The university announced the opening of the 2022 Honorary Degree Nomination Form, according to an email sent by President Ron Liebowitz to community members on Oct. 12. Community members can now fill out the form to nominate individuals who they believe should receive the award, according to the email.
“Today, I write to invite you to nominate candidates for us to consider ahead of our Commencement 2022 celebrations. While we cannot guarantee that all nominations will be selected or approved, we value your input,” wrote Liebowitz in the email.
Honorary degrees are given to recipients at the commencement ceremony each year, according to Liebowitz. “For our university, we seek to recognize those that represent not only the very best of their chosen professions but those who embody the highest values of our institution and shape their communities—and our world—for the better,” wrote Liebowitz to the community.
Nominations for the honorary degree recipients must be submitted in writing, according to the Honorary Degree Nomination Form page. On the form, individuals must include the following criteria: the candidate’s name, their current position or affiliation to the university, their rationale for supporting the nomination of their candidate, their candidate’s connection to the university and information on how to contact their candidate, according to the form.
“We grant honorary degrees to a select group of individuals whose contributions to business, politics, academia, public service, the arts and other areas distinguish them as leaders of their respective field,” wrote Liebowitz in the email.
The university’s honorary degree has been given to several notable individuals, wrote Liebowitz in the email. Recipients of the award have come from different backgrounds. In his email Liebowitz named past recipients, including David Ben-Gurion, Leonard Bernstein, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John F. Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, Deborah Lipstadt, Thurgood Marshall, Golda Meir, Steven Spielberg, Bryan Stevenson, Barbra Streisand and Elie Wiesel, according to the email.
Nominations for 2022 honorary degrees can be submitted virtually through the university’s Honorary Degree Nomination Form page or through the mail. Mail must be sent to the Office of the President, MS 100, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA, 02453, according to the page.
Submissions for honorary degree nominations must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 19.
