Former Rochester mayor William A. Johnson Jr. will receive an honorary degree during the University of Rochester's commencement ceremonies for graduates in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 21, on the Eastman Quadrangle on the River Campus.

During the College's 156th commencement ceremony, honorary degrees also will be presented to Richard F. Fenno Jr., Distinguished University Professor of the University of Rochester, and to Jane E. Henney, senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

In addition, other divisions with separate commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 21, are:

Divisions holding individual commencement ceremonies on additional dates are:

Highlights by Ceremony:

College Commencement

Johnson, who will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Laws, served three consecutive terms as Rochester's mayor beginning in 1993. As mayor, he initiated programs to strengthen neighborhoods and communities, including the Bi-Racial Partnerships program, Community Oriented Policing, Good Grades Pay, and Neighbors Building Neighborhoods. Before being elected to office, Johnson headed the Urban League of Rochester for 21 years.

Fenno, a member of the University of Rochester political science faculty since 1957, is the nation's most respected scholar of legislatures, in particular the U.S. Congress, and helped establish Rochester as one of the premier sites for political science studies. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. The American Political Science Association has awarded a book prize in his name for the last 20 years. Fenno will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Laws.

Henney will be presented with the honorary degree Doctor of Science. For more than two decades she has served in senior health policy leadership positions in the public sector, helping shape health policy and medical education. In 1998, Henney became the first woman to be sworn in as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. During her three-year tenure, she tackled issues such as the safety of food and blood supplies and tobacco use among young people.

Two faculty members will be honored by the College with teaching awards. Joseph Dinnocenzo, professor of chemistry, will receive the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Since joining the faculty in 1983, Dinnoncenzo has redesigned or created courses to emphasize real-world applications and issues. Dinnoncenzo also is director of the University's Center for Photoinduced Charge Transfer and has been a consultant for Eastman Kodak Company and the Pfizer Corporation.

Matthew BaileyShea, assistant professor of music, will receive the G. Graydon '58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Nontenured Member of the Faculty. BaileyShea joined the faculty in 2003. Besides teaching, he serves as a freshman advisor and supervises the undergraduate musicianship sequence. He also holds a secondary appointment as assistant professor of music theory at the Eastman School.

In addition, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will present its 2006 Distinguished Alumnus Award to Donald J. Brady during its diploma ceremony. Brady received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University in 1955. He is the president of Brady-Trane Service Inc., a national leader in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry, and holds leadership positions in professional and civic organizations in Greensboro, N.C.

Martin Edward Messinger will receive the Charles Force Hutchison and Marjorie Smith Hutchison Medal, the highest honor given to an alumnus in recognition of outstanding achievements and service to community, state, or nation. Messinger received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1949 and is now a managing partner of the New York City investment firm of Neuberger & Berman. In 1998, he established the Messinger Family Foundation to focus on higher education, health, medical service, and other issues in New York.

There are 891 candidates for a bachelor's degree and 203 candidates for a master's degree in the College.

School of Medicine and Dentistry Master's Degree Commencement

There are 140 candidates for master's degrees in the medical school.

School of Nursing Commencement Ceremony

Dr. Robert J. Joynt, former vice president and vice provost for health affairs at the University, will speak. He is also former dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and past chair of the Department of Neurology, and holds the title of Distinguished University Professor.

There are 105 candidates for a bachelor's degree and 50 candidates for a master's degree in the School of Nursing.

Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development Commencement Ceremony

There are 97 candidates for master's degrees in the Warner School.

Eastman School of Music Commencement Ceremony

Writer and composer Alan Buz Kohan will be the speaker. Kohan received his bachelor's degree in 1955 and his master's degree in 1966 at Eastman. The winner of 13 Emmy Awards, he has been head writer for more than 200 television specials and series and has worked with such artists as Diana Ross, Robert Goulet, and the Ray Charles Singers. In addition, U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter will receive the Eastman School's first Luminary Award, presented for extraordinary service and support for music and the arts.

There are 128 candidates for a bachelor's degree and 112 candidates for a master's degree from the Eastman School.

School of Medicine and Dentistry M.D. Commencement Ceremony

Steven G. Gabbe, dean of the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University, will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Science. One of the world's leading experts on diabetes and pregnancy, Gabbe is the author of more than 125 publications and is the senior editor of the textbook Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. His awards include the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Award and the Joseph Bolivar DeLee Humanitarian Award from the Chicago Lying-In Hospital.

Michael G. Rosenfeld, professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and a leading researcher in endocrinology, will be awarded the Hutchison Medal, presented to an alumnus for outstanding achievements and service. His research has been published in more than 230 journals and Science Watch included Rosenfeld on its list of 50 most-cited researchers from 1983 to 2003. He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester in 1966.

There will be 99 M.D. degrees awarded in the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Doctoral Degree Ceremony for all divisions

Alan Stockman, the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Economics, will receive the University Award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education. An expert on topics such as exchange rates and debt crises, he has published widely and is the author of the textbook The Principles of Economics. He has been a member of the faculty since 1979.

Ashok Das, professor of physics and astronomy, will receive the William H. Riker University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. Das came to Rochester in 1982 and is the author of more than 10 graduate textbooks and hundreds of articles on topics in theoretical high energy physics, quantum field theory, and string theory.

The Rochester Distinguished Scholar Medal, awarded to doctoral graduates who have gone on to distinguished careers in academia, industry, or government, will be presented to Amit Goyal and Jerry R. Green. Goyal, who received a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1988 and a doctorate in materials science and engineering in 1991, has 50 patents to his name and holds the title of Distinguished Scientist and Battell Distinguished Inventor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is a fellow of the American Society of Metals, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Institute of Physics.

Since 1970, Green as been on the faculty of Harvard University, where he currently holds two named professorships. Known for his work on theories of incentives, rational expectations, and behavior under uncertainty, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Green received his undergraduate degree in mathematics in 1967 and his doctorate in economics in 1970 from the University of Rochester.

A total of 207 doctoral degrees (Ph.D., D.M.A., Ed.D.) will be awarded at the Saturday morning ceremony. The University of Rochester will award its 8,000th doctoral degree this year. The University awarded its first Ph.D. in 1925 in biochemistry to Warren Myron Sperry; the first woman to receive a Ph.D. was M. Elizabeth Marsh, who received her doctoral degree in physiology of nutrition in 1927.

William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration Commencement

James S. Gleason, chairman of Gleason Corp., will receive the Hutchison Medal, the highest honor given to an alumnus in recognition of outstanding achievements and service. Among his many honors for business leadership is the Eli Whitney Productivity Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Gleason received his master's degree at the Simon School in 1968.

There are 282 candidates for master's degrees in the Simon School in the current academic year.

Degrees to be awarded in all schools: 2,314 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.