In addition to Dr. Benjamin Carson, Rensselaer also will bestow honorary degrees on Nobel Prize winners Robert Solow and Richard Smalley, philanthropist Morris “Marty” Silverman, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

Robert Solow
Robert Solow, professor emeritus in economics at MIT, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Solow, who has taught at MIT since 1949, earned the 1987 Nobel Prize in Economics for demonstrating the critical importance of technological advances to economic growth. He is the 1999 recipient of the National Medal of Science. Solow, who has written numerous books, served on President John F. Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors in the early 1960s, and was president of the American Economic Association in 1979. Click here for more information.

Richard Smalley
Richard Smalley, Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, will receive an honorary doctorate of science. Smalley shares the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with two other scientists for the discovery of carbon atoms bound in the form of a ball, commonly known as “Buckeyballs.” He developed an important experimental technique he used in his prize-winning research while he was a research associate at the University of Chicago. Click here for more information.

Donna Shalala
Donna Shalala will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Shalala is the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who served in the Clinton Administration from 1993-2001--a record tenure for the post. At the end of her service, The Washington Post described her as "one of the most successful government managers of modern times." Shalala, now president of the University of Miami, has a long line of accomplishments. In 1988, when she was named chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she became the first woman to head a Big Ten school. Click here for more information.

Morris “Marty” Silverman
Marty Silverman, a well-known local philanthropist who has helped transform the Capital Region into a pace-setter in law, science, medicine, and education, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Silverman has poured millions of dollars into improving numerous local communities. Among his many contributions, he created the Renaissance Corporation of Albany and established the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. Last year, Silverman gave a gift of $7 million to Rensselaer to accelerate biotechnology research in the Capital Region. For more information click here.

Joseph Bruno
This fall, at Honors Convocation, Rensselaer also will confer an honorary doctorate on New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. A biotechnology visionary, Bruno has worked tirelessly to bring the economic benefits of technological innovation to the state. His work led to, among other major programs and initiatives, the creation of the Gen*NY*sis (Generating Employment through New York Science) program to ensure that the state maintains its position as a premier location for life sciences research and technology development. Last year, he secured $22.5 million in Gen*NY*sis funds for Rensselaer. For more information click here.