Honorary Degrees of Retiring Faculty
Thomas Stevenson Smith, Thirteenth President, Lawrence University, 1980
"Thomas Stevenson Smith, a year ago today we bid you farewell. It is our privilege and pleasure to welcome you back this morning. You have been neither distant in miles nor far from our thoughts. And while you have yet to claim the prize muskellunge from the secret lake pledged to you by your former colleagues, we know that you have tasted the rainbows of Carpenter Creek and have found joy in the building of a new home in the wilds that you love.
For ten years you guided and served this University. You defended its mission and forwarded its purposes through a varied and troubled decade. You led us with dignity, you heard us with patience, and you dealt with us fairly and openly. Other institutions have recognized your contributions to American higher education with honorary degrees. But no institution has more reason or right to bestow that honor than this one. From this day forward, whenever the occasion arises, we want your stately frame and striking visage to be adorned by the colors of Lawrence. May your pride in wearing this hood equal ours in giving it to you.
By the authority vested in me, I now confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, and admit you to its rights, its privileges, and its obligations."