At college commencement ceremonies this year, a retired St. Lawrence professor
received an honorary doctorate, while an alumnus earned a long-time-in-coming
Ph.D. in education.
Paul Smith's College presented Emeritus Professor of English Paul F. Jamieson
an honorary Doctor of Letters degree. A scholar in Adirondack history and
literature, and a dedicated conservationist and spokesperson for citizen
access to the mountain wilderness, Jamieson was a professor at St. Lawrence
from 1929 through 1965. His books include The Adirondack Reader, Adirondack
Canoe Waters: North Flow and Uneven Ground. Jamieson is a graduate
of Drake University, with a master's degree from Columbia University and
the Ph.D. from Cornell. He is a veteran of World War II and has received awards
for his work from the Adirondack Council, the Nature Conservancy, the Adirondack
Mountain Club, the Sierra Club and the Adirondack Museum.
Frederick Zito '47, began his doctoral program in education at Dowling College on
Long Island three years ago and got a Ph.D. May 19 -- at age 78. A former engineer
for NASA, where he worked on the Apollo 11 lunar module, Zito said his work toward
the doctorate included a couple of the all-nighters that he had first endured
while studying for a bachelor's degree in mathematics at St. Lawrence.
"I hope this is an inspiration to my grandchildren," Zito said of his studies.