Past President Rachel Skinner awarded honorary degree from University of Leeds

ICE Past President Rachel Skinner CBE has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Leeds for her contributions to civil engineering.

Now a Doctor of Laws, Skinner had completed a postgraduate MSc (Eng) degree in transport planning and engineering at the university.

Skinner was the 156th president of ICE, the youngest one in the institution’s over 200-year history. She was also the second female president when she took the role in 2020/2021.

The theme of her presidency was ‘Shaping Zero’, which focused on challenging civil engineers to help achieve net zero.

Skinner is one of eight honorary graduands who will be celebrated alongside undergraduates at award ceremonies taking place this month.

An executive director at engineering consultancy WSP, she leads on environmental, social and governance (ESG) relations. She previously led WSP’s transport business.

Rachel Skinner’s achievements

Earlier this year, Skinner was awarded a CBE at the Queen’s New Year Honours for her services to infrastructure.

Skinner is also an honorary fellow of the Society for the Environment for her work on the Shaping Zero programme.

She’s a patron of Women in Transport, a not-for-profit organisation that empowers women in the sector to reach their potential. Skinner has been a founding board member since 2005.

Skinner chairs the carbon stream of the Infrastructure Client Group.

She served two years as an Infrastructure Commissioner for Scotland from late 2018.

She’s also a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.