The Howler eNewsletter

It's Our Honor to Honor . . .
By Mary Conrad

With the caliber of recipients who will receive honorary doctorates of letters at UNM Commencement this spring, it’s hard to say who is more honored—the recipients or the University!

Three distinguished individuals—including two alumni--will receive honorary degrees this year: playwright Denise Chavez, publisher Ed Lewis, and environmentalist and statesman Stewart Udall. All are deemed either to “have contributed significantly to the cultural or scientific development of the Southwest, or to the spiritual or material welfare of its people” or to be “eminent individuals and scholars whose contributions are of general significance and transcend geographic limitations.”

Denise Chavez, ’85 MA, will present the commencement address. Chavez, born in Las Cruces, writes stories and plays of Southern New Mexico and the borderlands. Her works include “The Last of the Menu Girls,” “Face of an Angel,” and “Loving Pedro Infante.” From UNM Press’ “Writing the Southwest”

“Denise Chavez offers us the voice of a new generation of Hispanic Women: educated, articulate, bursting with energy and drive. … She brings to her writing a keen eye for social pretences and the frailties of the human heart. … Chavez is rooted in the low desert of the southern border. The beauty and heat of this landscape informs her work and her characters.”

Ed Lewis, ’63 BA, ’65 MA, is chairman and chief executive officer of Essence Communications Partners, one of the country’s largest African-American-owned multi-media organizations. He is also co-founder and publisher of Essence magazine. A strong advocate of community involvement, Lewis has endowed several UNM scholarships.

Stewart L. Udall served Arizona's second district in the U.S. Congress from 1954 until 1961, and as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. An environmentalist, Udall was instrumental in the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In Congress he promoted just labor laws and cooperation with Native American communities. He is the author of The Quiet Crisis (1963), To the Inland Empire (1987) and The Myths of August (1994).
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Last updated 04.20.2004