POLICY: HONORARY DEGREES, AWARDING
Policy Number: 102
Date Adopted: 04/93
Revision Date: 07/2014
References: MUS 322.1
Approved By: Royce C. Engstrom, President
The University of Montana-Missoula (UM) honors distinguished persons with an honorary
doctorate after careful review and approval by the pertinent UM school or college, Provost,
President, Faculty Senate and Board of Regents of the Montana University System. Anyone affiliated
with the University of Montana may nominate qualified individuals for honorary doctorates..
In general, the recognized honorary degrees ofdoctor of laws (LL.D.),doctor of letters (Litt.D.),
doctor of science (Sc.D.) and doctor of humane Letters (L.H.D.) will be used to designate the degree,
although appropriately titled degrees may be used to recognize achievement in specific professions.
SELECTION CRITERIA
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Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals who have achieved a level of distinction
which would merit comparable recognition in their profession or area of expertise.
Honorary doctorate nominees should have a connection to Montana by birth, residence,
education, or service. Those nominees lacking a direct connection but whose extraordinary
accomplishments have either benefited Montanans directly, or whose stature will serve as
an outstanding role model, may be considered and require special justification.
Current employees of the Montana University System are not eligible to be nominated for an
honorary doctorate.
PROCEDURE & TIMELINE
Nominations are submitted online, via the honorary doctorate webpage on the Provost’s website.
Consideration of nominations begins each year in May.
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May: The UM President and Provost review nominations. Following their review, the
Provost invites nominators of qualified nominees to submit a full nomination with
supporting documentation, including letters of support.
September: The Provost submits full nominations to the Dean of the pertinent UM school of
college for college/department-level review and endorsement.
October: Following review and approval by the Dean, Provost and President, nominations
are submitted to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate for Faculty Senate review
and action during an executive session at the November Faculty Senate meeting.
November: The Faculty Senate reviews and approves nominations in executive session.
December: Nominations are submitted for Board of Regents review in executive session at
the January Board of Regents meeting.
March: Nominations are approved in public session at the March Board of Regents meeting.
CONFIDENTIALITY
To protect the privacy of nominees, all involved must maintain complete confidentiality at every
step of the nomination and approval process. The President will contact the successful
nominees after the Board of Regents has approved their nominations.
Detailed Procedure for Honorary Doctorate Nominations
Nominations are submitted online, via the honorary doctorate webpage on the Provost’s website.
Nominations can be submitted at any time via the online form. Consideration of nominations begins
each year in May. While in the nomination phase, the UM Office of the Provost coordinates everything
related to the honorary doctorate process. Once a nomination has been approved, the UM Office of the
President coordinates everything related to the honorary doctorate process.
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May: The UM President and Provost review nominations. Following their review, the Provost
invites nominators of qualified nominees to submit a full nomination with supporting
documentation including at least three letters of support, the nominee’s CV, and any other
document demonstrating the scope of the nominee’s accomplishments and/or their relationship
with UM or Montana. Nominators will collect the documents needed for a full nomination over
the summer.
September: The Provost submits full nominations to the Dean of the pertinent UM school or
college for college/department-level review and endorsement. Departments and colleges will
review and discuss nominations and either endorse or reject them.
October: Following review and approval by the Dean, Provost and President, nominations are
submitted to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate for Faculty Senate review and
action during an executive session at the November Faculty Senate meeting.
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November: The Faculty Senate reviews and approves nominations in executive session.
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December: Nominations are submitted for Board of Regents review in executive session at the
January Board of Regents meeting.
January: Nominations are reviewed by the Board of Regents in executive session. The President
attends the meeting to address any questions or concerns the Board members may have about
the nomination.
February: Representatives of the school/college awarding the honorary doctorate meet with the
President and staff in order to coordinate and plan all communications and events relating to
the awarding of the honorary degree.
March: Nominations are approved in public session at the March Board of Regents meeting. The
UM Office of the President contacts honorary doctorate recipients and makes arrangements for
their participation in the May Commencement ceremony. Whether or not the honorary
doctorate recipient will also be the Commencement speaker will be determined at this time. The
President’s Office works with University Relations to create the press release announcing the
honorary doctorate recipients.
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NOTE: To protect the privacy of nominees, all involved must maintain complete confidentiality at every
step of the nomination and approval process. The President will contact the successful nominees after
the Board of Regents has approved their nominations.