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Mary L. Bonauto '83

As civil rights project director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), attorney Mary Bonauto has litigated for the cause of civil and human rights in state and federal courts throughout New England. Her crusading legal efforts have paved the way in Vermont for the nation's first "civil union" law for same-sex couples and in Massachusetts for judicial recognition of same-sex civil marriage as constitutional. Mary Bonauto's citation reads as follows:

A native of Newburgh, New York, you enrolled at Hamilton the year after the College became coeducational.  Having concentrated in history and comparative literature, you graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1983.  Northeastern Law School followed, and after acquiring your J.D. degree, you joined a law firm in Maine, where, on the side, you did pro bono work on behalf of those discriminated against because of AIDS.  In 1990, you had the opportunity to become civil rights project director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders in Boston, and despite warnings that you would be throwing your career away, you took the job.

During the ensuing years, armored against attack by tenacity of purpose, you have battled within the courtroom on behalf of equal rights for citizens regardless of sexual orientation.  New England has become a focal point in that campaign, and there you have marshaled the legal arguments before state supreme courts on the constitutional right of same-sex couples to marry.  The result has been to extend for the first time all the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples in the form of civil unions in Vermont, and to end the exclusion of such couples from civil marriage in Massachusetts. 

Although you modestly disclaim the title of architect of this new legal milestone, and insist that others receive due credit for the achievement, you have nonetheless been its most formidable and persuasive advocate.  You are in the forefront of an ongoing national debate over same-sex marriage.

Mary L. Bonauto, acting on the authority of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to confer on you the degree of Doctor of Laws of Hamilton College, admitting you to all of its rights and privileges.  In token whereof, we present you with this diploma and invest you with this hood.

A few years ago, Talk magazine featured an article titled, "The Best Talkers in America." You were accorded an honored place among that select company, and rightly so. As the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church of Harvard University for more than 30 years, you have spoken with eloquence, passion, and roguish wit, not only at Harvard but from countless pulpits and podiums in this country and beyond, thereby garnering international recognition as a preacher of the first distinction.

A native of Boston who grew up in Plymouth, and with New England ancestral roots going back to the 18th century, you were inspired to preach as a boy, from a pulpit that you constructed in your basement out of cranberry boxes. After Bates College, where you majored in history, and Harvard Divinity School, you were ordained to the Baptist ministry. Following two years of teaching at Tuskegee Institute, you began your long and affectionate association with Harvard, where, it is said, yours is the voice that every Harvard student hears, and "one of the few whose words are likely to be remembered." 

What they hear and remember are words spoken from religious conscience and conviction in addressing the moral issues of our day and the challenges of living responsibly. With a keen sense of history combined with the knowledge of Scripture, you have helped to elevate the quality of public discourse, especially with regard to the blights of bigotry and prejudice. As an institution with a long tradition of dedication to public discourse, Hamilton is pleased to salute you, a preeminent practitioner of that art.

Peter John Gomes, acting on the authority of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to confer on you the degree of Doctor of Divinity of Hamilton College, admitting you to all of its rights and privileges. In token whereof, we present you with this diploma and invest you with this hood.

Integrity is prized in every business or profession; today, alas, headlines cry out its absence. As an attorney-at-law, you have earned the high esteem of your colleagues and clients alike as exemplifying that virtue. We at Hamilton have also come to know and appreciate not only your integrity but also the wise counsel you have provided during decades of devoted service to your alma mater.

Fresh out of high school in New York's North Country, you entered the U.S. Navy and served as a gunner's mate in the Pacific during World War II. Thereafter you followed your father to Hamilton. While there, you married, became a father, and fixed your sights on a career in the law. You obtained your professional credentials at Columbia Law School, where your valiant efforts to introduce an honor code similar to Hamilton's proved, unfortunately, unavailing.

You soon joined the firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, and in time became its managing partner. You won wide recognition as a specialist in bankruptcy law and corporate reorganization, and were often called upon as a trustee or consultant in major bankruptcy cases. You also served on the boards of numerous educational and cultural institutions, and in 1971 you heeded the call to join the board of Kirkland College.

As its chairman, you played a key role in a time of transition when tough decisions had to be made. Today, as a life trustee of Hamilton, and soon to celebrate the 55th Reunion of your class, you continue, with extraordinary dedication, to benefit your alma mater with your sound judgment, and you have never ceased to inspire us all with your integrity.

Francis Haas Musselman, acting on the authority of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to confer on you the degree of Doctor of Laws of Hamilton College, admitting you to all of its rights and privileges. In token whereof, we present you with this diploma and invest you with this hood.

Baltimore-born and bred, you early showed exceptional leadership as star quarterback and student president in high school. Your profound concern for community was also early demonstrated when, as a Yale undergraduate during days of campus unrest, you exercised moral leadership in the face of threats of violent confrontation.

Following Yale, a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, and Harvard Law School, you returned to Baltimore, but were soon caught up in public service as a staff member in the Carter White House and as an assistant U. S. attorney. Elected state's attorney for Baltimore in 1982, you realized five years later a long-cherished ambition when you became mayor of your hometown.

Baltimore's revitalization as a more liveable city was your goal, and characteristically you confronted that challenge with firm commitment and in your own deliberative way. Focusing on the city's underlying social and economic problems, you spearheaded initiatives in education and public health. You also targeted what you termed "the warehouses of poverty" -- substandard housing -- and your redevelopment programs led to community rebirth. By the end of your three terms as mayor, you had justly earned a countrywide reputation for innovation, and Baltimore had become a role model for the nation.

Now, as dean of Howard University's School of Law, you find yourself in a new arena, that of academe, which is benefitting from your leadership and commitment. In your earlier political life, you once used as a campaign slogan, "Kurt Does Us Proud." By your presence here today, you do us proud indeed.

Kurt L. Schmoke, acting on the authority of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to confer on you the degree of Doctor of Laws of Hamilton College, admitting you to all of its rights and privileges. In token whereof, we present you with this diploma and invest you with this hood.

Born in Brooklyn, you have been called the quintessential New Yorker. Your affection for the city is mirrored in your longtime, unstinting dedication to that jewel in its cultural crown, the Metropolitan Opera. Through your prodigious efforts as the Met's general manager, it shines as never before.

The trajectory of your career has been a highly unusual one, especially in the rarified world of opera. You began your post-high school working life by operating your own auto repair business. Fond of laboring with your hands, you soon became a stagehand on Broadway, and in 1964, you embarked on your long and remarkable career at the Met as an apprentice carpenter. Promoted in turn to master carpenter, technical director, and assistant manager, you were appointed in 1990 as general manager, the first head of the Met to have advanced through its own ranks.

Your tenure has been marked by unprecedented financial stability, realized through the exercise of fiscal prudence, as well as by outstanding artistic success, fueled by innovation and an expanded and more varied repertoire. It is an all-consuming job to maintain that level of excellence, but your firm and decisive hands-on leadership, and your taking responsibility for every aspect of the operation, have made it happen. Thanks in large part to your managerial skills, the Met's musical and production standards are today of the highest, a fact that has significantly strengthened its position as the nation's, and perhaps the world's, premier opera house.

Joseph Volpe, acting on the authority of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to confer on you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters of Hamilton College, admitting you to all of its rights and privileges. In token whereof, we present you with this diploma and invest you with this hood.