We're delighted to share that the Rector, Mr Nigel Clifford FRGS, FRSA, FRICS, has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Geography and to Geospatial Data Services in the King's New Year  Honours 2026.

Nigel led the Ordnance Survey and was a founder of the UK’s first Geospatial Commission. The Geospatial Commission brought together the UK’s principal geospatial organisations – HM Land Registry, UK Hydrographic Office, British Geological Survey, Coal Authority, Ordnance Survey and the Valuation Office Agency – and created a coherent strategy for the development, release and use of geospatial data to support the nation. Resultant innovations included the first National Underground Asset Register of pipes and cables. 

Latterly, he was President of the Royal Geographical Society, before joining Lincoln to serve as our 40th Rector. He studied Geography at Downing College, Cambridge University, where he met his wife, Jeanette, a fellow Geographer who was on the same course.

He commented, "It is lovely to see Geography recognised in this way. My colleagues in the Ordnance Survey, Royal Geographical Society and Geospatial Commission make our country a leader in Geospatial Data, and I am very proud to have been part of this."