Conant Breaks Policy by Awarding Only One Degree to Business, Political Leaders

President Conant this morning brought to a close the Tercentenary Year in the traditional Commencement ceremony in Sever Quadrangle with the award of a record number of degrees, 1965. This number exceeds that given last year by almost 70.

Of the total 1965, 782 went to undergraduates in the College, 621 receiving the Bachelor of Arts including 246 with honors, and 161 the Bachelor of Sciences with 51 with distinction. The honors given today numbered 297 as against 282 last spring.

In the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 123 men were recipients of M.A.'s and 107 won the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Engineering graduated eight Bachelors of Science, three of them with honors, 36 Masters of Engineering, and nine Doctors of Science.

The Law School gave 397 Bachelors of Law a degree, (42 with honors), 15 degrees of Master of Law, and 3 of Doctor of the Science of Jurisprudence. From across the river came 241 embryo business men to receive degrees. (41 with distinction), while two men became Doctors of Commercial Science. The Medical School graduated 183 and other departments including Dentistry, Forestry, Architecture, Public Health, Divinity, and Education conferred a total of 99 academic titles.

The highest scholastic distinction in the College, that of an A.B. or S.B. with summa cum laude went to a near record breaking number of undergraduates, 21. This figure has been equalled only in 1930 and exceeds by ten those given last year.

The men winning summas are: Bachelors of Arts: Edward L. Bassett (Classics); Sydney J. Freedberg (Fine Arts); Bernard German (Biochemical Sciences); Robert C. Hall (Government; August C. Helmholg II (Physics); John B. Hickem (Biochemical Sciences; Harold B. Jaffee (History and Literature); Walter B. Kantack (Romance Languages and Literatures); Wilfred Kaplan (Mathematics); Douglas T. McClay (Mathematics); Robert H. Rawson (Government); David Savan (Philosophy); Herman E. Schroeder (Chemistry); Edward D. Sullivan (Romance Languages and Literature); Robert M. Terrall (English); John A. Thierry (Physics); Francis J. Whitfield (English); Robert L. Wolff (History and Literature). Bachelors of Science: Sidney S. Alexander (Economics and Mathematics); Andrew Kacmareyk (Economics); Harold Winkler (Government and Philosophy).