5 individuals honored at Ohio State spring 2002 commencement

COLUMBUS – What do the owner of the New York Yankees, a university president, an optometrist, and a demographer all have in common with the President of the United States? All will receive special honors during The Ohio State University’s spring quarter commencement Friday, June 14, in Ohio Stadium.

Honorary doctorates will be presented to George W. Bush, president of the United States; Walter E. Massey, president of Atlanta’s Morehouse College; George M. Steinbrenner III, principle owner of the New York Yankees; and Marta Tienda, director of the Office of Population Research. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented Richard Hill, professor and dean emeritus of The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

George W. Bush, Doctor of Public Administration

George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States. Formerly the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, President Bush has earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative who shapes policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control.

President Bush was born July 6, 1946, and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He served as an F-102 pilot for the Texas Air National Guard before beginning
his career in the oil and gas business in Midland in 1975, working in the energy industry until 1986. After working on his father's successful 1988 presidential campaign, he assembled the group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989. He served as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers until he was elected Governor on November 8, 1994, with 53.5 percent of the vote.

In an historic re-election victory, he became the first Texas Governor to be elected to consecutive four-year terms on November 3, 1998, winning 68.6 percent of the vote.

President Bush is pursuing the same common-sense approach and bipartisan spirit that he used in Texas. He has proposed bold initiatives to ensure that America's prosperity has a purpose.
He has also addressed improving our nation's public schools by strengthening local control and insisting on accountability; reducing taxes on all taxpayers, especially for those Americans on the fringes of poverty; strengthening the military with better pay, better planning, and better equipment; saving and strengthening Social Security and Medicare by providing seniors with more options; and ushering in the responsibility era in America.

President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, who are college students.

Walter E. Massey, Doctor of Science

Walter E. Massey is the ninth president of Atlanta’s Morehouse College, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive institution of higher education for men.

A native of Mississippi, Massey earned a bachelor of science degree from Morehouse in 1958 and a master’s and doctorate in physics from Washington University in St. Louis in 1966. Since then he has held a range of administrative and academic positions, including provost and vice-president for academic affairs at the University of California.

He has also held teaching positions at Morehouse; Howard University; Washington University; Brown University, where he served as dean of the college; and the University of Chicago, where he served as vice president for research. His research has involved the study of quantum liquids and solids. His written work has also addressed science and math education, the role of science in a democratic society, and university-industry interactions and technology transfer in the international setting. His extensive international experience has included work in Austria, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, Finland, Hong Kong, Italy, the Ivory Coast, Japan, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Much of his career has been closely tied to government service and initiatives. He was director of the National Science Foundation from1991 to 1993 and has been a member of several influential commissions and boards, including the Advisory Board to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Commission on College Physics. He served as founding chair of the board of the Argonne National Laboratory/University of Chicago Development Corporation from 1986 to 1991.

George M. Steinbrenner III, Doctor of Business Administration

One of America’s most renowned and successful business executives, George M. Steinbrenner III is principal owner of the New York Yankees and partner in the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils.

The Ohio native graduated from Culver Military Academy in Indiana and attended The Ohio State University before receiving his bachelor’s degree from Williams College. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant with the Strategic Air Command, he served as assistant football coach at Northwestern and Purdue Universities in 1955 and 1956, respectively. In 1957, he returned to Cleveland to join the family business, becoming president of the Kinsman Marine Transit Company, a subsidiary of the American Shipbuilding Company. In 1967, he became president and chair of American Shipbuilding and in 1978 chair of the board.

In 1973, Steinbrenner became principal owner of the New York Yankees, serving as the club’s president from 1979 to 1990.During his tenure, marked by his controversial leadership style, the Yankees have become one of the most successful teams in baseball history.

Long committed to education and opportunities for young people, Steinbrenner and the Yankees organization have sponsored a variety of benefits and tournaments. He and his wife, Ohio State alumna Joan Zieg Steinbrenner, are responsible for the new marching band practice facility in the newly renovated Ohio Stadium.

Marta Tienda, Doctor of Social Science

Marta Tienda is director of the Office of Population Research, Maurice P. During ‘22 Professor of Demographic Studies, and professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University. She joined the Princeton faculty in 1997.

The daughter of Hispanic immigrants, Tienda received her bachelor of arts degree in Spanish literature from Michigan State University and her master’s and doctorate in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. She has held appointments in sociology at the University of Chicago, where she served as Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology and chair from 1994 to 1997, and in rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin from 1976 to 1987. In 1987, she served as visiting professor at Stanford University, and she has lectured in several countries, including Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, and Spain.

Tienda’s research focuses on race and ethnic inequality and various aspects of the sociology of economic life. Her current research focuses on diversity in higher education. She is co-author of The Color of Opportunity: Pathways to Family, Work and Welfare and The Hispanic Population of the United States, and co-editor of Youth in Cities, Divided Opportunities: Poverty, Minorities and Social Policy, and Hispanics in the U.S. Economy. She has published more than 150 scholarly papers in academic journals and numerous research bulletins for a lay audience.

Richard M. Hill, Distinguished Service Award

Richard M. Hill is professor and dean emeritus of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He is a past president of The Ohio State University Retirement Association and served as co-chair of the university’s Campus Campaign Council from 1995 to 1999.

Hill joined the Ohio State faculty in 1964 after completing his optometric and graduate degrees in physiological optics at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interests have included neuro-physiology of the visual system, visual psychophysics, and physiology of the eye. Since his 1995 retirement, he has continued to direct the College of Optometry’s Eye Physiology Laboratory, which focuses on new materials research and care systems for contact lenses.

During his tenure from 1988 to 1995 as dean of the College of Optometry, Hill gained a reputation as the “development dean” due to his understanding of the need for private funding and his willingness to devote himself to enhancing the college’s equipment and scholarship support. Immediately upon his retirement, he accepted the position of co-chair of the Campus Campaign, which, under his leadership, reached $50 million in receipts from current and retired faculty and staff. In addition, with his own funds, he established two endowment funds for the College of Optometry.