Walter Massey
Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow awarded Walter Massey an honorary degree during the University's 2004 Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 23, 2004.

[Biography | Honorary Degree]

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [05-23-04] Accomplished physicist and noted leader in national science policy, you, Walter Massey, graduated from Morehouse College at the age of 20, and went on to become the ninth president of your alma mater, our country’s only historically black, all-male, four-year liberal arts college.

Your service to the nation as Director of the National Science Foundation underscored the important mission of science in society, as you sought to expand research for the discovery of applications from which the global community would benefit. Your tenure as an educator at the University of Illinois, Brown University, the University of Chicago and the University of California was marked by the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Throughout these years, you held the role of mentor, and exercised your influence thoughtfully, encouraging others and inspiring outstanding effort.Always the teacher, you have advocated for strong science and math education, knowing in your heart that the solutions to many of life’s most difficult challenges lie in scientific inquiry. Walter Massey, for your superb contributions to higher education and for your outstanding efforts to extend science for the good of all, Tufts University is proud to award to you the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa.