WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials at Missouri State University-West Plains are seeking nominations for an honorary associate’s degree, which will be awarded at the 2017 commencement ceremony in May.
University officials said the honorary degree is designed to recognize and honor exceptional men and women who have given a substantial part of their lives to serving others and/or who have distinguished themselves. Conferral of the degree also establishes a public association between Missouri State-West Plains and such exceptional men and women, thereby providing testimony to the values and quality of two-year institutions, officials added.
The first honorary degree, an Honorary Associate of Applied Science Degree, was given to local entrepreneur and inventor Kennoth G. Gammill in May 2011. Former bank executive Paul Childers received an Honorary Associate of Applied Science Degree in May 2012. In May 2013, an Honorary Associate of Arts Degree was bestowed on Couch resident Edith Williams, who devoted 10 years of her life helping her wheelchair-bound daughter, Jennifer, complete her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees on the West Plains campus.
In May 2014, West Plains resident Peggy Kissinger, one of the first students to enroll at the campus when it opened in fall 1963, received an Honorary Associate of Arts Degree to recognize her accomplishments in helping countless people as a long-time state employee and for her community leadership. In May 2015, West Plains resident and former owner of The Learning Tree Child Care Center Linda Moore received an honorary Associate of Applied Science Degree.
Last year, Laurel Thompson received an honorary Associate of Science degree. Thompson has been a West Plains booster since he was a young man, working tirelessly for decades on various economic development and community betterment projects. After completing technical school for radio engineering in Kansas City, he returned to his hometown and began working at KWPM Radio Station and lending his efforts to a variety of community causes that would nurture and grow West Plains.
Members of the community, as well as the university’s Administrative Council, Faculty Senate and Staff Senate, are invited to nominate recipients for an honorary degree. The degree granted may be the Honorary Associate of Arts Degree, the Honorary Associate of Applied Science Degree or the Honorary Associate of Science Degree. Recipients will be announced prior to the commencement ceremony.
Recipients may be alumni, former university employees, former Board of Governors members or public officials, but they may not be, at the time of the award, current employees, incumbent members of the Board of Governors or incumbent officials of federal, state or local government. Other criteria to be considered include a nominee’s:
• Eminent contribution to the college, the system, the community, the state or society;
• Eminent achievement in a particular field or endeavor;
• Personal status that will enhance the reputation of the college or system and serve as an example to its students and alumni;
• Potential for contribution to the goals or welfare of the college.
The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2017 spring commencement ceremony is Feb. 10.
“An Honorary degree is a small token of our gratitude towards recipients for their tireless work on our campus and in our communities,” said Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett. “The counties Missouri State University-West Plains has the privilege to serve are made up of people who continue to serve their neighbors.”
For more information about the award and nomination procedures, call the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240 or visit the honorary degree website.