A FACILITIES manager at Oxford University has just been awarded an honorary degree in recognition of 50 years of service to the Department of Pharmacology.

John Harris started out as a Junior Technician in the Department of Pharmacology Workshop in 1969.

He said: “I remember I came in early on my first day and I was a little bit nervous.

“I was mainly building things for the researchers in the labs and making sure everything was working in the classrooms for the medical students.”

Mr Harris has remained in the workshop ever since and passed his 50-year milestone in October 2019, when the department held a reception for him.

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Last month he received his honorary MA at the Sheldonian Theatre.

He said: “Everyone made me feel so special on the day.”

As facilities manager, Mr Harris’s work includes managing the workshop and facilities in the building, the design and build of new labs and office spaces, as well as making anything from small Perspex baths for microscopes to large Faraday cages for researchers in the labs.

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He added: “I like it when I have made something and someone is pleased with it. I do like that I work with my hands every day. It’s an incredibly varied job.

“I feel very lucky because I get to go to all the different labs and sort out problems with professors and students - everyone.”