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5 June 1998 Vol. I, No. 32 Feature Article   BU honors four distinguished recipients with doctoral degrees Commencement 1998 President Jon Westling conferred honorary degrees on the following four recipients at Boston University's 125th Commencement: Floyd H. Flake, Doctor of Humane Letters A former director of BU's Martin Luther King, Jr., Center and former dean of Marsh Chapel, Floyd Flake became pastor at the Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica, Queens, in 1976. Ten years later he was elected to Congress as representative from New York's Sixth District, but left in 1997 to concentrate on the Allen A. M. E. Church. The church, Westling said, is "a vibrant social and economic center in New York City" that provides a school, housing for the poor, a community center, and health-care center. When Flake stood for election, he continued, voters "understood that you already knew more about meeting the needs of people than most politicians learn in a lifetime." Expressing confidence that the church will go from strength to strength now that Flake has returned, Westling described it as "preeminent among the enduring institutions that African-Americans have created and sustained under conditions of adversity." Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, Doctor of Humane Letters Three generations of the Johnson family are represented at the College of Communication's convocation ceremony: (from left) Boston University Trustee Luci Baines Johnson, her mother, honorary degree recipient Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, and her daughter, Claudia Nugent (COM'98). Photo by Albert L'Etoile Born Claudia Taylor in Karnack, Texas, Lady Bird Johnson earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1933, and one in journalism in 1934, from the University of Texas. She married Lyndon Baines Johnson the same year, becoming a formidable campaigner and his most trusted advisor, as well as manager of the family business interests. "You exemplify how a First Lady can elevate the presidency by directing public attention toward neglected concerns and by setting a tone of dignity and graciousness," said Westling. "Three decades later, millions of your fellow citizens still admire you." As First Lady she helped direct national attention to environmental issues, leading to the passage of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965. "You spoke eloquently and worked tirelessly on behalf of highway beautification policies that brought down the billboards and restored to Americans a clear view of their native land," said Westling. "You also founded an institution to help preserve the wildflowers that would grace our roadways: the National Wildflower Research Center, now known, fittingly, as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center." Gary Locke, Doctor of Laws Gary Locke (LAW'75) is the first Asian-American ever to be elected governor in the conterminous United States (see story, page 1). He began his political career in 1982 as a Washington state representative. He was elected King County executive in 1993 and governor three years later. "Your victories in Washington," said Westling, "a state where only 6 percent of the residents are Asian-American, hold out promise of a time when all American elections will be based on issues, not identities." Locke has served as a board member of the United Way, the Asian Counseling and Referral Center, and the Committee for Cultural Diversity at the Seattle Art Museum. In 1991, he was named Legislator of the Year by the Washington Federation of State Employees. Commenting on Locke's commitment to improving educational standards and opportunities, Westling said, "Your insight into the importance of reading at a time when a thousand educational fads and quick-fix solutions are diverting others demonstrates the calm clarity that informs your approach to government." Donald O'Connor, Doctor of Humane Letters There's no Sunday like Commencement Sunday: honorary degree recipient Donald O'Connor acknowledges the crowd's applause. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky Donald O'Connor secured a place of prominence in American cinematic history with his famous improvised comic dance sequence in Singin' in the Rain, which helped make the film a classic. "In the gaudily grand and unhappily bygone world of the Hollywood musical," Westling said to O'Connor, "you embodied eternal youth, loyalty, winsome charm, optimism, and improbable gymnastics. Everyone who sees Singin' in the Rain thinks of Cosmo Brown as a friend." Among O'Connor's acting credits are roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including Yes Sir, That's My Baby, There's No Business Like Show Business, and the series of Francis the talking mule films. He had a leading role in television's Colgate Comedy Hour, starred in his own series, The Donald O'Connor Texaco Show, and hosted the first internationally televised Academy Awards presentation in 1954. "You have said that you no longer wish to be a star, because stars burn out," said Westling. "You want to be a quasar, because they go on forever. Astronomers may quibble about your cosmology, but audiences everywhere know, as we do, that you have somehow made that transition."