WHAT: Stanley Bergen Jr., president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and architect Robert Geddes, former dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University, to receive honorary doctorates from NJIT during university's winter commencement.
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 16, 1998, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Entwisle Gymnasium, NJIT campus, Lock Street, Newark.
BACKGROUND: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey president Stanley Bergen Jr., of Englewood Cliffs, a major force in shaping New Jersey's health sciences system, and architect Robert Geddes, of Princeton, who built a thriving practice while earning the reputation as one of the nation's foremost educators, will receive honorary doctorate degrees during New Jersey Institute of Technology's winter commencement.
Approximately 660 students will earn bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in fields such as engineering, management, computer science, architecture and related technological disciplines.
Bergen will receive the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, and Geddes will receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
As the founding president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Bergen has provided the vision and leadership to build campuses, launch the schools and research centers, and develop the health care resources that form the hub of New Jersey's system of health sciences education, research and patient care.
Today, UMDNJ is the largest university of the health sciences in the United States, with seven schools on four campuses, the University Hospital and three core teaching affiliates, two mental health centers, six affiliated research institutes and a network of more than 100 affiliated health care and educational institutions nationwide.
During nearly two decades as the dean of the School of Architecture at Princeton University, Geddes created one of the most dynamic professional design schools in the nation. His co-authored "Princeton Report" has helped improve the training of architects, enabling them to practice effectively in today's complex environment.
A founder and partner in Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham since 1954, Geddes is known both as an architect and as an urban designer. His major works include the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University; the Humanities and Social Sciences Center at Southern Illinois University; the J.B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville; the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia; and buildings at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. His work in public spaces includes the Downtown Miami Government Center, Liberty State Park at New York Harbor and the urban design of the Center City in Philadelphia.
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