Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1995
Citation:
Through your lifelong commitment and dedication to the citizens of Michigan, you have distinguished yourself as a public servant and educator. Your respect for the law as it tempers human behaviors is evident throughout your career as an FBI Special Agent, a Detroit City Council member, a Chief Assistant Professor for Wayne County, a United States Attorney for Eastern Michigan and as Michigan's Lieutenant Governor for two terms. As a past Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and now Chief Justice, you continue to deliver thoughtful and well-reasoned opinions on the law. Your years of service as an educator - first as a adjunct professor of law and government and later as President of Eastern Michigan University - reinforce the significant contribution education can make in society today. As an undergraduate and law alumnus, you embody the University's tradition of excellence, representing your alma mater with great wisdom and distinction. In recognition of your outstanding achievements, the University of Detroit Mercy is proud to confer upon you an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. Commencement, University of Detroit Mercy, School of Law, May 14, 1995.