The CSUSM Honorary Degree Committee, an advisory committee appointed by the president to represent the university community, considers nominations for an honorary degree. Any CSUSM students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater community may suggest potential honorary degree recipients to the committee.

Nominees must be distinguished in their respective fields, and the eminence of persons nominated must be widely recognized.

The CSU Board of Trustees makes the final determination and awards the degrees in the categories it considers most appropriate.

Here is a look at the 2017 honorary degree recipients:

Roberta Achtenberg

Achtenberg, a member of the CSU Board of Trustees for 16 years, helped establish the CSU Institute for Palliative Care, which is based at CSUSM. She will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the 1 p.m. College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences commencement ceremony on Friday, May 19.

Achtenberg has more than 30 years of senior-level leadership experience in business, government and law, receiving both local and national recognition for her public service and civic work.

Her time as a CSU Board of Trustees member included two years as its chair. During her time on the Board of Trustees, Achtenberg recognized the potential for the CSU to help transform the American healthcare workforce. She reached out to CSUSM President Karen Haynes in 2011 about launching a CSU-based palliative care institute at the University. Just 18 months later, it became a reality.

Achtenberg remains a member of the CSU Institute for Palliative Care’s National Advisory Board and continues to be a tireless advocate and supporter of the Institute’s work.

Achtenberg’s illustrious career includes serving two presidential administrations. During the Clinton administration, she was appointed Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and later served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She was appointed commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights by President Obama in 2011 after co-leading the HUD Agency Review Team for the Obama transition.

Trained as a lawyer, Achtenberg has served as a Teaching Fellow at Stanford Law School, a Dean of New College of California School of Law, a Staff Attorney of the Lesbian Rights Projects of Equal Rights Advocates, Inc., and founded the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Achtenberg is also a former elected member of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors.

Cecil Steppe

Steppe had a distinguished career working for the County of San Diego where he garnered a reputation as someone who could bring together numerous county departments, schools, agencies and private-sector organizations to share in the responsibility of providing social and health services to families.

He will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the 4 p.m. College of Education, Health and Human Services commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 20.

Steppe worked for the County of San Diego for 35 years, including 12 as the county’s chief probation officer.

From 1992-97, Steppe served as Director of the Department of Social Services, and was responsible for the administration of the largest department in the county with a budget of more than $900 million and a staff of nearly 4,000.

Steppe’s other professional roles include Director of Community Initiatives, Health and Human Services Agency and President and CEO of the Urban League of San Diego County.

With an ability to combine his varied background and skills in working to meet the needs of youth and families, Steppe brought together San Diego County departments, schools, city agencies and private-sector organizations to share in the responsibility of providing social and health services to families. A strong advocate for welfare reform, he aggressively supports family-centered practice, program integrity and the need to strengthen employment and training programs to move welfare recipients to self-sufficiency.

Since September 2005, Steppe has served as the Board Chair of the Gompers Preparatory Academy, a conversion charter school serving students from the grades 6-12.

Joanne Tawfilis

Tawfilis, who has partnered with CSUSM on numerous projects, has dedicated her life to promoting peace through art. She will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts during the 9 a.m. College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences ceremony on Friday, May 19.

Tawfilis spent most of her career as a United Nations executive and is a former director of the Women of Srebrenica Project in the former Yugoslavia. Her work took her to Bosnia in the mid-1990s, which proved to be a life-changing experience.

During her time in Bosnia, Tawfilis volunteered for a few hours several times a week facilitating art lessons at a local orphanage. Working with 350 orphans from the war-torn country, she used the only materials available – a 10-gallon can of white wall paint and bed sheets riddled with bullet holes – to create canvases for the children to paint murals.

That experience led to the creation of the Art Miles Mural Project, which works with schools throughout the world to help incorporate art into curriculum. The Art Miles Mural Project has facilitated the completion of more than 5,000 murals painted by more than 500,000 participants from 125 countries.

The project has grown to include a permanent space for the Muramid Mural Museum and Art Center in Oceanside.

Tawfilis has been a speaker for CSUSM’s Arts & Lectures Series and led a project for students after the Sandy Hook tragedy to create 14 murals that were displayed in the Connecticut Capitol building. She has also facilitated mural paintings for many University events, including Discover CSUSM Day and Voices for Hope Suicide Prevention Week.

WHO:

Dr. Timothy P. White, Chancellor, The California State University

Dr. Karen Haynes, President, California State University San Marcos

Ambassador Alejandro Orfila, former secretary general to the Organization of American States and Argentine ambassador to the United States, Japan and the Soviet Union

Other guests include regional civic leaders, members of the University’s Advisory Council and Foundation Board, and CSUSM faculty and staff.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 23 at 4 p.m.

WHERE: The McMahan House is located west of the Mangrum Track & Field at California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos. Recommended media parking is Lot XYZ.

WHY: Alejandro Orfila is an esteemed member of the international and local community, as well as a humanitarian and educator who has impacted the lives of thousands on a global scale. He is an inspiration, an example of the promise of a California State University education fulfilled.

Ambassador Orfila has worked closely with U.S. Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush and served as Argentine ambassador to the United States, Japan and the Soviet Union. One notable contribution to foreign policy and diplomacy came as Secretary General of the Organization of American States, when he negotiated the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

After retiring to San Diego in the late 1980’s, he founded what has become one of the most influential wineries in the region, Orfila Vineyards. As a member of the first President’s University Council at CSUSM, he assisted with the creation of the University in 1989. He has provided advice, counsel, and support to every Cal State San Marcos president in the University’s nearly twenty-five year history. In 2013 he agreed to serve as the Department of History’s first Distinguished History Maker, connecting with students and faculty to support the educational mission of CSUSM and enrich students’ learning experiences and career aspirations.

The Doctorate of Humane Letters was conferred by the California State University Board of Trustees and was presented to Dr. Roberts by Trustee Debra Farar.

Dr. Terrence Roberts: A Man of Character and Perseverance

Dr. Terrence Roberts is one of the famous "Little Rock Nine," a group of brave black students that led desegregation of public schools in the late 1950s. He and eight others were selected on the criteria of excellent grades and attendance. Terrence was 15 years old when he helped change history by being one of the first black students to attend classes in 1957 at the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Read more about Terrence Roberts' story...

“Terrence Roberts is quite clearly an example of the principles that we are teaching at Cal State San Marcos,” said CSUSM President Karen Haynes. “He embodies our ideals of thinking beyond self and contributing to society in ways that make it more just and equitable. He has made sacrifices beyond what any of us can imagine and has held true to his values and maintained his integrity during great periods of adversity.”

Roberts is a California State University alumnus, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from CSU Los Angeles in 1967. He later went on to earn his master’s degree in social welfare from UCLA and obtain his doctorate in psychology from Southern Illinois University. For more than 30 years, Roberts has led a successful career as a university professor and practicing clinical psychologist. In 1999 President Bill Clinton awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Roberts and the members of the Little Rock Nine.

Honorary Degree: Doctorate of Humane Letters

Honorary degree recipients are selected by a campus committee of faculty and staff from recommendations made by CSUSM students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater community. The committee then forwards nominations to the president for approval and then to the Chancellor of the California State University system. The CSU Board of Trustees makes the final determination and awards the degrees in the categories it considers most appropriate. Honorary degree recipients have demonstrated excellence in areas that benefit humanity, CSU campuses, the state, nation and/or world, and serve as examples to be recognized and honored for their good works.

All honorary degrees awarded by CSUSM are conferred by the Board of Trustees of the California State University in the name of CSUSM and the California State University.