TO:                            University Senate—2007-2008

                                    University of Oregon

 

FROM:                    Dave Hubin, Chair

                                    Distinguished Service Award Committee

 

Committee Membership: Bruce Blonigen, Alison Kwok, Frances Cogan, Peter Gilkey, Richard Sundt

Ex officio: Dave Hubin (Chair), ASUO Pres; Dan Rodriguez; UO Senate Chair; FAC Chair; ASUO Senate Chair; Graduate Council Chair.

 

 

SUBJECT:              2007-08 Annual Report of the Distinguished Service Award Committee

 

 

 

I.               Actions Relating to HB 2823:

 

                  In addition to completing its regular work, the Distinguished Service Award Committee for 2007-08 had the extraordinary honor of playing a central role in the University of OregonÕs engagement with House Bill 2823 that authorized Oregon University System institutions to award honorary degrees to students from 1942 who had been ordered to internment camps by Executive Order 9066. This work was done in compliance with US06/07-15; http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/US067-15.html

 

 

                  The PresidentÕs Office, in conjunction with the University Registrar and University Historian and Archivist initially identified 19 individuals who met the criteria stipulated in H.B. 2823. These names were approved by to the Distinguished Service Award Committee, subsequently, at the October 10, 2007 University Senate meeting approved in Executive Session. The University Senate approved the honorary degrees for the following individuals:

 

Chiye Arai

Midori Funatake

Mary Furusho

Frank Tadakazu Hachiya

Theodore Terumasa Hachiya

Thomas Chikara Hayashi

Woodrow Tsutoma Ichihashi

Kenji Inahara

Harold Kay Ito

Makoto McKinley Iwashita

Takuo Kawauchi

Alice Yoshie Kawasaki

Ellen Ogawa

Tadashi Melvyn Osaki

Samuel Teruhide Naito

Kenzo Nakagawa

Lawrence Fumio Takei

George Shingo Uchiyama

Robert Shu Yasui

                  The DSA Committee then had an additional role when, during planning for an April 6, 2008 honoring ceremony to take place for the students from 1942 the name of an additional student was brought forward.

 

                  The DSA Committee unanimously approved submission of the name of Grace Kumazawa to the Senate at an Executive Session of that body on April 9, 2008. That name was approved and the signed diploma was delivered to the family on April 12, 2008.

 

 

II:             DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS: Commencement 2008

 

                  The DSA Committee met during March and April of 2008 to develop its recommendations for possible recipients of the 2008 Distinguished Service Award. In Executive Session of the University Senate, on April 9, 2008, that body approved the DSA committee recommendations that the following individuals receive the 2008 Distinguished Service Award.

 

VIRGINIA BEAVERT

 

A keeper of culture, a collector of stories, a preserver of language, a protector of treasures – Virginia Beavert has worked for decades to record and save the Sahaptin language, once spoken on both sides of the Columbia River above the Dalles. This, along with her efforts to save tribal stories, legends, prayers and place names, not only keeps those cultural treasures alive, but serves as a model for younger tribal members in those efforts. As an elder in the Yakima Nation, she teaches, writes, speaks – and is held in great esteem by Native and non-Native peoples of the United States and Canada. It is a great honor to present the 2008 Distinguished Service Award to Virginia Beavert.

 

 

JOHN KITZHABER

 

Whether as an emergency room doctor or Oregon State governor, as a leader in meaningful healthcare reform or a guiding force in environmental protection, John Kitzhaber is dedicated to finding solutions. And in that dedication, he is not afraid of opposition or, seemingly, of the time-consuming effort and commitment that any real change takes. His continuing work will enable Oregonians, current and future, to live their lives in a richer and more humane state. It is therefore a great honor to present the 2008 Distinguished Service Award to John Kitzhaber.

 

 

JAMES WARSAW

 

The words Òforceful,Ó Òeloquent,Ó and ÒvisionaryÓ describe Jim Warsaw. Entering his family business, he helped develop Sports Specialties into the worldÕs leading licensed headwear company. But his vision and commitment also extends into the community at large and higher education. In fact, so much does he value higher education that he returned to the UO in 2006 to complete his own degree requirements. Launching the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the UO has enabled him to foster in students those values he holds so highly. Those same values drive his founding of the James H. Warsaw Foundation to Cure ParkinsonÕs Disease, as well as numerous other community and educational organizations. It is therefore a great honor to present the 2008 Distinguished Service Award to Jim Warsaw.

 

 

 

III.           Honorary Degree Activities:

 

                  In October of 2007, the Distinguished Service Award Committee called for suggestions from the campus community for possible recipients for future honorary degree recipients. In May of 2008, the DSA Committee turned its attention to vetting the list of possible recipients and to discussing plans for submission of appropriate nominees to an early meeting of the 2008-09 University Senate. The submission of names that will comprise a pool of approved nominees will be done in compliance with US06/07-08 (The Revision of the Distinguished Service Award CommitteeÕs procedures for the selection of and granting of an honorary degree.

http://www.uoregon.edu/~uosenate/dirsen067/US067-8.html

 


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