Two accomplished Iowa graduates will be recognized with honorary degrees during University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
During the 9 a.m. ceremony, President Barbara Wilson and Graduate College Dean Amanda Thein will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Letters upon Oliver Lee Jackson, an internationally esteemed painter, sculptor, and printmaker. At the 1 p.m. ceremony, President Wilson will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Science upon Shirley Schermer, an accomplished archeologist dedicated to research and advocacy in Iowa and beyond.
Meet Oliver Lee Jackson
Jackson’s paintings, sculptures, and prints have been exhibited in museums across the country—including at the University of Iowa.
The painter, sculptor, and printmaker graduated with an MFA from the University of Iowa in 1963. Since then, Jackson has created a masterful, complex body of work that can be found in the collections of museums across the country, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Art Institute of Chicago, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In honor of his transformative creative work and accomplishments as a public scholar, the UI will award Jackson an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the morning CLAS commencement ceremony.
Jackson says he is flattered by the honor. But he says he is even more moved by the inclusion of two of his works—Painting (4.78-I) and Painting (4.78-II)—in the Stanley Museum of Art’s inaugural exhibition upon reopening in 2022.
“I think this museum is quite wonderful,” Jackson says. “That the objects I made are in company with these wonderful objects, I really respond to that personally.”
Meet Shirley Schermer
Schermer became a worldwide leader in the respectful treatment of ancestral remains through her work in the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist.
After a three-decade career, visits to all 99 Iowa counties, and a legacy that stretches around the world, Schermer, retired Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) Burials Program director, will receive an honorary degree during the afternoon CLAS commencement ceremony. A native of Red Oak, Iowa, Schermer helped establish Iowa as a worldwide leader in the respectful treatment of ancestral remains, particularly those native to the region. This practice has become internationally recognized and adopted.
Schermer received a Master of Arts in anthropology from Iowa in 1981 and then began working at OSA.
“I am very honored, touched, and appreciative for this recognition,” says Schermer. “There are so many memories, experiences, and projects during my career, and I appreciate the collaborations and friendships with colleagues from various UI and local, state, and federal offices and tribes and tribal members.”