Ex-bishop Richard Holloway to be made honorary doctor
Stirling University is to honour a former Bishop of Edinburgh who has stirred controversy in the church with his views on drugs and homosexuals.
Dr Richard Holloway will be made a doctor of the university at a ceremony on 30 June.
The university said the award was in recognition of his "questing mind" and "all-encompassing humanity".
Dr Holloway, who retired in 2000, was criticised when he was a bishop for saying cannabis should be legalised.
The former Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church also faced accusations that he was a "heretic" after he argued for homosexual rights.
He is well-known for his support of liberal causes, and has campaigned for human rights for gay and lesbian people in the church and state.
Dr Holloway was appointed Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council in 2005 and brought the El Sistema music teaching programme to Stirling, launched in the Raploch in 2008.
The university said it also wanted to recognise the former bishop's work for the under-privileged.
Other people being honoured at graduation ceremonies at the university this year include silversmith Graham Stewart, businessman Jim McColl and Baroness Valerie Amos.
Lord Brailsford QC and the director of Glasgow's successful bid to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Derek Casey, will also receive honorary degrees.