaeologist who has written the most significant bits of the Maltese Islands’ history before history, is a good reason to rejoice.” he said.

Pro Rector Professor Richard Muscat said: “It is indeed an honour and privilege to stand here before you today to recognise one of our own outstanding Alma Mater, Professor Michael Camilleri, who now walks tall among the giants of the medical field.”

Profile: Guido Lanfranco

Guido Lanfranco. Photo: Ray Attard

Upon completing his studies at the St Michael’s College of Education for Teachers, Guido Lanfranco exercised a long and dedicated profession as teacher at several local primary and secondary schools, at St Michael’s College for Teachers, and the then Upper Secondary School in Valletta (now the Gian Frangisk Abela Junior College), where he was eventually appointed head of the Department of Biology, and assistant head of the same college.

Throughout his professional career, Guido Lanfranco served on various educational boards and committees. He has contributed to numerous radio and television programmes on aspects of Maltese natural history, culture, tradition and folkore, and delivered talks and lectures on these topics to various local societies. He has also served as a member of several international and local societies, some of which he founded or co-founded, that encompass a broad diversity of interests. Guido Lanfranco has penned hundreds of articles in local newspapers, magazines and societal newsletters that deal with his favourite topics, and authored many books, many of which are heavily used by a variety of readers ranging from young school children to university researchers, which include volumes on botany, herbs and medicinal plants, fish fauna, mammals, natural history, tradition, folklore and history.

Guido Lanfranco has contributed significantly to environmental awareness and the conservation of nature in the Maltese Islands, and has served as an inspiration for many Maltese students and scholars.

PROFILE: Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris

Born in the village of Purton, near Swindon, Wiltshire, England in 1928. In 1946 he was conscripted into the army for two years National Service. During this period he becomes a lecturer in Fine Arts at the Chisledon Army College and begins painting seriously. In 1950 Morris held his first London exhibition of surrealist paintings with Joan Miro.

In the autumn of 1951 he moved to the Zoology Department at Oxford University, having obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Zoology from Birmingham University. At Oxford he begins research for his doctorate in animal behaviour, and his studies centred largely on reproductive communication systems. In 1954 he was awarded a D.Phil. degree by Oxford University. His long career involved a wide range of activities including becoming Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit at the Zoological Society of London; a television presenter of zoology-oriented programmes; editing numerous papers and books.

In 1967 he published what was to become his most well-known work, ‘The Naked Ape’, a zoologist’s study of the human animal. Following the book’s unexpected success he moved with his wife to live in Malta to concentrate on writing a sequel and return to his own painting activities. He remained in Malta for the next five years, with occasional visits to his old university at Oxford. His son Jason is born in Malta.

Dr Morris continued his work in zoology research, published widely and held numerous exhibitions of his paintings and collages all over the world. His travels have included a trip to Alaska as well as frequent return visits to the Mediterranean.

Last year he published ‘Headworks’, a volume of his collected poems from 1945 to 2014, accompanied by illustrations of his recent paintings.

PROFILE: David H. Trump

David Trump

David H. Trump was a curator at the National Museum of Archaeology between 1958 and 1963 and has visited Malta regularly since to conduct fieldwork and research on Malta’s prehistory. His excavations at the prehistoric site of Skorba near Żebbiegħ uncovered the remains of an early village set up by the first Neolithic settlers, that in time was turned into a large prehistoric temple complex. It was on samples from this site that Dr Trump used the novel technique of radiocarbon dating to reveal that the human presence on Malta goes back further than hitherto believed, and making the temples the earliest freestanding stone structures in the world. Dr Trump also formed part of the team of archaeologists that explored the Xagħra Stone Circle in Gozo between 1987 and 1994, producing staggering results in terms of what is known about the prehistoric population of the island in the third millennium BC, its art and rituals.

On his return to the UK, Dr Trump took up the position of Staff Tutor in Archaeology with the Board of Extra Mural Studies at the University of Cambridge, where he had read for his degrees, a post he held until his retirement. Over the years, Dr Trump carried out excavations on prehistoric sites in southern Italy and in Sardinia, and has written profusely on Mediterranean prehistory for different audiences.

For his contribution to Maltese archaeology, Dr Trump was appointed Honorary Officer of The National Order of Merit of the Republic of Malta in 2004.

PROFILE: Michael Camilleri

Michael Camilleri

Professor Michael Camilleri gained his M.D. from the University of Malta in 1975. After his residency at St Luke’s Hospital, Malta, he became a Senior House Officer at King’s College Hospital Medical School in London, a Research Fellow at Hammersmith Hospital at the University of London, as well as a Fellow in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Hammersmith Hospital, University of London. He read for his M.Phil. at the same University.

Professor Camilleri is now the Atherton and Winifred W. Bean Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Pharmacology and the Executive Dean of Development at the Mayo Clinic.

Professor Camilleri’s research interests include understanding why patients develop disorders of gastrointestinal motility and function and how best to diagnose and treat them with approved medications and untested remedies. Professor Camilleri is also interested in understanding the factors that determine people’s appetites, since he believes this is one of the key factors of the control of obesity.

Professor Camilleri’s research is already improving and will continue to improve patient care by contributing to the development of novel and often non-invasive diagnostic tools to replace invasive and less accurate or less specific diagnostic tests.

As a result of all his research and mentoring efforts Michael Camilleri has received a number of distinguished awards. He has now been selected to be the 110th President of the American Gastroenterological Association, the leading gastroenterology organization worldwide.