• Vice President for Academic Affairs;
• Secretary of the Board of Trustees;
• Registrar;
• Student Representative named by the ASNMU President;
• Student Representative named by the Mortar Board President;
• Three members of the faculty, with academic department heads not to be excluded, named by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

2. The Committee's purpose will be advisory to the President. It shall maintain a pool of names of candidates for honorary degrees and/or commencement speakers and shall, at regular intervals, communicate names to the President for consideration. The President, in turn, is to recommend to the Board of Trustees names of candidates for commencement speakers and honorary degrees. The Committee may recommend speakers who do not receive honorary degrees and honorary degree recipients who are not speakers.

3.  The Committee shall be reappointed on an annual basis at the beginning of the academic year.

4.  Members of the University Community will be invited to submit nominations to the Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degrees Advisory Committee, which should be accompanied by an appropriate biographical sketch and letter from the nominator. Appropriate University communications channels ( Campus , internal memoranda, email, etc.) shall be used to disseminate information on the nominations process. Names will remain on the list for five (5) years and will then be removed. Re-nomination can be made through the established procedure.

5.  Criteria for selection of honorary degree recipients would include achievement in any number of fields of endeavor, including:

• the arts, sciences, humanities, and the professions and in education, public service, religion and business who have achieved national or international distinction as a result of outstanding service or accomplishment;
• the local or regional community who have provided leadership or distinguished service in their respective communities; particular emphasis is on those having a record of strong commitment to the support of K-12 or higher education; and
• outstanding services by alumni and former faculty or staff who have achieved special recognition and prominence in their respective fields of endeavor.

6.  Preference for Midyear Commencement speaker would be given to alumni and distinguished friends of the University. Preference for Spring Commencement speaker would be given to individuals of state or national prominence.

7.  The Committee shall be chaired by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and shall meet subject to the call of the chair.

9/12/03