Wangari Maathai Receives Honorary Doctorate from Alma Mater in Pittsburgh
November 1, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, November 1, 2006—Dr. Wangari Maathai was awarded a Doctor of Public Service Honoris Causa by the University of Pittsburgh from which she received her Master of Science degree in 1965. In a ceremony at the University’s Alumni Hall on October 26, Maathai received the degree, along with the hooded gown that accompanies it, from Chancellor Mark Nordenberg before an audience of several hundred students, faculty, administrators and members of the community. Maathai had not been back to the University of Pittsburgh (known as Pitt) or to the city of Pittsburgh since completing her studies more than 40 years ago.
The citation to Dr. Maathai read, in part: “Your seeds have brought back to life your continent’s forests.” In his speech presenting the honorary doctorate, Dr. Nordenberg told Dr. Maratha: “I know you have touched the lives of countless people around the world.” Calling the ceremony a “special homecoming,” he wished Maathai “nothing but the best as you move forward with your work.” He noted that Maathai is the first Pitt graduate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In her speech accepting the honor, Maathai spoke of her years at Pitt and how the skills she learned at the University had helped her secure her first job, at the University of Nairobi, when she returned to Kenya in 1966. “I have too many emotions inside me,” she told those gathered in Alumni Hall. “I want you to know that I have been so proud to be able to say that I am a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.” Maathai also spoke of how her time at Pitt and her conviction that she had been sent out “by this campus to serve.” There is, she continued, “nothing greater than service.”
Chancellor Nordenberg called the occasion a “special homecoming” and urged Maathai to return to Pitt again before another four decades passed. “Forty years is too long” to be away, he said. After the ceremony, Maathai, the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor Renny Clark and other University officials, staff and friends repaired to the Commons Room of the campus’ Cathedral of Learning where Maathai signed copies of her recently-published memoir, Unbowed.
The ceremony in Alumni Hall was co-hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, the Heinz Endowments and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
###
The citation to Dr. Maathai read, in part: “Your seeds have brought back to life your continent’s forests.” In his speech presenting the honorary doctorate, Dr. Nordenberg told Dr. Maratha: “I know you have touched the lives of countless people around the world.” Calling the ceremony a “special homecoming,” he wished Maathai “nothing but the best as you move forward with your work.” He noted that Maathai is the first Pitt graduate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
In her speech accepting the honor, Maathai spoke of her years at Pitt and how the skills she learned at the University had helped her secure her first job, at the University of Nairobi, when she returned to Kenya in 1966. “I have too many emotions inside me,” she told those gathered in Alumni Hall. “I want you to know that I have been so proud to be able to say that I am a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.” Maathai also spoke of how her time at Pitt and her conviction that she had been sent out “by this campus to serve.” There is, she continued, “nothing greater than service.”
Chancellor Nordenberg called the occasion a “special homecoming” and urged Maathai to return to Pitt again before another four decades passed. “Forty years is too long” to be away, he said. After the ceremony, Maathai, the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor Renny Clark and other University officials, staff and friends repaired to the Commons Room of the campus’ Cathedral of Learning where Maathai signed copies of her recently-published memoir, Unbowed.
The ceremony in Alumni Hall was co-hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, the Heinz Endowments and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
###