Commencement Takes Note of Seven Lifetimes of Accomplishment

The University of Cincinnati will present six honorary degrees and an Award for Excellence during the All-University Commencement on Friday, June 13, at the Fifth Third Arena at the Shoemaker Center. Here are brief bios on each of the honorees:

Marjorie Hiatt Marx
Doctor of Fine Arts
Marjorie Hiatt Marx has built a career of volunteerism, nurturing young women into leadership roles and promoting green spaces throughout the Queen City. Her volunteer work spans 50 years. She has demonstrated concern for children, women, the elderly and the less fortunate. After her term as national president of the Junior League of American, Ms. Hiatt joined the board of directors of the Girl Scouts of the USA and served as its president. She also has been in leadership positions with the World Foundation for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. She has worked since her student days at UC to make the University a better and more beautiful place, most recently as a trustee of the UC Foundation. She was named a Great Living Cincinnatian in 1998.

Benjamin Gettler
Doctor of Commercial Science
Benjamin Gettler served as a member of the University of Cincinnati  Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2003, but his involvement with UC extends over several prior decades. Mr. Gettler earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati, and his law degree from Harvard University. He served to the rank of captain in the U.S. Army. Mr. Gettler is chairman of the board and president of Vulcan International Corporation. He has been chairman of the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, which in 1998 endowed a chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Cincinnati.  He has also personally endowed a scholarship at the university. Mr. Gettler served as special counsel to the University of Cincinnati from 1974 to 1977 and negotiated its first agreement with the AAUP. He is a founding member of UCATS, the university's athletic booster organization.

Bill Geist
Doctor of Humane Letters
Bill Geist is an Emmy award-winning correspondent, who regularly contributes to CBS Sunday Morning, The CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes II. He is a best-selling author of:  The Big Five-Oh!, Monster Trucks and Hair-In-A- Can-Who Says America Doesn’t Make Anything Anymore?, City Slickers; and The Zucchini Plague and Other Tales of Suburbia. A combat photographer with the First Infantry Division in Vietnam, Geist began his career in journalism in 1972 as a report/columnist with The Chicago Tribune.  In 1980 he moved to The New York Times.  He became a correspondent with CBS in 1987. Geist has won numerous awards for his work in television, newspapers and magazines, but seems most proud of taking third place in the Illinois State Fair Bake Off. 

Dr. Werner Von Rosenstiel
Doctor of Humane Letters
Dr. Werner Von Rosenstiel was born in Germany to a wealthy, landed family. He studied for one year as an exchange student at the University of Cincinnati while pursuing a legal education in Germany. He served in both the Wehrmacht and the U.S. Army. With his German and United States legal training, he analyzed secret files of The German Judicial Administration after World War II, translated German witness's affidavits, and interpreted for Herman Goering in preparation for the Nuremberg Trials. After the war, he became an advertising executive, returning, at age 60, to his first love, the law. He practiced in his own firm in Philadelphia and as a partner in the law firm in Germany. A dynamic speaker, he has lectured widely. He recently published the latest volume of his memoirs.

Clark E. Beck
Doctor of Science
Clark E. Beck was the first African American to receive a graduate degree in engineering from the University of Cincinnati. During a 30-year career at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, he participated in many cutting-edge endeavors. Among other projects, he was involved in evaluating Kevlar before it became widely used in bullet-proof vests. He is a true pioneer in testing large aerospace structure and was the Air Force expert in simulating heat conditions to test the structural integrity of designs created for manned space travel. At Wright State University, he created a pre-college engineering program for women and minority students that was recognized as one of President Bush's Thousand Points of Light.

Dane A. Miller
Doctor of Commercial Science
Dane A. Miller is co-founder, president and CEO of Biomet Inc., a worldwide leader in the orthopedic industry. He earned his magisterial and doctoral degrees from the College of Engineering Department of Materials Science. A trustee of the UC Foundation, Dr. Miller has established an endowed chair for the head of the newly established biomedical engineering department. Dr. Miller has spearheaded the effort to revitalize the Village of Winona Lake in Indiana, restoring a historic town to its former prominence.

James E. Schwab
University of Cincinnati Award for Excellence
James E. Schwab, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Cincinnati, is Cincinnati Market President for US Bank. His dedication to the University of Cincinnati, UC's McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, and its economics department has been demonstrated continually for many years. He serves as a trustee of the UC Foundation, and has held leadership positions with United Way, the Cincinnati Opera Association, Twin Towers Retirement Community, and the Cincinnati Museum Center. He was the 2002 recipient of the Century Leadership Award, the United Way's highest honor.