Lagos was one of the honorary degree recipients nominated by the Faculty Council's Honorary Degrees and Special Awards Committee. Five individuals are nominated each year. Members of the seven-person committee say the tradition of awarding honorary degrees, which dates back to 1799, benefits both the University and the degree recipients.
"As the cliche goes, the University does itself honor by honoring these individuals," said Townsend Ludington, an English professor and chairman of the committee. "With a distinguished University such as ours, I would also think the degree is a very prestigious honor for the people who receive these awards."
Some UNC honorary degrees recipients in the last 15 years include former President Bill Clinton, journalist Charles Kuralt, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and athlete Charlie Justice. The committee evaluates honorary degree nominees selected by members of the University community before choosing five to recommended. Those individuals -- if approved by the Faculty Council and the Board of Trustees -- receive degrees in a public ceremony held the following calendar year. The recipients are required to appear in person to receive their degree and often take the opportunity to speak, Ludington said.
Joe Ferrell, secretary of the Faculty Council and a committee member, said the committee typically looks at degree candidates who are UNC alumni or have made a positive impact on the state, although neither status is mandatory. "While we certainly aren't limited to people with a connection to North Carolina, the committee typically receives far more nominees than it can award degrees for, and we tend to focus on individuals with ties to this state," Ferrell said.
But Ludington said that because all members of the UNC faculty, General Alumni Association, Employee Forum, Board of Visitors and Board of Trustees can submit nominations for degree recipients, the list of candidates often includes individuals not well-known inside the state. "Some of the people we can consider will be very, very distinguished in their fields but whose names are unknown to us lay people in North Carolina."
In the last 15 years, 56 out of the 72 honorary degree recipients have had ties to North Carolina or UNC.
Out of this group of 72, 48 have given a financial donation to UNC's Office of Development. Office director Speed Hallman said the total is not surprising because most degree recipients have a connection to the University. "When you're talking about a group that includes so many alumni that have been very successful in their careers, you'd expect that many of them would want to give back to their school," Hallman said.
The Commencement speaker can be selected for an honorary degree in addition to the five people chosen each year. Ludington said the committee typically nominates the Commencement speaker but did not consider ESPN SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott -- last year's Commencement speaker -- for the honor.
Senior Class President Ben Singer said many faculty members feel strongly about selecting a speaker this year who will be honored with a degree. "There has kind of been a knee-jerk reaction to what happened last year," Singer said.
