Grinnell News Release: Honorary Doctor of Science Degree

Reproduced below is the news release from Grinnell College about their decision to confer the Honorary Doctor of Science degree to me. For the online version click here.

I have described elsewhere how all this came about and the details of my impending US visit. I shall be visiting the country in a week not only to receive the degree but also to speak at Grinnell about Human Rights and Education of Marginalised people of Nepal (click here for some specifics), International Teaching Career and the work COMMITTED does.

As I will be spending a month and a half in the country, I am open to speaking at other venues. As of now, I have one more lined up at the UWC-USA. Click here for details and my search for additional speaking engagements.

So it seems while my story was featured in the commencement speaker’s speech in 2013, I myself will be featuring in the 2014 commencement! 

CBS Commentator Nancy Giles Will Speak at Grinnell College Commencement

Giles, Lord ’42, Gurung ’94 Will Receive Honorary Degrees at May 19 Ceremony

Grinnell, Iowa — CBS Sunday Morning commentator Nancy Giles will be the Commencement speaker at Grinnell College’s graduation exercises at 10 a.m. Monday, May 19. (Information about location, tickets and live streaming is in the “About Commencement” section below.)

A contributor to the respected CBS morning program since 2003, Giles brings a strong, provocative and humorous take to topics ranging from politics and race to pop culture and the tyranny of high heels. In a direct but humorous tone, she’s praised the “bold and scrappy” Pope Francis and examined the “eternal mystery” of the Tootsie Pop.

On radio, Giles was Jay Thomas’ sidekick on The Jay Thomas Morning Show in New York, and in Philadelphia co-hosted Giles and Moriarty with CBS News correspondent Erin Moriarty. Their show won back-to- back American Women in Radio and Television Awards (Gracies) for Best Radio Talk Show for the two seasons it was on the air.

Giles has also established a name for herself as an actor. She was a member of the acclaimed Second City Touring Company in 1984, and played GI Frankie Bunsen for three seasons on the Emmy Award-winning China Beach. Giles won a 1985 Theatre World Award for Mayor: The Musical Off-Broadway, and has written and performed two solo pieces: Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism and Notes of a Negro Neurotic. She currently is adapting that material and other work for a book she’s “praying people will buy.”

About Grinnell’s Honorary Degree Recipients

At Grinnell’s Commencement, Giles will receive an honorary doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Honorary degrees will also be awarded to two Grinnell alumni:

— Sterling Lord ’42 – An influential, longtime literary agent who has negotiated some of the most important book deals in literary history, championing (among other things) Jack Kerouc’s On the Road. Over the course of more than half a century in the business, Lord has represented authors including Ken Kesey, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Dick Francis and Stan and Jan Berenstain, whose Berenstain Bears books have sold 290 million copies in the U.S. and Canada alone. Lord will receive an honorary doctor of Humane Letters degree.

— Dorje Gurung ’94 – A widely traveled, internationally educated Tibetan-Buddhist science teacher who last year was imprisoned in Qatar on charges of insulting Islam. A coalition of Grinnell alumni and other friends banded together to help free Gurung and ensure his safe return to Nepal, where he now serves as education program director at Community Members Interested. Gurung will receive an honorary doctor of Science degree.

Grinnell will also present an honorary degree to a high school teacher—a tradition that was begun last year. The recipient of that award will be announced later this spring.

About Grinnell’s Commencement

Grinnell College’s Commencement exercises will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 19, on Central Campus. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Charles Benson Bear ’39 Recreation and Athletic Center. No tickets are required to attend the 10 a.m. Commencement Exercises.

The ceremony will also be live streamed at www.grinnell.edu/livestream.

For more information about Grinnell College’s commencement, go to http://www.grinnell.edu/commencement.

About Grinnell College
Since its founding in 1846, Grinnell has become one of the nation’s premier liberal arts colleges, enrolling 1,600 students from all 50 states and from as many international countries. Grinnell’s rigorous academic program emphasizes excellence in education for students in the liberal arts; the college offers the B.A. degree in a range of departments across the humanities, arts and sciences. Grinnell has a strong tradition of social responsibility and action, and self-governance and personal responsibility are key components of campus life.

More information about Grinnell College is available at www.grinnell.edu.

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