Honors breakfast
Honors Program recognizes students for exceptional academic achievements
4:30 p.m., May 31, 2014--The University of Delaware Honors Program held its annual honors breakfast on Friday, May 30, in the Gold Tent on The Green.
An audience of several hundred students, family and friends joined UD faculty, staff and administrators to recognize 64 students receiving the honors degree with distinction and 247 students receiving the honors degree at the University’s 165th Commencement on Saturday.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
Honors degree recipients satisfy all the coursework and grade point average requirements of the Honors Program. Honors degree with distinction recipients meet honors requirements and also complete and defend an honors thesis.
Michael Arnold, Honors Program director and professor of economics, welcomed the honorees and their guests to the event, which was part of a wide range of Commencement weekend activities.
“Today, we celebrate your achievements, and I thank you for the many ways each of you has made UD a better university,” Arnold said. “I applaud you, and I wish you the very best as you continue to build on the foundation established here as a UD honors student.”
University President Patrick Harker lauded the honors graduates, noting that the 311 honors diplomas, including 64 honors degrees with distinction, are the most that UD has ever awarded in a single year.
“You’ve raised the bar for every class that will come behind you, and for that alone you should give yourselves a round of applause.” Harker said. “At every turn, every one of you took up our challenges and delivered.”
Harker also applauded families for nurturing their honor students with a safe encouraging environment where the importance of education and the idea of trying for greatness were expressed.
“You showered them with love and support. You imbued in them an appetite for excellence and then tempered it with the strength to weather setbacks,” Harker said. You helped them grow. You let them shine.”
Harked also noted the contributions of faculty who became scholarly role models through their display of brilliance, integrity, pursuit of knowledge and defense of truth.
“Your professors and advisers, your deans and department chairs, they’ve been with you since you arrived on campus,” Harker said. “They watched you grow from timid freshmen with vague dreams of success, to confident seniors with solid plans to achieve it.”
Related stories and resources
• UD held its 165th Commencement ceremony under sunny skies on Saturday.
• Follow the conversation on social media by checking out UD’s Commencement Storify page.
• See Commencement photographs at UD in Photos.
• A video of Commencement is available.
• Honorary degrees were presented to four outstanding individuals.
• Ten members of the Class of 2014 were honored as high index seniors, with perfect grade point averages.
• Commencement was thrice as nice for the Manning family.
• A doctoral hooding ceremony was held on Friday.
Article by Jerry Rhodes