News & Insight

13th August 2015

A tribute to Professor Mike Cawthorne, our client and friend

Whilst on holiday we were utterly shocked to learn of the death of Professor Mike Cawthorne, Dean of Sciences at Buckingham University.

I worked closely with Mike and his team to bring the Campaign for Medicine to fruition, resulting in the opening of the UK’s first independent medical school.

The very fact that this school opened at all is a lasting testament to Mike’s vision, graft and sheer bloody-minded determination.

There are squadrons for whom Mike was an inspiration and a rock and a man of great generosity, humanity, drive and intellect.

 Mike leaves an extraordinary legacy.  Without him there would be no medical school at Buckingham.  He enriched the lives of so many students, and their associates, students and colleagues.  His research into diabetes brought benefit to many thousands if not millions of people living with the disease.

He seemed to be at the start of the next wave of great things and was so unfinished with living.

Our thoughts are with his partner, Liz, his family and the team at the University of Buckingham Medical School.

He was a very great man.  It was a great privilege to have known and worked with Mike (though it never felt like ‘work’).