Mary Sue Coleman, who served as president of the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2002, will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 11.

Coleman was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where her father was a professor of chemistry and her mother taught elementary school. She received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Grinnell College and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina. She served for 19 years as a faculty member in biochemistry and medicine at the University of Kentucky. During her time at Kentucky, she published widely on enzyme function in immunology and cancer and helped lead the University of Kentucky Cancer Center to distinction. Before coming to the UI, she also served as associate provost and dean of research and vice chancellor for graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and as provost at the University of New Mexico.

While serving as the UI’s 18th president, Coleman is credited with creating an environment of inclusiveness and high academic standards. She also championed the then-UI Foundation’s “Good. Better. Best.” fundraising campaign, which raised more than $1 billion.

“Mary Sue made it clear from day one that her focus would be to enhance the educational and research missions of the University of Iowa,” wrote David Johnsen, dean of the UI College of Dentistry, in his nomination letter. “Through her leadership, Mary Sue expanded the health sciences and brought further excellence to our writing programs at Iowa, including the Writers’ Workshop. She worked hard to make Iowa City the cultural capital of Iowa, and ultimately helped it to become a UNESCO City of Literature.”

Coleman says she and her husband, Ken, look forward to returning to Iowa City and the UI campus for commencement weekend. One of the things she misses most, she says, is the symbol of the Pentacrest and its intersection with the city. 

“This never meant more to me than with the overwhelming reaction to the 2001 fire in the Old Capitol dome and the commitment to rebuild,” she says of the fire that destroyed the dome while it was being restored during her tenure as president. “The fire was devastating, but the response was uplifting.” 

Receiving an honorary degree from the UI is a deeply humbling experience, Coleman says. 

“Having benefitted from superb educational experiences in the state, I have felt compelled to devote my life to helping others experience the utter joy of education,” she says.

Coleman left the UI in August 2002 to become the president of the University of Michigan, where she served until July 2014. While at Michigan, she was named by Time magazine as one of the 10 best American university presidents, which cited her work raising a record-setting $3.2 billion and her emphasis on research.

Since May 2016, Coleman has served as the president of the Association of American Universities, the premier organization whose members include the nation’s 60 leading research universities, including the UI, along with two Canadian universities. In that role, she is devoted to challenges including research funding, enhancing diversity, immigration policy, free speech, and access to higher education.

Coleman has long been a leading champion of the importance of higher education, and helped the UI become recognized as a top-tier institution, generous UI benefactor Henry B. Tippie says in his nomination letter. 

“Her guidance allowed Iowa to enter the 21st century, meeting challenges and taking advantage of opportunities along the way,” Tippie writes. “Mary Sue’s vision of education goes beyond herself. She has a deep understanding of the power of education and is committed to educating tomorrow’s leaders.”