Honorary Degree Policy

Approved by President's Cabinet 9/6/23

Purpose

This policy provides the guidelines and requirements for conferring an honorary degree to a member of the East Georgia State College community.

Policy Statement

East Georgia State College adopts the Board of Regents Policy on Honorary Degrees (BoR Policy Manual 3.8.8). This policy document outlines the institutionally approved process for advancing candidates for consideration in a timely fashion. The Honorary Degree Committee including faculty and staff representatives will make recommendations to the President. The selection of a candidate will then be communicated to the Chancellor. Honorary degrees will be conferred upon candidates recommended by the Chancellor and approved by the Board of Regents.

Exclusions

Current elected or appointed national office holders or officials of the State of Georgia to whom the USG institutions are directly or indirectly answerable, as well as persons who are announced candidates for national or state elective offices are ineligible for honorary degrees. Current Regents and all current USG employees are also ineligible.

Procedures

1. 1. The Provost and Vice-President for Academic and Student Affairs shall ask the College community for nominations for honorary degrees at the beginning of each academic semester. Nominations will be accepted from current students, employees, or alumnus of the College. The nomination shall include the reasons for the recommendation and may include supporting documentation.
   2. The Honorary Degree Committee shall convene on an ad-hoc basis when nominations are received. The committee will be appointed by the President and charged with the responsibility of screening nominees. Committee membership will include four faculty members, one representative from Staff Council, and one representative from the Office of Institutional Advancement. The committee will be chaired by the Provost and Vice-President for Academic and Student Affairs or their designee.
   3. Nomination Criteria
      1. The basic criteria for an honorary degree recipient shall be notable achievement in an academic field, the arts and letters, the professions, or public service, with an emphasis on contributions to the East Georgia State College community.
      2. Self-nominations are not accepted.
   4. This Committee will meet in the fall and spring semester as needed to review recommendations for the conferral of honorary degrees. The Committee will screen nominees and recommend, with supporting rationale, up to three (3) finalists to the Recommendations should be made at least three (3) months prior to the commencement ceremony to ensure time for Board of Regents approval. Upon selection of a recipient, the President shall make a recommendation to the Chancellor for consideration by the Board of Regents.
   5. The recipient must be present at the commencement ceremony to receive the degree. The honorary degree recipient may be invited to be the commencement speaker, but it is not required, and they may decline.