Honorary Degree Citations
Katharine T. Bartlett '68
Kathryn Wasserman Davis P'60
Louise Henn Feroe '68
Katharine T. Bartlett
Doctor of Laws
Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote that "there is in most Americans some spark of idealism" that waits only for someone to bring it to light. You, Katharine T. Bartlett, shine as just such a person. Through your example as a lawyer, legal scholar, educator and citizen, you encourage us to reach for our best selves.
The sharp intellect with which you earned high honors at Wheaton now focuses on the rights of women, children and individuals who have been marginalized. Colleagues describe you as a prolific, influential and creative scholar on gender theory and family law. One of your many articles, "Feminist Legal Methods," is among the most cited law review articles on any subject, a distinction shared by a select few writers, including Justice Brandeis and Herbert Weschler.
Under your visionary leadership as Dean, the Duke University Law School not only strengthened its academic reputation but also enhanced its capacity for building civil society. The seven new law clinics you established enable students to help low-income citizens, children, Guantánamo detainees and others without a legal champion. In recognition of that work, you were awarded the Equal Justice Works Dean John R. Kramer Award for nurturing public service in legal education. You continue to encourage young lawyers to work for the common good as the A. Kenneth Pye Professor of Law at Duke.
Your commitment to common good also can be seen in your volunteer work and your support for young lawyers who embark on careers in public service. A friend has said you live with grace, "balancing and giving [yourself] to many purposes." We wholeheartedly agree. It is with great admiration that we bestow upon you the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Kathryn Wasserman Davis P'60
Doctor of Humane Letters
Peace activist John Dear once said: "The life of 'peace' is both an inner journey toward a disarmed heart and a public journey toward a disarmed world. This difficult but beautiful journey gives infinite meaning and fulfillment to life itself because our lives become a gift for the whole human race."
Kathryn Wasserman Davis, your journey through life has been a passionate pursuit of peace and international understanding. As a philanthropist, your extraordinary generosity has helped people around the world through the arts, education, environmental conservation and global peace initiatives. For your 100th birthday last year, you created 100 Projects for Peace. This initiative gave future leaders from 65 colleges and universities the seed money for projects that are now blossoming in more than 40 countries.
A 1928 graduate of Wellesley College, you earned a master's in international relations from Columbia University and a doctorate from the University of Geneva when few women pursued higher education. Inspired by your life experiences, you have put your money where your heart is. You have financed international scholarship and research; rescued Russian studies programs; guided your undergraduate alma mater as a long-serving trustee and contributed to an international center that helps students and scholars from more than 100 nations thrive in this country.
In all that you do, you exhibit your enthusiasm for sharing blessings-a quality also modeled by your daughter Diana Davis Spencer, Class of 1960, a long-time Wheaton trustee. Kathryn Wasserman Davis, we thank you for not only seeing the possibilities, but also for making them a reality. Please accept this Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree as an expression of deep gratitude for advancing our world's journey toward peace.
Louise Henn Feroe '68
Doctor of Humane Letters
Education is not the privilege of a few; it is the right of all.
Louise Henn Feroe, you have devoted your life to this noble ideal through your leadership at Mercy College, reaching beyond the ivory tower into urban neighborhoods and the confines of prison walls.
You studied philosophy at Wheaton and earned your doctorate in that discipline from the New School for Social Research. In 1982, you joined Mercy College in metropolitan New York City, serving in turn as professor, provost and, ultimately, president. In every role, you have championed the college's mission of educating urban students whose economic and academic disadvantages are matched only by their drive to succeed.
You don't just talk the talk: you walk the walk. In 1986, you walked into a maximum security prison for women and reinvigorated Mercy College's education program for inmates. Since then, hundreds of prisoners in nine correctional facilities have earned college degrees through Mercy.
Your commitment to this program illustrates the power of education to transform lives. In 2007, you were honored with an award from Hudson Link, Mercy's partner in educating men at Sing Sing prison. Of the 100 inmates from that facility who had earned Mercy College degrees since 2001, not one had returned to prison after release.
Now you move on to a new challenge, overseeing academic and student affairs for the Connecticut State University System. Its 36,000 students will be well served by your leadership, wisdom and compassion.
Louise Henn Feroe, Wheaton shares your belief that education equals opportunity, and we are proud to present you with this Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.