Dear Providence College Parents,

One of the highlights of each academic year -- and the pinnacle of each student's Providence College education -- is the College's Commencement ceremony. In May of each year, we gather to confer the degrees and honors that students have earned. In doing so, we celebrate our students' achievements and look forward to the bright beginning of the next phase of their lives.

Our Commencement Exercises are filled with rich academic traditions that span centuries. We are keenly aware that this is the final memory our students will hold of Providence College and we endeavor to make it a meaningful one. One of the ways we hope to inspire students is to present honorary degrees to distinguished individuals whose lives of service and achievement reflect the College's deepest values. We also ask one honored guest to address the graduates.

One of the responsibilities we face in planning each Commencement is the selection of candidates to receive honorary degrees. Throughout the year, the Honorary Degree Committee -- comprised of faculty, staff, senior class representatives, and alumni -- meets regularly to review the credentials of individuals who have been nominated through various channels. Information and citations for recent recipients of honorary degrees are posted on  the College's Web site.

We have a particular interest in identifying Providence College alumni and alumnae whose lives and accomplishments embody the mission and values of the College -- men and women who truly have "transformed society."  We also are committed to recognizing eminent scholars whose teaching, research, and writing have made significant contributions that advance knowledge in their chosen fields of study. It is always gratifying to honor outstanding donors whose generosity of spirit and resources has made a lasting impact on the College's ability to provide an exceptional educational experience for its students.

Providence College does not pay an honorarium to its Commencement speaker. This practice, common at some institutions of higher education, can often secure the participation of individuals with high name recognition. While it is always exciting to pay tribute to individuals of great fame who have lived lives of meaning and service, we do not seek out celebrity for its own sake. In finding well-known speakers, the importance of having a personal connection to that individual -- through a faculty member, alumnus, parent, or other College representative -- is both invaluable and essential. Often we find that speakers of renown who would otherwise be willing to accept our invitation are unavailable due to scheduling conflicts. For this reason, we are making special efforts to secure speakers several years in advance and, for the first time, have added student representatives of the junior class to the Honorary Degree Committee.

The Honorary Degree Committee is grateful to receive nominations from all who have an affinity with Providence College. We know the parents of our students come from many different geographic areas and professional backgrounds and may have personal acquaintance with outstanding individuals -- both well-known and those known in less public ways -- who would be honored by recognition from Providence College. I invite and encourage any parent who knows a worthy candidate for an honorary degree to submit that name for consideration to the chair of the Honorary Degree Committee: Patricia S. Vieira, associate vice president for college relations and planning, at pvieira@providence.edu.

Though this letter directs our thoughts to the spring and the conclusion of the academic year, we should not overlook the blessed season that now surrounds us. In closing, I want to wish you, your student, and family a holy and happy holiday season. Whether we celebrate the birth of Jesus or the rededication of the Temple, we share in common a faith that God's light has triumphed over human darkness. May that light shine on you and illumine your family's path.

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.