Title: Granting Honorary Degrees

Purpose: To memorialize faculty legislation of May 22, 1991, rescinding faculty legislation of April 12, 1939, and endorsing the reinstitution of the award of honorary degrees.

The University of Oregon shall offer honorary degrees under the following criteria:
A. To an individual or individuals who has/have shown outstanding scholarship or artistic achievement in their lifetime;
B. To an individual or individuals who has/have performed extraordinary public service or distinguished service in their lifetime.

No honorary degree shall be granted by the University of Oregon to any person(s) who is/are currently employed by the Oregon University System, or to any person(s) currently holding elective office within the United States.

Procedure:
The Distinguished Service Award Committee shall consider nominations for honorary degrees. The Distinguished Service Award Committee shall be expanded and shall include the following: The President of the University or the President's designee, Faculty Advisory Council chair, University Senate President, Graduate Council Chair, University of Oregon Alumni Association Director, ASUO President, Student Senate President, five (5) teaching faculty members.

In early October the Distinguished Service Award Committee shall commence the eliciting of applications from the University community as well as from the broader community of the State of Oregon the names of individuals who have met the criteria in A and B above.
The Committee shall screen all applications, ask for more information if needed about the nominees, and investigate, to their satisfaction that the nominee(s) meet the criteria given above.
The committee shall be limited to no more than two nominees per year to be presented for final consideration for the awarding of an honorary degree.
It will be the responsibility of the Committee to judge each nominee in the initial nominating process to decide which two (2) nominees to send forward to the University Senate as the nominees support by the Committee.


Granting Honorary Degrees page 2



The Committee shall do all of its work on honorary degrees in the strictest of confidence.
The University Senate, in Executive Session, shall discuss the candidates presented by the Committee. Members of the Committee shall make the presentations in support of the nominee(s) separately.
The University Senators shall discuss, ask questions of the presenters from the Committee if necessary, and shall vote separately on each nominee. A vote of two-thirds is necessary for the nomination to be approved.
The President of the University Senate shall formally inform the President of the University of Oregon of positive vote(s) of the Senate only. Nominees failing to get the two-thirds vote shall not be forwarded to the University President. All documentation on successful nominees shall be turned over to the University President by the President of the University Senate.
The President of the University shall forward to the State Board of Higher Education the name(s) of those to be honored by the University of Oregon by the granting of an honorary degree. When the State Board of Higher Education has approved the name(s) submitted by the University of Oregon for this honor, the President of the University shall formally notify the candidates and invite them to take part in Spring commencement. Names of successful candidates must be forwarded to the State Board of Higher Education at least 90 days prior to the awarding of the degree.




Legislated by the University Senate: May 22, 1991


Reviewed and Recommended by President Myles Brand
Issued by the Vice President for Administration
Date: February 12, 1992