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University Politics

Committee calls for honorary degrees nominations

Students, faculty, staff and alumni of Syracuse University have the opportunity to nominate candidates to receive honorary degrees at the next four commencement ceremonies.

Nomination forms can be found on the University Senate website. In addition to the nomination form, the person who wishes to select a candidate for an honorary degree should also attach a copy of the candidate’s vita or resume and two letters of support for the nominee, according to an SU News release.

If one of the letters is not from the dean of the school or college the candidate is nominated to receive a degree in, then the dean will “be consulted about the nomination,” the release said.

Nominations will be processed by the Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees. The committee will then recommend a set of nominees to the entire Senate, which will then decide the recipients. The recipients will be invited to present colloquia, or academic seminars, on Friday of Commencement Weekend, “if feasible for the candidate and appropriate for the program area,” according to the release.

Five members of the SU community received honorary degrees at the 2015 Commencement Ceremony in May. Bob Costas, Charlotte Holstein, Sonia Nieto, Richard Thompson and Mary Karr, the 2015 commencement speaker, were all honored in the Carrier Dome.



The nominations are due on Oct. 31.





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