EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University will recognize Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president of South Africa, and Steven Koonin, chief scientist for BP (formerly British Petroleum), with honorary degrees during commencement ceremonies Friday, May 2.
The undergraduate convocation, a ceremony for all undergraduate candidates for degrees, will be held at 1 p.m. at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center, One Birch Road.
During the convocation ceremony MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon will confer Mandela’s honorary doctor of laws, and he will present a videotaped response.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway, will be the main convocation speaker. Jessica McFadden of Dowagiac, a communication major in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, will present remarks on behalf of the senior class.
The advanced degree ceremony for master’s, educational specialists and doctoral degree candidates will be held at 7 p.m. at the Breslin Center.
Koonin will receive an honorary doctor of science at this ceremony. Peter Raven, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden, will be the main speaker.
“MSU is honored to recognize Mandela and Koonin for their important contributions to a rapidly changing world,” Simon said.
“Mandela’s leadership and perseverance in the face of overwhelming opposition make him an excellent role model for all of today’s graduates who will assume the leadership roles of tomorrow in the emerging global marketplace,” she said. “Koonin’s work in global environmental sciences is helping to inform research in universities all over the world, including MSU, on the development of sustainable and renewable energy sources. His research will enable future generations to take the next steps in preserving the environment.”
Brief biographies of the honorary degree recipients follow.
NELSON MANDELA
Born Rolihlahla Mandela in 1918, Nelson Mandela grew up being prepared to be chief of the Thembu people, following in his father’s footsteps. He attended the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand and became a lawyer.
A lifelong anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress, Mandela spent more than 27 years in prison, 18 of those on Robben Island, for his commitment and activities to secure freedom and democracy and an end to minority rule in South Africa. On Feb. 11, 1990, in response to a broad international campaign, Mandela was released from prison, and he and his colleagues negotiated with the government to prepare a new constitution and arrange the first-ever election with universal suffrage in April 1994, when he was elected president of the Republic of South Africa.
Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, along with Frederik Willem de Klerk, president of South Africa from 1989-94, for their work to negotiate a transition to democracy in South Africa.
In 1978, MSU became the first major public university in the nation to totally divest its portfolio of corporations operating in South Africa. Nationally, this action contributed to the U.S. divestiture and sanctions movement, which supported the U.S. Congress passing the comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. MSU faculty continue to be engaged with a number of research and public education projects concerning South Africa.
Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 after one term. As he approaches his 90th birthday this July, Mandela continues to be engaged in a number of social issues, including the welfare of South Africa’s children and the struggle against AIDS.
STEVEN KOONIN
Steven Koonin has a distinguished career as a nuclear theorist, university administrator and scientific adviser to the government and as a research leader in the private sector. He graduated from, was a faculty member at, and served as provost of the California Institute of Technology.
Koonin has long held an interest in global environmental science. In 2004, he accepted an appointment as chief scientist of BP where he is responsible for long-range technology, planning and study of current and future alternative energy sources. He provides science and technical advice to the company’s senior executives and manages strategic university research relationships.
Before switching careers and becoming chief scientist of BP, Koonin made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the nuclear many-body problem, which have benefitted the experimental and theoretical nuclear physics research conducted at MSU's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.
Since assuming his new role, Koonin has become a strong advocate for research into alternate fuel sources and renewable energies. These interests of his have strong overlap with MSU's research in this field, which is conducted by the Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory and others at MSU.
His academic work in nuclear and computational physics has influenced the direction of science on the national and international fronts. He has been an adviser for agencies including the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation Nuclear Science Advisory Committee and the JASON Study Group, an independent group of scientists which advises the United States government on matters of science and technology.
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