Alumni Among Honorary Degree Recipients

Maxwell School alumni Howard “Howie” Phanstiel ’70 B.A. (PSc)/’71 M.P.A. and Gloria Somolekae ’94 Ph.D. (PA) were awarded honorary degrees during Syracuse University’s Commencement on Sunday, May 15.

Phanstiel is past chairman and CEO of PacifiCare Health Systems, an honorary member of the Maxwell Advisory Board and a Syracuse University Life Trustee. A staunch supporter of the University, along with his wife, Louise, a Board of Trustees member, he has served students through his leadership roles on committees, and as co-chair of the University’s second major capital campaign.

Somolekae currently serves as senior research fellow and head of the Governance and Administration Unit in the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis. A barrier-breaking academic in her home country of Botswana and a dedicated public servant, she has been a leader in women’s rights, democracy and development throughout southern Africa.

Read more about them at maxwell.syr.edu/2022-honorary-degrees.