SUNY Honorary Degrees

1. Each campus president appoints an advisory honorary degree committee.
2. The committee solicits nominations and proposes candidates—consistent with the honorary degree program’s purposes and guidelines—via a confidential process; prospective nominees should not be made aware that they are under consideration. All those who participate in making and reviewing nominations must understand that they are not to contact the nominees or in any way communicate to them that they are being considered for an honorary degree.
3. The campus committee must conduct a rigorous review of the qualifications of each candidate, including confidential consultation with appropriate faculty able to evaluate the candidate’s accomplishment and a screening of the candidate’s professional and personal conduct.
4. The campus president reviews the committee’s recommendations and makes the final selection of nominees. The president will ensure that a rigorous review of the qualifications of the candidates has been conducted.
5. The committee prepares a nomination portfolio for each candidate which clearly indicates their state, national, and/or international prominence and connection to the campus.
6. The nomination portfolio must include:
   • A letter of justification from the campus president (three-to-five pages in length). The letter must explain, in specific detail:
     • Why the nominee’s significant accomplishments are consistent with the purposes of the SUNY honorary degree program and support state, national, or international distinction;
     • Why the particular type of degree is being recommended; and
     • How the nominee’s achievements are relevant to the nominating campus.
   • A two- to three-paragraph summary of the contents of the president’s letter. The summary should highlight the most significant accomplishments of the honoree, relative to the honorary degree program, and the relevance of those achievements to the nominating campus.
   • Additional supporting documentation to support the president’s letter. These materials will vary for different nominees, but appropriate materials include a curriculum vitae or detailed resume, reviews or articles about the nominee’s work, a list of major publications, and a list of major awards. Supporting documents, excluding curriculum vitae or resume, should be kept to a maximum of five pages.
7. The president sends the nomination portfolios to the attention of the System Provost, via the submission portal.

Notes about this stage:

All SUNY campuses, the University Faculty Senate, the Faculty Council of Community Colleges, and the Chancellor, as well as the SUNY Board of Trustees and its individual Trustees, are eligible to submit honorary degree nominations in response to an annual call for nominations issued by the System Provost on behalf of the Chancellor.

Except under unique and unusual circumstances, honorary degrees shall not be awarded to:

1. Previous recipients of honorary degrees from any SUNY campus;
2. Members of the SUNY Board of Trustees, the Councils at the State-operated campuses, the Board of Trustees of the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Board of Trustees of the community colleges during their terms of service;
3. Members of the teaching or administrative staff, or any other employee in the SUNY system while employed by SUNY; and
4. Current holders of New York elective public office or active candidates for elective public office.

Campuses should not only consider real conflicts of interest but also the appearance of a conflict of interest before nominating someone for an honorary degree. For example, membership on your institution's foundation board, or status as a large donor to your institution may give the appearance of a conflict of interest. 

In the case that one SUNY campus nominates an individual who has graduated from another SUNY campus, the nominating campus must consult with the degree-granting institution. There is now an option to report the outcome of that consultation on the nomination form. If a mutually agreeable solution is not found, the System Provost may intervene and, upon consultation with the broader Committee, make a final determination.

In any given year, the maximum number of honorary degrees which may be awarded system-wide is 75. Each campus may submit up to five nominations but award no more than four in any given year.

1. The Provost’s Office reviews campus nominations for nominees proposed by two or more campuses, nominees who have already received an honorary degree, completeness and appropriateness of nomination materials, and potential University concerns relating to the nominees.
2. The University-Wide Honorary Degree Committee, chaired by the Provost, will review nominees to ensure that they meet the qualifications established by the SUNY Trustees. The system-wide committee consists of representatives from the Distinguished Academy, senior System administrators, and members of the Board of Trustees. Campus-based members recuse themselves from the review of any nominees from their institution. The University-Wide Honorary Degree Committee will review all nominations, request further information as needed, and identify those to go forward and those which cannot be approved.
3. The System Provost conveys the Honorary Degree Committee's deliberations to the Chancellor, who reviews and forwards recommended nominees to the SUNY Board of Trustees for consideration.
4. The SUNY Board of Trustees votes to determine the initial approval of the nominees.
5. On behalf of the Board and Chancellor, the System Provost notifies campus presidents of initial approvals. Initial approval grants the campus president authority to send letters of invitation to initially approved nominees. The nominees must not be publicized at the initial approval stage.

1. After initial approval has been obtained, campuses may reach out to candidates with a potential conferral date and initial invitation.
2. Once candidates have accepted the initial invitation, campuses must email a pdf of a letter or forward the acceptance email to the SUNY Office of the Provost at honorary.degrees@suny.ede so that the second and final review can be initiated. The acceptance must include the potential conferral date for the honorary degree.
   
   

Notes about this stage:

Initial approval will lapse after three years—with the first year being the year the nominee has earned initial approval—, so campuses have a three-year window in which to obtain final approval.

The nominees must not be publicized at the initial approval stage.

1. Nominees who accept the initial campus invitations undergo a final review by the Chancellor, under delegated authority by the SUNY Trustees.
2. The Office of the Provost will convey final approvals to the campus president, on behalf of the Chancellor. If a nominee is deemed not qualified to receive the award at this stage, the Chancellor will review the nomination with the SUNY Trustees and notify the campus president to discuss next steps.
   
   

Notes about this stage:

The awarding of an honorary degree is at the Chancellor’s discretion and, as such, there is no guarantee that a nominee will be granted approval in the year nominated or at all. While every effort will be made to honor a campus’s proposed date for the conferral of the honorary degree, no guarantees can be made due to timeline contingencies. 

Any public announcement/publicity is prohibited until final approval has been granted.

Campus Arrangements for Recipients:

• • Diploma cases and citations in the standard format will be furnished by the Office of the Provost.  Once the campus has received notification of a nominee’s acceptance, the campus shall draft a citation and forward it to the Office of the Provost. The office will work with the campus to arrive at the final text of the citation and will then provide the appropriate materials to the campus.
  • Campuses must order and cover costs for all of their recipients’ academic regalia.
  • Campuses are expected to cover all expenses of their honorary degree recipients.
  • Announcement of the honorary degree recipients is prohibited until final approval has been granted.