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Honorary Degrees |
2006 Honorary Degree
Recipients
Lisa Bluder |
Bishop David R. Choby
|
Sister
Betty Smith |
Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas
 Lisa
Bluder
Lisa Bluder, the Women’s basketball
coach at the University of Iowa, will receive a Doctor
of Public Service degree in recognition of her
unwavering enthusiasm and commitment to women’s
collegiate athletics. A respected and admired coach in
collegiate basketball, Bluder began her coaching career
at St. Ambrose University, where she achieved a 169-36
record over six seasons and guided the Queen Bees to
four straight national tournaments, including two Final
Four appearances. Bluder recently finished her sixth
season with the Hawkeyes. She has a 113-71 record at
Iowa and her 21-year record stands at 469-213. She is
Iowa's second all-time winningest coach. Bluder was
named 2001 Big Ten Coach of the Year, has been honored
as the College Coach of the Year by the Women's
Basketball News Service and was named 2001 District 6
Women's Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the
Year. She was chosen to help coach Team USA at the 2001
World University Games in Beijing, China. Bluder
graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a
bachelor’s degree in marketing.
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 The
Most Reverend David R. Choby
Bishop Choby of Nashville, will receive a Doctor of Laws
degree in recognition of his dedication to the Catholic
Church and its people, and his knowledge of the Church’s
canon law. After spending a year at Aquinas College in
Nashville, Choby entered the seminary at St. Ambrose
College. He also studied at Catholic University in
Washington, D.C. before being ordained a priest in 1974.
Choby has worked as a pastor and administrator of
several parishes and has served on the faculty of the
Pontifical College Josephinum, a seminary in Columbus,
Ohio. Choby was elected as diocesan administrator for
the Diocese of Nashville in 2004. He holds a canon law
degree and has worked at the diocesan tribunal
throughout most of his priesthood.
Only the second diocesan priest in the
Nashville Diocese’s 169-year history to be tapped as its
bishop, Choby was installed as bishop on February 27,
2006.
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 Sister
Betty Smith
Sister Betty Smith, who is a Sister of Mercy of the Chicago
Regional Community, will receive a Doctor of Humanities
degree in recognition of her distinguished service to
the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and in particular
for her dedication to treating all human beings with
dignity. During her tenure as provincial and president
of the Sisters of Mercy of the Chicago Regional
Community, Smith was instrumental in taking the lead to
donate Mercy Hospital to the Quad Cities community,
which led to the creation of Genesis Medical Center, in
a consolidation of Davenport’s two hospitals, St. Luke’s
and Mercy Hospital, a gift valued at $24 million. Smith
served on the boards of Mercy Hospital and Genesis
Medical Center for a total of 20 years.
In addition, Smith has taught and served
as administrator in high schools sponsored by her
community, including 12 years at Mother McAuley High
School in Chicago, the largest girls’ high school in the
United States. Smith has worked as curriculum and
planning consultant for the 57 high schools of the
archdiocese Catholic school office of the archdiocese of
Chicago, and as dean of students at Weston Jesuit School
of Theology in Cambridge, Mass.. Recently she returned
to the Chicago area, and as of July 2006 will serve once
again as president of her congregation.
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Illinois
Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas
Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas who is this year’s commencement
speaker, will
receive a Doctor of Laws degree in recognition of his
dedication to the cause of justice and his mastery of
the law. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with
a degree in government, Thomas received his J.D. degree
from Loyola University School of Law in 1981. Thomas was
a kicker for the Chicago Bears for ten seasons, from
1975 - 1984. In 1988, he was elected Circuit Court Judge
in DuPage County. In 1994, he was elected to the
Appellate Court Second District. Thomas was inducted
into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 1996, and
in January 1999, he received the prestigious National
Collegiate Athletic Association Silver Anniversary
Award. In 2000, Justice Thomas was sworn in as Illinois
Supreme Court Justice for the Second District. Justice
Thomas is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association.
Read more about Chief Justice
Robert R. Thomas
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