Honorary Degree Recipients Announced for UMass Amherst Commencement

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AMHERST, Mass. – An alumnus who is an innovator and leader in the field of geophysical measurements, a South African human rights leader, and the first woman to lead the University of Massachusetts Amherst as chancellor will be bestowed honorary degrees at the 2022 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 13, at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

Jerome M. Paros

Jerome M. Paros, an internationally recognized innovator and leader in the field of geophysical measurements, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree. A member of the UMass Amherst Class of 1960, Paros holds more than 50 patents and has authored many papers and articles about scientific instrumentation. Paros is the founder, president and chair of Paroscientific, Inc., Quartz Seismic Sensors, Inc. and related companies that use the groundbreaking quartz crystal resonator technology he developed to measure pressure, acceleration, temperature, weight and other parameters.

Quartz crystal resonant sensors are used in many atmospheric, oceanic, seismic and hydrologic applications because they can measure phenomena, such as tsunamis, having great spatial and temporal variability. The products Paros invented helps our ability to understand the complex earth, air and ocean processes that produce climate change.

Paros received his undergraduate degree in physics from UMass Amherst and his graduate degree in physics from Columbia University. A visionary philanthropist, he has supported science and education with endowments at several institutions, including the Paros Center for Atmospheric Research, endowed chairs and fellowships at UMass.

An International Society of Automation Fellow, Paros received the Si Fluor Technology Award in 1980 and the Albert F. Sperry Founder’s Award in 2006. He received a Distinguished Achievement Award from UMass Amherst in 2011.

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Albie Sachs

Justice Albie Sachs will receive an honorary doctor of law degree. Sachs is known for his efforts to extend democratic freedom to all South Africans. He began practicing law at age 21, and his human rights advocacy involved defending people charged under apartheid’s racist statutes and repressive security laws. Many faced death sentences, and Sachs was targeted by the security police and placed in solitary confinement for 168 days without trial. His book, “The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs” was dramatized for the Royal Shakespeare Company and later broadcast by the BBC.

After he was released from prison, Sachs went into exile in 1966. He spent 11 years studying and teaching law in England and worked for a further 11 years in Mozambique. In 1988, he survived an assassination attempt by South African security agents who placed a bomb in his car. Sachs lost an arm and his sight in one eye in the incident.

During the 1980s, Sachs worked with Oliver Tambo, leader of the African National Congress (ANC) in exile. He helped draft the ANC’s Code of Conduct and its statutes. In 1990, he returned home and took part in the negotiations that lead to South Africa becoming a constitutional democracy. In 1994, he was appointed by President Nelson Mandela to serve on the newly established Constitutional Court, where he helped abolish the death penalty, enable prisoners to vote and same-sex couples to marry.

Sachs has written and lectured widely about constitutionalism, human rights and healing divided societies. He has been internationally recognized for his human rights work. His many awards include the prestigious Tang Prize in the Rules of Law in 2014, the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal in 2010, and the French Legion of Honour in 2021.

Marcellette G. Williams

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Marcellette G. Williams will receive an honorary doctor of public service degree. She was the first woman to lead UMass Amherst as chancellor, ascending to the position in 2001. In addition to stabilizing campus through the trauma of Sept. 11, Williams led the campus through one of its most challenging periods of budgetary pressures. Throughout her tenure, Williams advocated for the importance of community collaboration, interdisciplinary understanding and human enablement. Her educational philosophy emphasized “living values” and a creation of a learning environment through the integration of knowledge and scholarship.

When Williams arrived in Amherst in 1994, it was the start of a quarter century of service to UMass, including 11 years as a tenured professor of English and comparative literature and as deputy chancellor. She also served 14 years as vice president for academic affairs, student affairs and international relations with the UMass system office.

Prior to serving as chancellor, Williams served for seven and a half years as deputy chancellor with cross-cutting responsibilities in areas including budgeting, planning and information technologies. During her tenure, a major technology campus initiative created network connectivity in all campus buildings; expanded central network servers; and began implementation of an integrated student information system. 

Williams is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate holding a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature, a master’s degree in English and comparative literature, and a Ph.D. in English language and literature from Michigan State University. She has taught and also consulted throughout Asia, Europe and Africa, served on numerous boards, and has held local, state, regional, national and international positions. She retired in 2019 after 50 years of distinguished service at two U.S. top land grant universities — Michigan State University and UMass Amherst.