Jackson State University President Carolyn W. Meyers will receive an honorary degree from the distinguished Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, Calif., on Saturday, June 18.
Pardee RAND Graduate School, founded in 1970, is revered as the premier think tank in the U.S. and “hegemony of the Western world.” It is the only graduate school with a Ph.D. program specializing in public policy analysis. Additionally, it is also the only program established at a research institute of public policy – RAND Corporation.
Pardee RAND expressed why Meyers was chosen as a recipient, saying, “We are recognizing Dr. Meyers because of the transformational change she has brought to this historically black university, change that we learned about through her connection with RAND’s Gulf States office and has been highlighted in the book The Revolution in Higher Education by Richard DeMillo.”
Meyers will participate in a policy dialogue on Friday, June 17, moderated by Pardee RAND Graduate School dean Susan L. Marquis. Joining in the discussion will be Dr. Arthur Brooks, president of American Enterprise Institute, and Warren Olney, host of KCRW’s To The Point.
Other degree recipients include Joseph Newhouse, a John D. MacArthur professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard University and former director for the RAND Health Insurance Experiment.
Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis will also be honored and serve as the commencement keynote speaker.