Geneva College to bestow honorary degrees

BEAVER FALLS, PA (04/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Geneva College will present two candidates with honorary doctorate degrees as part of the 2012 commencement ceremonies. Honorary degrees will be presented to Faith McBurney Martin and Dr. M. Howard Mattsson-Bozé.

For her faithful service to the retirement and nursing care of the Reformed Presbyterian Home, Geneva College will bestow Martin an honorary Doctor of Christian Service. Martin provided the leadership at the home as it adjusted to greatly increasing regulatory demands from federal and state agencies from the 1980s onward. She guided the home through its 1981-83 building program and gave steady leadership as it began its skilled nursing services. From 2003-2007, she oversaw the building of independent apartments, The Upper Rooms, which enable seniors to continue living on their own.

Martin graduated from Geneva College in 1963 with a degree in English literature. For 35 years, she provided leadership to the Reformed Presbyterian Home in Pittsburgh as a member of its Board of Directors from 1975-1979, then as President of its Board of Directors from 1979-1993, and finally as the Executive Director of the home from 1993 until her retirement in 2010.

Dr. Mattsson-Bozé will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Dr. Mattsson-Bozé, Professor Emeritus of History and Humanities, was a faculty member at Geneva College for over 40 years. Throughout his tenure, he served as the chairman of the Department of History, coordinator of the Humanities Program, and chair of the Academic Program Committee.

Mattsson-Bozé earned a B.A. and an M.A. in history from Northwestern University in 1958 and 1959, and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Minnesota in 1965. In addition, when Geneva was in need of a sociology professor, he returned to school and received an M.A. in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. In his honor, an annual prize is awarded to the graduating senior sociology major that has best embodied a commitment to excellence in scholarship and compassionate care for others in the spirit of Christ.

Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College's philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).