Distinguished University Professor and Outstanding Teacher
1977
Citation:
Your abilities and range as a teacher and your countless contributions to University of Detroit students are a matter of public record. Recipient of the Charles Carpenter Fries Award, you have been justly honored as the finest English teacher in the State of Michigan. For nearly forty years, your personal energy and dedication have set a high standard matched by few of your peers. Continually setting new goals and carving out new areas, you give equally to each new generation of students. At the peak of your career, as a distinguished senior professor, you have elected the challenging and arduous task of teaching beginning writing courses. In addition, your wide involvement with professional and civic organization has, for decades, greatly enhanced the University's impact in academic circles and the Detroit community. Your participation and leadership with the Friends of the Library and your untiring behind-the-scenes work was instrumental in bringing many of America's literary giants to our university. The University is pleased, indeed, to honor one of the truly outstanding teachers of our time by conferring upon you the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature. Commencement, University of Detroit, May 14, 1977.