Section 1000: Campus Policy

Effective: January 4, 2011
Revised: January 2022, January 2024
Last Review: January 2024
Next Review: January 2026
Responsible Party: Chancellor

Procedure:

Montana State University-Northern may award an honorary doctorate to individuals who:

  • have achieved a level of distinction which merit comparable recognition in their profession or area of excellence.
  • have an association with the State of Montana. This association may be by virtue of birth, of residence, of education, of service to the state, the Montana University System or one of the campuses of the System.
  • will reflect favorably on MSU-Northern, the Montana University System, and the State of Montana.

Employees, alumni, students, and friends of MSU-Northern may nominate qualified individuals for an honorary degree by submitting a letter of nomination to the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at MSU-Northern. This letter should provide supporting evidence highlighting the major accomplishment of the nominee and be accompanied by a resume and three letters of support. Nominations for an honorary doctorate to be awarded at spring commencement must be received by January 1st preceding the commencement date. Current employees of the Montana University System are not eligible for this honor.

To protect the privacy of nominees, all involved must maintain complete confidentiality at every step of the nomination and approval process. The Chancellor will contact the successful nominees only after the Board of Regents has approved their nominations. Individuals who are nominated but not selected should not be notified of the nomination.

Review of these nominations and supporting information will be carried out by an Honorary Doctorate Committee consisting of:

  • One faculty selected from the College of Technical Sciences (ad hoc)
  • One faculty selected from the College of Arts, Sciences and Education, (ad hoc)
  • One faculty selected from the College of Health Science (ad hoc)
  • One professional/classified staff (ad hoc)

Faculty selections to this committee will be made by the Chancellor, Dean and/or Chair of the academic colleges.   Professional/classified staff member selections will be made by the Chancellor and Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. These selections will be completed by February 1st with members serving above-mentioned terms. Committee review of the nominations will begin by March 1st and will conclude with a written recommendation to the Chancellor by March 15th.

If approved by the Chancellor, the recommendation must in turn be:

  • recommended by the MSU-Northern Chancellor to the President of Montana State University;
  • recommended by the President of The Montana State University to the Montana Commissioner of Higher Education;
  • and recommended by the Montana Commissioner of Higher Education to the Montana Board of Regents for ultimate approval.

Upon final approval all communication concerning the nomination and awarding of the honorary degree will be coordinated by the Chancellor of Montana State University-Northern.