Chancellor Subbaswamy to Receive Honorary Degree from Indiana University Bloomington

Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy, an Indiana University (IU) Bloomington alumnus, will be presented with an honorary degree during the bicentennial winter commencement on Saturday, Dec. 21.

IU will confer honorary degrees, the highest academic honor the university can bestow, to Subbaswamy and Dan Coats, former U.S. senator and director of national intelligence.

"We are extremely proud to award Dan Coats and Kumble Subbaswamy with honorary degrees in recognition of their exceptional careers, strong leadership and dedicated service," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said in a statement released by the university. "Though they have vastly different backgrounds and experiences, both of these outstanding public servants share a commitment to maintaining our country's high standard of excellence in education and research and ensuring opportunities for students to engage in issues that matter to the communities we serve."

Subbaswamy is an IU alumnus who has a long career in university leadership. Before becoming chancellor of UMass Amherst in July of 2012, he served as provost at the University of Kentucky, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington.

Subbaswamy earned a doctorate in physics from IU in 1976 and has received the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award, IU Bloomington Provost's Medal and IU Foundation President's Medallion.

He was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society, the preeminent organization of physicists in the U.S., in 1989. He also serves as chair of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holomb will deliver the 2019 winter commencement address to Indiana University Bloomington graduates.