May 10, 1999
Contact: Julie Guillebeau, Director of Public Relations
(417) 873-7228 [email protected]
Springfield, MO -- When Drury College holds its spring commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 16, seven honorary degrees will be awarded as a conclusion to the college's 125th anniversary celebration.
The seven honorary doctorates are Richard C. Dunn, Dr. Ilene K. Quade Gipson, Dr. Durward G. Hall, John L Morris, Dr. Lee S. Shulman, The Very Reverend Elton O. Smith, Jr., and Thomas R. Whitlock.
Dr. Shulman will be awarded his degree at the noon commencement for evening college students. He also will deliver the commencement address. The six other honorary doctorates will be awarded at the 2:30 p.m. ceremony. Both graduations are held in Weiser gym. In addition to the honorary degrees, the college will confer 574 undergraduates degrees.
Below is biographical information for each honorary degree recipient.
Richard C. Dunn, Springfield and St. James, MO, exemplifies the highest standards of professional community service. And, the community affected reaches far beyond his own neighborhood. In his career Richard Dunn has been a fierce advocate for the weakest in our society: abused, emotionally disturbed and neglected children. He has understood his calling to serve the cast-aside children -- those who others have given up on -- helping them find their path to responsible citizenship.
Richard Dunn left Drury College in 1958. He served in the military, earned social work certification and became a psychiatric social worker and parole supervisor. This work convinced him that preventing incarceration was a better course of action. He joined Boys Town of Missouri in 1971 when the agency had 60 boys aged 8-18 on a farm at St. James.
Under his guidance the agency has expanded to serving boys and girls on residential campuses in St. Louis, St. James and Springfield. It is now called Boys and Girls Town of Missouri, and its services range from family therapy, intensive intervention, residential treatment, emergency placement, and schooling. His programs have become models for efficient, cost effective means to help troubled youth and their families.
Dr. Ilene K. Quade Gipson, Concord, MA, has participated fully and successfully in academic and scientific communities, serving as researcher, teacher and mentor. Dr. Gipson graduated from Drury in 1966 with a degree in biology. She continued her education at the University of Arkansas, receiving her Ph.D. in zoology in 1973. She then worked in the department of ophthalmology, University of Oregon Health Sciences Center before going to Boston in 1979 as an associate scientist at the Schepens Eye Institute, and as assistant professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
During Dr. GipsonÃs years of research, scholarship, teaching and mentoring, she has increased knowledge of the eye and its diseases and has earned recognition in both the national and international research communities.
Dr. Durward G. Hall, St. Petersburg, FL, has responsibly contributed his best talents morally, ethically, socially and politically to his profession, his community, his state and his nation.
He earned his Drury degree and began his career at a low point in AmericaÃs economic history; he served his country in the largest world conflict in history, and represented his Congressional constituency during the upheaval of the 60's.
As a physician, Dr. Hall was as a general practitioner and surgeon. He was a diplomat of the College of Surgeons, founder of the Southwest Missouri Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, and delegate to the American Medical Association.
Dr. Hall was called to duty during World War II, the only reserve officer ever assigned as assistant surgeon general. He was responsible for the mobilization of all medical personnel for the war fronts in Europe and the Pacific.
In 1960, Dr. Hall was elected to the U.S. Congress. His work to insure that the minority in congress was heard, and his conservative fiscal reputation and voting record earned him the nicknames ìThe Watchdog of Congressî and ìDr. Noî, both of which he is proud. He retired after serving 12 years in Congress.
John L Morris, Springfield, Missouri, has combined his Drury education with life experiences and an entrepreneurial spirit to create and now lead one of the most successful business ventures in the country. John Morris is president of Bass Pro Shops, Inc., a fishing and outdoor sports company started as a small bait business in 1971, while he was on the professional fishing circuit. The company now includes Outdoor World Stores throughout the country, and several ancillary enterprises, all with solid international reputations.
Mr. Morris is continually recognized for his tireless efforts and outstanding contributions in business, civic service and environmental concerns. A conservationist at heart, John Morris saw the need for citizens to take a strong position in the responsible management and use of our national resources. His vision and generosity have initiated a number of environmental projects, the most recent of which is Wonders of Wildlife, the American National Fish and Wildlife Museum. In January of this year, he was presented the John James Audubon Environmental Stewardship Award, which recognizes people who are leading citizens in conservation and conservation protection and who also exemplify the spirit of John James Audubon ? ìsticking to your guns and doing things rightî.
Dr. Lee S. Shulman is president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Professor of Education at Stanford University. He has a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He has received numerous honorary degrees.
Dr. Shulman has served as president of the National Academy of Education and the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Shulman is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences. He has been honored as a Guggenheim Fellow. He received the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association of Teacher Educators, the David G. Imig Award from the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and the E.L. Thorndike Award for Distinguished Psychological Contributions in Education.
Throughout his career, Dr. Shulman has been passionate about education. His work combines a strong theoretical element growing out of his interests in psychology and philosophy with an awareness of real teachers and teaching. He has taken a particular interest in the preparation of teachers, the assessment of teaching, and the ìScholarship of Teaching.î He has studied the ways in which various kinds of knowledge foster good teaching, and he has done extensive research on how new teachers learn to teach.
The Very Reverend Elton O. Smith, Jr., Washington, D.C., of the American Episcopal Church is one of the most distinguished pastors and religious leaders among Drury graduates. He completed his degree in 1950 and enrolled in the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church from which he was graduated with honors. He served churches in the Kansas City area, where he helped organize a metropolitan ecumenical body made up of Protestant and Catholic denominations. The organization became a national model.
He subsequently served as dean of St. PaulÃs Cathedral in Buffalo, New York where he was active in ecumenical, community and social service organizations. A substantial endowment fund in Buffalo was named in his honor which provides grants for numerous community projects.
Thomas R. Whitlock, Bellingham, WA, has composed and written songs known throughout the world for their ability to communicate globally. Thomas R. Whitlock studied music at Drury College during the 1970's, while performing as drummer for a popular Springfield band. After touring extensively throughout the United States, he moved to Los Angeles, but foreign audiences were the first to appreciate Tom Whitlock's musical genius. His first hit record, ìAmerican Dream,î was in the top 20 in Germany. Later that year, ìFire and Iceî was number one in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Mr. Whitlock then wrote the lyrics to five songs for the movie ìTop Gun.î ìDanger Zoneî was number one in the United States. ìTake My Breath Awayî was number one in nearly every country in the world and earned him both a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar. He co-wrote the official theme for the Seoul Olympics and composed the official theme for the Milan World Cup, both which were top hits worldwide.
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