Commencement 2003

Indiana University honorary degree recipients

IU Bloomington

Samuel Hulbert Biomedical Engineer and President, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology; Doctor of Science, IU Bloomington

 

Max Marsh Pharmaceutical Researcher, Chemist and Pioneer; Doctor of Science, IU Bloomington

Called a pioneer by his peers, Max Marsh began pushing at the frontier of theoretical chemistry and rational drug design as a young chemist at Eli Lilly and Company. With only a bachelor of science degree (his master’s degree was halted by WWII and family responsibilities), Marsh rose to the top levels in both research and administration at Lilly and in the process developed CADD (computer-aided drug design), a program which allowed researchers to purposely develop a specific drug for a specific problem. He also has been an enthusiastic proponent of a chemical informatics degree program at IU—and has been an ardent supporter of his alma mater. Throughout this extraordinary career, Marsh maintained close ties with the IU Department of Chemistry. In 1971, he was named an adjunct industrial professor of the department. After retiring from Lilly in 1986, he moved to Bloomington and accepted a long-term appointment as a visiting research scientist. In 1990, he was named an adjunct professor of chemistry.

 

Herbert White Library and Information Science Scholar, Educator and Writer; Doctor of Humane Letters, IU Bloomington

If you were to do an author search on Herbert White using ERIC—a database he helped develop—you would find more than 150 articles and several books on library administration, supervision and automation. He also has been a regular columnist for such industry journals as American Libraries, Library Journal, and Information and Library Manager. But his contributions to the libraries of IU and the world go far beyond providing material for their shelves. In 1975, he joined the faculty of IU’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). Initially professor and director of the school’s research center, White served as dean of SLIS from 1980 to 1990, and was appointed Distinguished Professor in the final year of his deanship. During his leadership, SLIS became one of the top-ranked and largest schools of library and information science in the world.

IUPUI

J. Herman Blake University Educator, Administrator and Mentor; Doctor of Humane Letters, IUPUI

Editor's note: Our apologies to Mr. Blake whose biographical profile was left out of our newsprint edition this week.

J. Herman Blake has transformed the lives of thousands of students and teachers in Indiana and throughout the United States. What is the secret of this charismatic administrator and educator? Colleagues say it’s his faith in his fellow human beings and his attention to the potential in each individual. Blake, who first came to IUPUI as a consultant on undergraduate education, served the campus as vice chancellor for undergraduate education from 1989 to 1997. Largely through his efforts, IUPUI became a national leader among public, urban institutions that promote undergraduate education for diverse student populations. Since leaving IUPUI, Blake has held a joint appointment as director of African American studies and professor of sociology, educational leadership, and policy studies at Iowa State University. A first-generation college student, Blake has received prestigious awards for his work with many grassroots community groups, as well as with Save the Children, Project Pericles, the Academic Advisory Council of the Lumina Foundation for Education, and many other organizations. He has also received fellowships from the Rockefeller, Ford, Woodrow Wilson, and John Hay Whitney Foundations, as well as numerous honorary degrees. Blake’s success in motivating students to aspire beyond the easily attainable has helped shaped dozens of careers that are, in turn, perpetuating his vision of greater diversity in higher education.

A’Leilia Bundles NBC and ABC Television News Producer, Author and Lecturer; Doctor of Human Letters, IUPUI

The great-great-granddaughter of Indianapolis entrepreneur, social activist and influential philanthropist Madame C.J. Walker, A’Lelia Bundles is an Emmy-winning news producer, author and lecturer. She wrote the best-selling book, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madame C. J. Walker, and a prize-winning biography for young adults, Madam C. J. Walker: Entrepreneur. She worked for NBC News and then for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jenings was promoted to Washington, D.C., deputy bureau chief and then to her current post as director of talent development in Washington and New York. She also is a strong voice for the future of education, having served as president of the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association, director of the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C., and as advisory board member of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. She also has been a board member of the IU Center on Philanthropy in Indianapolis and of the Madam Walker Theatre Center

 

Ting-Kai Li Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Researcher and Federal Agency Director; Doctor of Science, IUPUI

During his 31 years at the IU School of Medicine, Ting-Kai Li helped to place the institution at the forefront of alcohol research by identifying the genetic component of alcoholism. He conducted his world-renowned research while serving the School of Medicine in prominent administrative capacities. From 1985 to 2000, he was associate dean for research, and from 1987 until his retirement in 2002, Li served as director of the IU Alcohol Research Center, which was established with a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health. In 2002, the NIAAA—the federal agency that funds 90 percent of the research into the causes, treatment and prevention of alcoholism—appointed Li as its new director, putting him at the helm of federal alcohol research efforts.

IU Kokomo

Photo copyright 2002, Wilbur Tague Photography Virgil Hunt University Administrator, Mentor and Philanthropist; Doctor of Humane Letters, IU Kokomo

IU South Bend

Barbara Warner Philanthropist, Volunteer and Advocate for the Arts; Doctor of Humane Letters, IU South Bend