SUNY Delhi to Honor President of Georgia with Honorary Degree

DELHI, NY (04/16/2010)(readMedia)-- Mikheil Saakashvili, President of the Republic of Georgia, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by SUNY Delhi at a special ceremony on Tuesday, April 20, at the State University of New York Global Center in New York City.

Participants in the ceremony will include: State University Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher; SUNY Delhi President Candace S. Vancko; Carl T. Hayden, chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees; and Mitch Leventhal, SUNY's vice chancellor for global affairs. Dignitaries in attendance will also include: Giorgi Kuhuba, rector of Tbilisi State University; Eunice Lewin and John Murad, members of the SUNY Board of Trustees; Law Professor Lori Damrosch and Associate Dean Ross Frommer, both from Columbia University, President Saakashvili's alma mater; and presidents from across the State University system. Delhi's award-winning culinary students will serve at the reception.

"The honorary degree ceremony will be a special moment in SUNY Delhi's history," said President Candace S. Vancko. "We will be honoring an international head of state for the first time, and we will also be celebrating SUNY Delhi's efforts to help Georgia develop the skilled and educated workforce it needs to achieve sustainable economic growth."

Under President Saakashvili's leadership, SUNY Delhi and the Republic of Georgia have formed an educational partnership that will strengthen Tbilisi State University under a project supported by the United Nations Development Programme. SUNY Delhi President Candace S. Vancko and former Provost Dennis Callas consulted with officials to improve TSU. Through a Memorandum of Agreement, SUNY Delhi is collaborating with the Georgian university to provide an action plan that will help TSU become a more modern and democratic institution. The plan will also focus on programs that can help Georgia develop the skilled workforce it needs to achieve sustainable economic growth. Tbilisi State is the largest university in Georgia with a total enrollment of 35,000 students.

In announcing the award, President Vancko added, "President Saakashvili is an inspirational leader who epitomizes the qualities of the State University of New York-To Learn, To Search, To Serve. We are proud to honor a scholar whose vision and leadership have inspired a nation to create new alliances with the Western world."

President Saakashvili is recognized throughout the world for his efforts to bring democratic values to the Georgian Republic and for strengthening his country's ties to the United States. He is highly respected by the educational and legal communities. He attended Columbia University in New York City as an Edmund S. Muskie Fellow and received a master's degree in law in 1995. From 1995 to 1996, he studied law at the doctoral level at The George Washington University National Center of Law in Washington, D.C. President Saakashvili then went on to earn a diploma in Comparative Law of Human Rights at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He then practiced law at Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler in New York City.

President Saakashvili first made his mark as a future leader of Georgia in 1992 when he organized a conference between Georgians and South Ossetians that led to the first signed ceasefire agreement. In 1995, he was elected to the Georgian Parliamentary Committee on constitutional, legal issues and legal affairs. His focus on legislation to fight corruption and to institutionalize human rights led to many reforms in the areas of constitutional law, Georgia's civil and administrative codes, and the Unified Law of Courts setting judicial standards and practices. He successfully fought for the transformation of Georgian courts to become more transparent and accountable and initiated Georgia's first merit-based selection of judges. As a candidate for Parliament in November 2003, he called for peaceful protest of the injustices in his country's elections and set the stage for Georgia's first democratic elections and his election as president. President Saakashvili's exceptional leadership was reaffirmed in 2008 when he was re-elected president.

SUNY Delhi is a member of the State University of New York, the largest comprehensive university system in the U.S. Delhi's seamless approach to education includes over 60 academic programs, leading to one-year certificates, two-year associate degrees and bachelor's degrees in select program areas at Delhi. For more information about SUNY Delhi, call toll-free 1-800-96-DELHI or visit Delhi's web site at www.delhi.edu.