Hartwick College to confer honorary degrees

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·2 min read
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Apr. 22—Hartwick College has announced it will confer three honorary degrees at its 92nd commencement exercises, to be held Saturday, May 18, on Elmore Field on the college campus.

This year's honorary degree recipients include Douglas Brinkley, U.S. presidential historian and best-selling author; Harry Bradshaw Matthews, author and founding director of Hartwick's United States Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research; and Linda Tarr-Whelan, an international expert on women's leadership in the economy and government and prize-winning author.

"We are honored to recognize the extraordinary achievements of Douglas Brinkley, Harry Bradshaw Matthews and Linda Tarr-Whelan at our upcoming commencement ceremony," said James Mullen Jr, interim president, in a news release. "All three honorees exemplify the enduring values of intellectual curiosity, community engagement and a commitment to making a positive impact on the world that we strive to cultivate in our students. Their dedication to their respective fields serves as an inspiration to our graduating class as they embark on the next chapter of their journeys."

Brinkley, who will also be the commencement speaker, is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and professor of history at Rice University. He is also the CNN Presidential Historian and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Matthews is the retired associate dean and director of the Office of Intercultural Affairs and the U.S. Pluralism Center at Hartwick College. He is also the founding president of the United States Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research at the college.

Tarr-Whelan is an international expert on women's leadership in the economy and government. She is the author of the prize-winning book "Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World." Tarr-Whelan was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as deputy assistant for Women's Concerns in the White House and by President Bill Clinton as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.