Outstanding Educator and Innovative School District Administrator
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1977
Citation:
As Superintendent of Schools in Cook County, Illinois, your efforts have greatly enhanced the progress of education throughout a large and complex school system. Your sensitivity to the needs of minority groups brought about long-needed changes, not only in school programs, but also within the school's administrative staff itself. You headed the struggle to provide equitable funding for local schools and you insist upon strict adherence to safety and health codes, greatly improving the educational atmosphere for many students. You encourage creativity and innovative programs in more than one hundred schools, and have championed education for the handicapped and those in need of special vocational training. Your influence began as that of a dedicated and dynamic teacher. It has become that of a nationally respected educator employing deep personal concern to direct programs where thousands of children learn in a quality environment. You apply the best lessons of the Jesuit tradition on a daily basis. The University of Detroit is proud, indeed, that one of its own graduates is devoting his life's work to the cause of quality education. It is a privilege to present you with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Commencement, University of Detroit, May 14, 1977.