Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to formally launch Harper Adams University's 125th anniversary celebrations

Posted 2 September

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will visit Harper Adams University later this month to formally launch the institution's 125th anniversary celebrations.

The Princess Royal has been Chancellor of the University since 2013, a role created after it gained University title in late 2012.

Harper Adams itself was founded in 1901, with a formal opening event held on September 26 that year.

125th anniversary celebrations will be launched on September 24 and will continue for 16 months.

The first event will bring together some well-known faces from the University’s history, and will reflect on the past, present, and future of Harper Adams.

The University continues to serve the aims of its founder, Thomas Harper Adams, whilst broadening its remit to address skills needs and challenges across the agri-food chain, land and the environment, animal health, engineering and more.

Ian Rowley, Executive Director of Institutional Reputation and Engagement, is leading on delivery the University’s 125th – or quasiquicentennial – anniversary celebrations: “Harper Adams has recorded many great achievements in its 125 years of life, and we will be honoured to have our Chancellor in attendance as we celebrate them and look forward to ongoing future success and focus on the role we must continue to play, in supporting our agri-food sector and in ensuring that the world’s growing population has access to nutritious food, which has been sustainably produced, processed and distributed.

“Our Chancellor has always taken a great interest in our work and shares our understanding of the global challenges we must work together to address. It will be our pleasure to welcome her to campus on September 24.”

Invited guests from among the university’s students, employees, alumni, partner institutions, industry connections and wider community supporters will unite for the launch, to enjoy an afternoon of food and celebration, kindly sponsored by Tesco and Noble Foods.  

The celebrations will continue first with a celebration day for students and employees on September 25, followed by additional events and initiatives through to December 2027.