Honorary Degree Recipients
Alvernia University bestows honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees to distinguished and deserving individuals during graduation ceremonies. Below is a list of awardees, sorted by the year each degree was given.
2012
The Most Reverend John O. Barres, D.D., S.T.D., J.C.L.
Fourth Bishop of Allentown
D. Michael Baxter, M.D.
Chair, Department of Family and Medicine at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center
Father William Hultberg, O.S.F.S.
Director of Clinial Pastoral Services, Caron Treatment Centers
2011
Marie A. Dennis
Director, Maryknoll Catholic Missioners' Office for Global Concerns
President, Pax Cristi International
2010
Sister M. Jacinta Respondowska, OSF
Bernardine Franciscan Sister
Theodore E. Long, Ph.D.
President, Elizabethtown College
Rev. George A. Aschenbrenner, S.J.
Rector, Jesuit Community at the University of Scranton
Estelle B. Richman
Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
2009
Sister M. Pacelli Staskiel, OSF
Bernardine Franciscan Sister
Dean Emerita, Professor Emerita
Richard Ekman, Ph.D.
President, Council of Independent Colleges
2008
Rev. Msgr. James A. Treston
Rolf D. Schmidt
Karen A. Rightmire
United Way
The Most Rev. Edward P. Cullen, D.D.
Third Bishop of Allentown
2007
George G. Hoodak
Principal, Lauer's Park Elementary School
Rev. J.A. Panuska, S.J.
President Emeritus, University of Scranton
2006
Dr. Marylouise Fennel, RSM
Partner, Gallagher Fennell Higher Education Services
Senior Counsel, Council of Independent Colleges and Universities
2005
John Logue, Ph.D.
Professor, Kent State University
Director, Ohio Employee Ownership Council
Sister Madonna Marie Harvath, OSF, M.A.
General Minister, Bernardine Franciscan Sisters
2004
The Honorable Thomas M. McMahon
Mayor, City of Reading
Paul R. Roedel
Retired Chairman and CEO, Carpenter Technology
2003
Michael Downey, Ph.D.
Professor, St. John's Seminary
Cardinal's Theologian for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Thomas M. Golden, Esq.
Senior Partner, Golden Masano Bradley
Counsel, Alvernia University
Rev. J.A. Wayne Hellmann, OFM, Conv., Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in Theology, St. Louis University
2002
The Most Rev. Francis B. Schulte, D.D.
Retired Archbishop of New Orleans
Geneva Bolton Johnson
Executive Director, Women's Leadership Institute at Mount Mary College
Gust Zogas, Ed.D.
Retired President of Reading Area Community College
2001
John W. Templeton, Jr., M.D.
President, John Templeton Foundation
2000
Carolyn R. Holleran
Former Chair of the Board, Alvernia University
Sister Mary Margaret Jackson, OSF
Former General Minister, Bernardine Franciscan Sisters
Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ
Author, Dead Man Walking
1999
The Honorable D. Michael Fisher
Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1998
The Most Rev. Thomas J. Welsh, D.D., J.C.D.
Retired Bishop of Allentown
1997
Thomas J. Usher, Ph.D.
Chairman, Board of Directors, CEO of USX Corporation
Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., M.P.H.
Office of the Special Representative
UNICEF for Health and Nutrition
National Institutes of Health
Thomas S. Monaghan
President and Chair of the Board, Domino's Pizza, Inc.
1995
Mary Lou Quinlan
President, NW Ayer, Inc.
1994
Maureen H. McCullough
Special Asst. to the Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1993
Fred D. Hafer
President, Met Ed
Ernest L. Boyer, Ph.D.
President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
1992
E. Jerome Kern
Retired Director, Bureau of Academic Programs, Pennsylvania Department of Education
Thomas P. Melady
Executive Director, Catholic Network of Volunteer Services
1991
Francis J. Michelini, Ph.D.
President, Commission for Independent Colleges and Universities
1986
Howard J. Fetterhoff
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Catholic Conference
1985
Charles A. Carabello, M.D.
Chief of Pediatrics, Community General Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital
President and Chief of Staff, St. Joseph Hospital
1984
Mary Pendleton