President and Chief Operating Officer, K-Mart Corporation
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
1991
Citation:
During your 27-year career with Kmart Corporation, you have distinguished yourself as a dedicated and enthusiastic leader in the retail marketing industry. From your early employment as a management trainee at the S.S. Kresge Company in Uniontown, Pennsylvania to your current post as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of one of the leading discount retailers in America, your contributions and successes have been many. Your leadership has successfully lead Kmart Corporation through a nationwide image change and has brought your company recognition for its dedication to customer service. You are considered a friend who is on a first-name basis with your employees. You have consistently given a great deal of support to organizations in the communities where your employees and customers live. Your commitment to Detroit and the surrounding area is acknowledged by your many affiliations as director of Detroit Renaissance, New Detroit, Inc., United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Institute of Arts, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, to name a few. You have also generously given your time and talents as chairman of National Minority Supplier Development Council and have been a trustee of Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, the Michigan Cancer Foundation and the National Italian American Foundation. In recognition of your leadership in the retail industry and your contributions to business and to the community, we are proud to present you with this Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree. Commencement, University of Detroit Mercy, May 11, 1991.