COMMENCEMENT
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP & PROCEDURES FOR HONORARY DEGREE
NOMINATIONS
Approved
by Faculty Senate 3/3/03 and General Faculty 5/20/03.
Commencement
Committee Membership
The
Commencement Committee will consist of nine (9) members: six
(6) faculty representatives who are appointed by the
Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate and three (3) student
members who are appointed from among the elected student representatives
of the Student Government.
The
terms of Commencement Committee members will be as follows:
•
Six faculty members will be appointed for staggered three
year terms.
•
Three (3) students will serve a one (1) year term.
No
faculty member may serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.
The
chair of the Commencement Committee will be appointed from
among the six faculty members by the Executive Committee of
the Faculty Senate.
Procedures
for Honorary Degree Nominations
Nominations
for honorary degrees will be considered by the Honorary Degrees
Committee, a subcommittee of the Commencement Committee.
The committee will consist of four (4) faculty members and
one (1) student member from the Commencement Committee.
The procedure for nominating a candidate for an honorary degree
is as follows.
1.
Send a request to present a nomination to the committee prior
to any nomination. The committee will review the
request and determine if a nomination should be reviewed for
further consideration. Approval of a request to nominate
requires a majority of the committee but does not indicate
approval of a subsequent nomination.
A
request must be submitted by January 5 for both commencements
in the subsequent year. It may be submitted by anyone affiliated
with Wright State University (faculty, staff, students, trustees,
or alumni) and should consist of a brief letter outlining
the contributions of the potential nominee.
The
request should remain as confidential as possible.
The potential nominee should not be
notified
of the request, nor should there be any attempt to solicit
external support for the request.
2.
Nominations may be submitted after a request to nominate has
been approved. The deadline for submission of all nominating
materials, for both June and December Commencements is March
1.
3.
Nominations may be made by anyone affiliated with Wright State
University (faculty, staff, students, trustees, or alumni).
4.
Nominations must include:
•
A narrative letter, in non-technical language, setting
forth the reasons for the nomination.
•
A full resume of the nominee, including accomplishments,
honors, education and experience.
•
A minimum of three (3) letters supporting the nomination
from persons knowledgeable about the nominee's contributions.
5.
A majority vote of the full membership of the committee
is necessary to approve a nominee for an honorary degree;
that is, five (5) votes will be required for approval.
6.
The deliberations of the committee regarding nominees should
be strictly confidential.
7.
Nominations receiving favorable consideration by the
committee will be recommended to the President of the University,
who may subsequently recommend them to the Board of Trustees
for further consideration and final approval.
Wright
State University
Guidelines
for Awarding Honorary Degrees
Approved
by Academic Council, May, 1988.
1.
The awarding of honorary degrees should be regarded
as a method by which Wright State University expresses its
highest ideals and acknowledges exceptional accomplishments.
2.
An honorary degree should be awarded for genuine accomplishments
and it should not be based upon financial or political considerations,
however, it should give special consideration to those who
have made contributions to Wright State.
3.
An honorary degree should be awarded to a person who
has made an outstanding contribution to humanity in any field
of endeavor.
4.
The individual who receives an honorary degree should
exemplify the goals and philosophy of the University.
5.
Trustees, faculty, staff and alumni must have two years
of disassociation with the University before they will qualify
to receive an honorary degree.
6.
The granting of an honorary degree is not restricted
to an individual who is well known but includes a person who
had made an outstanding contribution even though he/she may
be known to relatively few.
7.
Honorary degrees should acknowledge achievements nationally
or internationally, keeping an equitable balance between local
and non-local, and academic and non-academic recipients in
a broad variety of areas.
8.
Except in extreme or extenuating circumstances, honorary degrees
should not be given in absentia.
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