APPENDIX II
On 19 March 1973 the General Faculties Council of the University of Lethbridge passed a motion unanimously recommending "that Immanuel Velikovsky be granted an Honourary Degree Doctor of Arts and Science at the Spring Convocation of 1974". This motion was forwarded to the Senate of the University for consideration. At the Senate meeting, held on 7 April 1973, the recommendation from General Faculties Council was approved and the Senate voted unanimously to award Immanuel Velikovsky the degree Doctor of Arts and Science, Honoris Causa. In this appendix are letters and addresses relevant to Dr. Velikovsky's appearance to receive this honourary degree.
April 12,1973
Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky
78 Hartley Avenue
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
U. S. A.
Dear Sir:
The Senate of the University of Lethbridge recently voted to
accept the unanimous recommendation of our General Faculties
Council that you be awarded the degree of Doctor of Arts and
Science; the degree to be conferred at the Spring Convocation in 1974.
The presentation of your name stressed the quality of your life as a humanitarian, a humanist and a scientist. Many supporters among the faculty in the Humanities, the Social Sciences and the Sciences came forward to speak on your remarkable books and your teaching generally. You were seen as embodying our tradition of humane values, of intellect, of aesthetic sensitivity, personal ethics and of the transcendental dimension of scholarship.
The University wishes to confer this degree on you at its Spring Convocation in 1974, a year from now. We try to make decisions on the awarding of Honourary Doctorate degrees well in advance of conferring them. l will admit that we usually delay contacting the recipients until rather close to the Convocation at which the degree will be conferred.
In your case we wanted you to know of the award at the earliest possible time, particularly as we are pleased at the prospect of honouring you and we are convinced that you have not been properly honoured in the past.
Would you let me know whether you are prepared to accept the award of our Doctor of Arts and Science, and whether, all being well, you contemplate coming to Lethbridge to have the degree conferred on you in the Spring of 1974.
1 enclose a calendar of our University and some general information brochures to give you some familiarity with us.
Sincerely,
J. Oshiro, M. D.
Chancellor
April 30,1973
Chancellor J. Oshiro, M. D.
The University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge, Alberta
Dear Dr. Oshiro:
Your very amiable letter with enclosed printed material was
unduly long in transit - I received it before the weekend. You
may be aware that your General Faculties Council followed by
the Senate of the University made a selection and an
unprecedented decision in the Academia: I have not been yet
honored with any honorary degree. This, however, was never a
source of disappointment to me: I was aware of the
revolutionary character of my studies and findings. Today these
views of mine are no more so heretical much of what I wrote
entered the textbooks and the curricula even if in some disguise.
If everything goes well, my wife and I shall come to Lethbridge a year from now. I thank you, dear Chancellor, the General Faculties Council, and the Senate of the University of Lethbridge.
Truly yours,
I. Velikovsky