SUNY New Paltz will recognize the lives and careers of two distinguished members of the campus community with honorary doctorate of humane letters degrees at the undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on May 19 and 20, 2018.
Janus Adams ’67 (Theatre Arts)
At the Saturday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony, the College will present a degree to Janus Adams ’67 (Theatre Arts), a New Paltz alumna, Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, historian, speaker, musician and bestselling author of 11 books, including the forthcoming collection “Sediddy: Attitude, Gratitude, and Seeing Red.”
Adams has dedicated her life to chronicling and promoting civil rights, human rights and social justice. She was NPR’s first National Arts Correspondent, and lectures widely on topics rooted in business, women’s rights and her signature theme: History and Healing. ™
James H. Ottaway Jr.
At the Sunday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony, James H. Ottaway Jr. will receive an honorary degree. Ottaway is a journalist, newspaper executive, philanthropist and longtime friend of the College.
In 2000, Ottaway and his wife Mary ’70g (Elementary Education), a New Paltz alumna, established the College’s first and only endowed professorship in journalism, the James H. Ottaway Sr. Visiting Professorship. James and Mary Ottaway are also patrons of the arts, and have generously dedicated time and support (including a catalog endowment) to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz.
