MSU takes honorary doctorate nominations

The deadline to nominate is Sept. 30.

Honorees must be present for the award ceremony, which will be at MSU’s spring commencement next year. Elected officials, MSU staff, faculty and administration and members of the Board of Governors are not eligible.

Preference will be given to candidates who have not been widely recognized and honored, though individuals with worldwide recognition will not be excluded, according to an MSU news release.

Four types of honorary doctorates may be given: the Doctor of Humane Letters, the Doctor of Letters, the Doctor of Public Affairs, and the Doctor of Science.

Past recipients have been The Kitchen founder Sister Lorraine Biebel, former Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director Harold Bengsch, children’s author David Harrison, community volunteer Pat Walker, and, earlier this year, Jim Craig, Better Business Bureau former president, and Annie Busch, executive director of Springfield-Greene County Library District.

To nominate, send a formal nomination letter with a detailed rationale of a candidate’s education, publications and community service to Paula Kemp, chairwoman of the honorary doctorate committee, at the MSU department of mathematics, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO, 65897.