Announcing the Rutgers-Camden Commencement and Honors Convocation Ceremony and the Call for Honorary Degree Recipient Nominations (Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014)
To the Campus Community:
As we begin the spring semester, many students are anticipating their graduation in May.
Rutgers–Camden has a long tradition of celebrating this milestone achievement in a thoughtful manner. Our individual schools and colleges hold individual ceremonies that reflect the unique characteristics of their students and their scholarly and social communities.
I am pleased to announce that we will add a new tradition this year with our first Campus Commencement and Honors Convocation, which will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 21. This event is a celebration of all of our graduating students, as well as the honors that they and their faculty have achieved throughout the year. It does not supplant any of the individual ceremonies held by the schools and colleges; in fact, we believe that it will complement the traditions of our academic units.
The Campus Commencement and Honors Convocation will be held at the Susquehanna Bank Center, where the School of Business will hold its ceremony at noon on the same day. On Thursday, May 22, the School of Nursing will hold its ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Walter K. Gordon Theater here on campus; later that day, the Susquehanna Bank Center will host the School of Law at 1 p.m. and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at 6 p.m.
As a signature element of the Campus Commencement and Honors Convocation, Rutgers–Camden will present an honorary degree to a worthy recipient. This will be Rutgers’ first honorary degree presented in Camden since 2002, and I am mindful of the importance of this occasion. Accordingly, I am writing to announce that honorary degree nominations are invited and will be accepted until Wednesday, February 26, 2014.
An honorary degree is one of the most prestigious honors that the university can bestow on an individual. Nominees should be individuals of outstanding regional, national, or international acclaim. They should add to the distinction and tradition of the university and should have attained scholarly excellence or made major contributions to society in their field. Some examples are leading academics, visionary leaders, public intellectuals, creative minds in arts and performance, and philanthropists. Nominators should ensure that all nominees are individuals whose accomplishments support the ideals of Rutgers.
We are soliciting honorary degree nominations for 2014 and 2015. Honorary degrees may be awarded in four categories based upon the standards listed below:
Doctor of Laws: Distinguished service to the state or the nation, to learning or to humankind, coupled with intellectual gifts and moral qualities that entitle the recipient to rank with persons of culture and high principle.
Doctor of Letters or Doctor of Fine Arts: Distinguished service to letters, art, performance, music, or education, coupled with intellectual and moral qualities that are widely recognized.
Doctor of Science: Distinguished service to science, coupled with personal qualities and a kind of learning that entitle the recipient to recognition by a learned educational body of high standing.
Doctor of Humane Letters: Distinguished service of a general nature, coupled with personal qualities and a kind of learning that entitle the recipient to recognition by a learned educational body of high standing.
All members of the university community and the public are invited to nominate candidates for consideration. Nominations will be kept confidential and nominees should not be contacted. Information on the honorary degree nomination process at Rutgers–Camden is available at http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/page/honorary-degrees.
Nominations must be submitted using the Honorary Degree Nomination Form along with appropriate biographical information or a curriculum vitae, if available, and/or other supporting material. You may send all nominations and supporting documentation electronically to:
Michael Sepanic
Associate Chancellor for External Relations
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
303 Cooper Street
Camden, NJ 08102
Nominees will be reviewed by a committee that will share their recommendations with me.
Please note that we are not requesting nominations for graduation speakers. If you have suggestions regarding keynote speakers for graduation ceremonies, please share them with your academic dean.
I welcome and encourage your participation in this important process. If you have questions on the nomination or selection process, please contact me at chancellor@camden.rutgers.edu.
Wendell E. Pritchett, J.D., Ph.D.
Chancellor