Honorary Degree Committee

Description

• Membership

  Position and Term Length	Name	Term Expires
  Provost	Lorin Basden Arnold	*
  University Senate President (3 years)	Lisa Frye, Chair	8/2028^
  University Senate Vice President (3 years)	Gregory Shelley	8/2026^
  University Senate Secretary (2 years)	Julia Hovanec	8/2027^

  * Indefinite Term of Office
  ^ Based on University Senate term

• Mission & Bylaws

  MISSION

  Kutztown University grants Honorary Degrees to individuals who have made outstanding
  contributions to the welfare and improvement of their community, region, Kutztown University,
  the state of Pennsylvania, the United States, or to humanity at large. Honorary Degrees are
  conferred to recognize individual creativity, distinguished service, significant scholarship, and
  other individual accomplishments in the fields of public service, the sciences, the humanities, the arts, education, business, philanthropy, and social services. Recipients of Honorary Degrees must exemplify the integrity, character, and achievement that epitomize the mission and purpose of Kutztown University.

  The Honorary Degree Committee reports to the University Senate and is responsible for the
  following:

  • Recommending recipients for Honorary Degrees.
  • Reviewing and considering applications for Honorary Degrees. 

  BYLAWS

  1. COMPOSITION AND TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

     1. Composition
        • University Senate President, chair
        • University Senate Vice-President
        • University Senate Secretary, recording secretary.

  2. DUTIES

     1. Duties of Committee Members are:
        • Review the Mission Statement, Bylaws, and Operating Guidelines on an annual basis
        • Attend meetings on a regular basis.
        • Inform the chair if unable to attend a meeting.
        • Perform committee duties as assigned.
        • If serving as a representative of a department or college, provide regular feedback to appropriate constituency.
     2. Duties of Chair are:
        • Distribute Mission Statement, Bylaws, and Operating Guidelines to members at the first meeting of the year for information and review.
        • Submit any revision of the Mission Statement and Bylaws to University Senate for approval.
        • Submit any revision of Operating Guidelines to University Senate for approval.
        • Ensure that the University Senate Office has a copy of the Mission Statement, Bylaws, and Operating Guidelines.
        • Call meetings as necessary.
        • Set the agenda and distribute prior to the meeting.
        • Inform University Senate if proposing any changes in structure, membership, or mission.
     3. Duties of Recording Secretary are:
        
        • Record the minutes of each meeting.
        • Record the names of those attending and those not attending at each meeting.
        • Submit copies of minutes to the University Senate office for archival purposes.

  3. MEETINGS

     1. The Honorary Degree Committee will meet as necessary.

  4. AGENDA

     1. The agenda shall consist of the following order of priority:
        • Call to Order
        • Approval of Minutes
        • Announcements
        • Old Business
        • New Business
        • Adjournment
     2. The final agenda for the meeting will be available for the members of the committee on the day of the meeting.

  5. RULES OF ORDER

     1. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern this committee in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order this committee or University Senate may adopt.
     2. A quorum will consist of a simple majority of the members of the full committee. A quorum is needed to hold meetings and conduct business.
     3. All members of the committee have full voting privileges.
     4. In order to have a vote, there must be a quorum.

  6. APPROVED

     1. University Senate – December 7, 2023 

  7. LAST REVIEW (all dates reviewed) 

     1. Spring 2023
• Meeting Times

  Meeting times TBA.

• Agenda & Minutes

  Sign in here to view available archived minutes.

• Nomination Process

  CRITERIA

  
  The honorary degree may be awarded to recognize distinguished contributions in the service to humanity, scholarship, government, business, creativity, science, or the community. It is strongly recommended that nominees for an honorary degree from Kutztown University have an affiliation with the university.

  
  SELECTION PROCESS

  1. Nominations shall be accepted on a nomination form (see attached) from any member of the University community.
  2. Nominations shall be sent to the chair of the Honorary Degree Committee by November 1.
  3. The committee shall thoroughly evaluate each nominee in relationship to the approved guidelines (criteria). The name(s) of the selected candidate(s) shall be submitted to the Executive Committee of the University Senate.
  4. Name(s) approved by the Senate Executive Committee shall be forwarded to the University President and announced to the University Senate at an appropriate time.
  5. The University President shall submit the name(s) of the recommended candidate(s) to the Council of Trustees for approval and submission to the Board of Governors.

  Honorary Degree Nomination Form

  Honorary Degree Nomination Form-Fillable