Philanthropist and Businessman
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1981
Citation:
Gifted with a rare appreciation for the miracle of living things, you combined your delight in children and fascination with the natural world into a dream of building a place where the city's children could grow to love science. With characteristic energy and enthusiasm, and great personal generosity, you pursued your dream, convincing other civic and business leaders to help shape it into a reality. You have served not only as the inspirational force behind the founding of the Detroit Science Center, but as a trustee and former president, devoting your business expertise and scientific knowledge to create one of the finest facilities of its kind in America. Endowed with your special vision, the Science Center opens children's eyes to the splendor of the world around them, unveiling its mysteries in a vivid and dramatic way. By doing so you have taught children to value the natural world in an era when the ecology must be protected, and awakened in them a curiosity about the workings of the world at a time when our country cries out for talented scientists. As an educational institution dedicated to the stimulation of your minds, it seems particularly appropriate that our university pay tribute to this among your many contributions to the City and its children by conferring upon you the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. Commencement, University of Detroit, May 16, 1981.