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TWO HONORARY DOCTORATES TO BE AWARDED AT COMMENCEMENT
MUNCIE, Ind. -- A college dean known for his best-selling autobiography about growing up black in Muncie, and a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company will be awarded honorary doctorates at Ball State University's May 8 commencement.
Gregory Williams, dean of the College of Law at Ohio State University, receives an honorary doctor of humanities degree, and Randall L. Tobias, former chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Co., receives an honorary doctor of laws degree.
Both men will give brief presentations and will be hooded at the main commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on the Arts Terrace, where 2,121 graduate and undergraduate degrees are to be awarded.
Williams is the speaker at the ceremony for the College of Sciences and Humanities that takes place at University Arena approximately 30 minutes after the main ceremony.
Tobias speaks at the ceremony for the College of Applied Sciences and Technology at the Field Sports Arena approximately 30 minutes after the main ceremony.
Williams' 1995 book "Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy who Discovered He Was Black," about his life as a light-skinned black male in 1960s Muncie, received national attention. The book also was required reading for all 1998 incoming Ball State freshmen.
Williams is a 1966 Ball State graduate with a bachelor's in social science and Spanish. He earned a master's in government and politics from the University of Maryland, and a juris doctor degree and master of philosophy and doctoral degrees in political science from George Washington University.
He has written two books on criminal justice, "The Iowa Guide to Search and Seizure" and "The Law and Politics of Police Discretion." He was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Iowa for 16 years. He served as visiting professor at Cambridge University and Durham University.
He is a recipient of numerous awards, including several from the Black Law Students' Association and distinguished alumni of George Washington University in 1994.
"Awarding an honorary doctor of humanities degree to Gregory Williams acknowledges the success of one who overcame great odds to become a leader both in higher education and the field of law," said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs C. Warren Vander Hill. "It also recognizes Williams' support of all human beings in their efforts to develop their talents and abilities."
Tobias now serves as chairman emeritus of Eli Lilly. As chairman, president and CEO of the company from 1993 to his retirement Jan. 1, he led the company as it increased in market value from $14 billion to $90 billion.
Tobias restructured the focus of the company to discover new drugs that meet the needs of customers allowing the company to market products in demand such as Zyprexa (Olanzapine), a powerful antipsychotic drug, and Gemzar, a drug that acts against lung cancer.
Tobias also introduced a number of innovative programs to improve employee performance while reducing work-related stress. Some of these programs provided flexible work arrangements, job-sharing and work-at-home options plus on-site daycare for dependent children, allowing families to merge professional and family responsibilities. In 1997, Working Mother magazine named Tobias as one of 25 "Friends of the Family."
In 1996, the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce named Tobias Business Leader of the Year and in 1997 the Norman Vincent Peale Foundation of New York City named him Humanitarian of the Year. In the same year, Business Week magazine cited him as one of the top 25 Managers of the Year.
He is a 1964 graduate of Indiana University.
"Awarding an honorary degree to Tobias not only recognizes his leadership in the pharmaceutical field, but also salutes a human being with the vision to define the term "family-friendly workplace environment," said Vander Hill.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information please contact Marie Aquila at [email protected] or (765) 285-5949. For more information about commencement or for more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web. For downloadable, print-quality photos of Williams and Tobias, visit the Services for Media section of the News Center.)
Nancy Prater 4/19/99
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