Civil rights activist receives honorary doctorate from Penn State

Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles and a professor of education, law, political science, and urban planning, received an honorary doctoral degree in humane letters from Pennsylvania State University. He received the degree during the university's commencement ceremony this past December. In an address to the more than 12,000 graduates, he spoke of the “true value” of a university and how universities must serve the greater community. Penn State made the award in recognition of Orfield’s significant research contributions on issues of civil rights and racial equality. He has long been involved in the development of governmental policy and has served as an expert witness in several dozen court cases related to his research, including the University of Michigan’s U.S. Supreme Court case, Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld the policy of affirmative action in 2003.