Call for Honorary Degree Nominations
Dear Colleagues,
We invite you to nominate candidates to
receive honorary degrees from the University
ofPennsylvania at future Commencement exercises. The criterion
for selection is the degree
to which the candidate reflects the highest ideal of the University,
which is to produce graduates who change the world through innovative
acts of scholarship, scientific discovery, artistic creativity
and/or societal leadership.
We encourage
you to involve your faculty
colleagues, within and across departments
and schools, in the nomination process.
Nominations should describe how the nominee meets the criterion
for selection, list the nominee's unique achievements and contributions,
and explain why the nominee should be honored by this University
at this particular time. Please include as much biographical and
other supporting information as possible, but we ask that you avoid
contacting the nominee for information, since nominees should not
know that they are being considered. We particularly encourage
nominations from departments and schools whose fields have not
been recognized by honorary degrees in recent years. Please note
that it is University policy not to consider Penn standing or emeritus
faculty, trustees, or school and center overseers for Penn honorary
degrees.
Please send
signed letters of nomination
on your official stationery to: University
Council Committee on Honorary Degrees, c/o Office of the Secretary,
211 College Hall/6303. Nominations
may also be faxed to (215) 898-0103. If you have any questions,
please e-mail or telephone Molly Roth at mroth@pobox.upenn.edu or
(215) 898-6408.
Nominations
are welcome any time during
the year, but are not necessarily acted upon
for the same year's Commencement
as the selection has frequently been made a year or more in advance.
Candidates may ultimately be selected several years after their
initial nominations. The University Council Committee's recommendations
are forwarded to the Trustee Committee on Honorary Degrees and
Awards, which makes the final selection. The list of previous University
of Pennsylvania honorary degree recipients can be found at www.upenn.edu/commencement/hist/honorary.html.
Honorary degrees
are important statements
of Penn's
values and aspirations, and we strongly encourage your participation
in this process.
-- E. Ann Matter, Chair,
University Council Committee on Honorary Degrees
-- Judith Rodin, President