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THE
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 |
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TO: |
The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents |
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FROM: |
Johanna Duncan-Poitier |
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COMMITTEE: |
Full Board |
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TITLE OF
ITEM: |
The Graduate College of Union University: Authorization to Confer Honorary Degrees |
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DATE OF
SUBMISSION: |
March 29,
2004 |
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PROPOSED
HANDLING: |
Approval (Consent Agenda) |
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RATIONALE FOR
ITEM: |
The Graduate College of Union University needs the Regents authorization to confer honorary degrees |
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STRATEGIC
GOAL: |
Goal 4 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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SUMMARY:
On July 17, 2003, the Board of Regents granted an absolute charter to The Graduate College of Union University (GCUU), Schenectady, Schenectady County. GCUU now offers graduate programs in business, education, engineering, and health-related fields formerly offered by Union College and is part of Union University, along with Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, Albany Medical College, Dudley Observatory, and Union College. GCUU will hold its first commencement on June 12, 2004, and would like to confer three honorary degrees on that occasion, in addition to its first earned degrees.
Section 3.50(c) of the Rules of the Board of Regents lists the honorary degrees available to be conferred in New York State. The GCUU charter does not specifically authorize the College to award honorary degrees; however, Section 3.48(b) of the Rules of the Board of Regents provides that:
Any institution of higher education authorized to award any baccalaureate or higher degree, which holds an absolute charter or the equivalent thereof, and which is accredited by an accrediting association recognized by the United States Office of Education, may confer any registered honorary degree.
It has been a long-standing policy of the Board to act on requests by New York institutions of higher education seeking to award an honorary degree that neither have charter authority to do so nor meet all three of the requirements under Section 3.48(b) if they meet two of the three requirements. GCUU awards master’s degrees and holds an absolute charter. However, it has not yet achieved institutional accreditation by an accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. GCUU has applied for institutional accreditation by the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education. It has submitted its institutional accreditation self-study. The Department is proceeding to assemble a peer review team and to schedule an accreditation site visit to the College.
At its first commencement, on June 12, 2004, GCUU seeks authorization to award the following honorary degrees listed in Section 3.50(c):
· Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) on Robert M. Veatch, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Ethics, Georgetown University. A pharmacist and a philosopher, Professor Veatch is the former Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown. The author of 30 books, Professor Veatch has taught in Union College’s 6/7/8 year medical program annually since 1979.
· Doctor of Pedagogy (Pd.D.) on Jennifer Wolfe, a teacher, coach, and staff development facilitator at Oceanside High School, Oceanside, New York, where she has taught since 1997. Ms. Wolfe received an M.A.T. degree from Union College in 1996, with a concentration in social studies education. She holds a permanent New York State certificate as a secondary teacher of social studies and certification by the National Board for Teacher Certification in Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Social Studies – History.
· Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) on John E. Kelly, III. Dr. Kelly has been senior vice president and group executive for technology in the IBM Systems & Technology Group since 2000. He earned a B.S. degree from Union College as well as master’s and doctoral degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Kelly is a trustee of Union College. He will be the principal speaker at GCUU’s first commencement.
Recommendation: I recommend that the Regents take the following action:
VOTED, that the Trustees of The Graduate College of Union University, Schenectady, be authorized, effective April 20, 2004, to confer the following honorary degrees on June 12, 2004: Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) on Robert M. Veatch, Doctor of Pedagogy (Pd.D.) on Jennifer Wolfe, and Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) on John E. Kelly, III.