Publisher, Author
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1977
Bio:
As editor of the newspaper which reaches more readers than any other in our nation, your work is not clearly visible to the general public. Its excellent results, however, are a vital part of the daily fabric of many lives. Your carefully applied skills have clarified many complex national and international issues and enlightened countless readers. Throughout your distinguished career you have consistently adhered to the highest standards of a demanding profession, earning the respect of fellow reporters and editors across the country. You have written often of critical times, covering national disasters and crises, and through your writing you have given many readers a base for understanding the times in which we live. Yours is a difficult profession, increasingly challenging as the world we share becomes smaller with each technological advance. It is a matter of particular pride to the University of Detroit that you learned, and practiced, the basics of your craft with us. Your Alma Mater expresses its high regard and respect for you and confers upon you the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Background information is quoted from the web site McLuhan Studies, Issue 3 (http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/mcluhan-studies/v1_iss3/participants.htm) "Michael J. O'Neill, former editor of the New York Daily News and past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, is the author of The Roar of the Crowd, How TV and People Power Are Changing the World, Preventive Diplomacy: Stopping Wars before They Start, and Terrorist Spectaculars: Should TV Coverage Be Curbed? He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the national Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the international Press Institute, and served formerly as vice chairman of the Japan Society. He received a B.A. from the University of Detroit in 1946 and a Honorary Doctor of humane Letters from the school in 1977. He also did graduate work at Fordham University." Honorary Doctor of Human Letters was conferred on Mr. O'Neill during Commencement, University of Detroit, May 14, 1977.