Strathclyde Business School student is awarded posthumous degree
The University of Strathclyde is honouring a Strathclyde Business School student with the posthumous awarding of his degree after he sadly passed away shortly before being able to complete his studies.
Paul Mooney, who was an online MSc in Applied Economics student, passed away last year while working on his final dissertation.
The University has now approved awarding Paul an aegrotat MSc in Applied Economics at the upcoming June graduation, citing the fact he was one of the top performing students across both the online and in-person Applied Economics programmes and was on track to achieve a distinction.
Director of postgraduate teaching in Economics Dr Otto Lenhart, who was one member of the academic team who taught Paul, said, “Paul was an excellent student. Even though he completed his studies online, it was obvious to see that he was extremely motivated and eager to learn. He performed excellently in all the classwork, assignments and exams. Without a doubt, Paul was on track to receive an MSc in Applied Economics with Distinction.”
Dr Lenhart also supervised Paul during his dissertation. He added, “Supervising Paul on his summer project was a real pleasure. Paul worked independently and made impressive progress in the early days. He was also very receptive to feedback and took suggestions on board. In addition to working towards a good mark, it was clear from our interactions that he wanted to learn how to be a good researcher while providing evidence towards a question that he was passionate about. His dissertation was aimed at examining trends and causes of health inequalities in Scotland, with a particular interest in examining medical and dental workforce and how they might be related to health inequalities across Scotland’s 14 NHS health boards. He started looking into whether changes in staffing levels, vacancy rates and other workforce characteristics correlate with inequalities in healthy life expectancy and other health outcomes.”
All academic staff who worked with Paul spoke highly of him, both as an individual and as a dedicated student.
Another of Paul’s lecturers added, “Paul took the Energy Economics class during 2023-24. Paul was a superb student on this module. He engaged with the material thoughtfully and prepared excellent submissions across all the weeks of the modules, several of which I recommended to other students to look at as insightful examples. At the end of the class, he produced a high-quality essay which looked at the economic consequences of the low carbon transition in Germany. His essay drew on historical and recent data to show a real understanding of the Energiewende approach, and linked economic challenges, at national and regional level, with a clear-sighted perspective on the role for policy in improving the situation for regional labour markets.”
Executive Dean of Strathclyde Business School, Professor David Hillier, said, "We would like to extend our sympathies to Paul’s family and friends and hope that the decision to award Paul with his degree posthumously gives them some comfort. Paul was a student who more than deserved both the degree and all the plaudits he has received from the Economics academic team - studying a degree online brings its own challenges and the fact Paul was a dedicated and talented student, working to such a high standard, illustrates his character and determination."
Published: 30 June 2026
