General Manager, Fisher Body Division and Vice President of the General Motors Corporation
1951
Citation:
As the interior spirit of a university is what its teachers make it, so its prestige in the community and the nation is a reflection of the personal worth and shining achievements of its alumni. What the teacher is, his learning and knowledge fused into a Christian cultural unity, permeates his students. So too what the alumnus stands for, his character, his ideals and his deeds, irradiate out from his university to the larger world of business, industry , the professions, and civic life. The University of Detroit has been fortunate in its alumni. They have made notable contributions to the life and growth of the city; they have transmitted the vitality of dynamic Detroit to other parts of the nation. In the past the University has paid homage to these conspicuous accomplishments of its graduates, and tonight again it takes pleasure in adding two more names to its roster of specially distinguished alumni, --- two men who stand at this moment in the front rank of their profession; men who in the pursuit of very realistic goals have kept clear the vision of the high ideals which the University helped them conceive, and which gave their attainments a real and lasting value; men who have taught their fellow citizens by example that giving not getting enriches a man's life. John J. Cronin was born and educated in Detroit, graduating from the University of Detroit High School and receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University in 1915. Since 1918 he has been associated with the Fisher Body, and in 1948 was promoted to General Manager of the Fisher Body Division and Vice-President of the General Motors Corporation. Active in many community enterprises, John Cronin has been at the same time an interested, generous and inspiring collaborator or leader in every undertaking of the University's Alumni Association. He was for many years a member of the Alumni Board and in 1948 became Alumni President. He has given to this office and to the current Alumni Fieldhouse Campaign most of his time apart from business, and extraordinary amount of energy and a leadership distinguished alike by its tact and its resourcefulness. Reverend Assistant to the President, I have the pleasure of presenting John J. Cronin for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Commencement, University of Detroit, June 13, 1951.