HOUGHTON--A state senator and two corporate executives will receive honorary doctorates during Michigan Tech's midyear commencement ceremonies Nov. 20.
Senator John Schwarz is this year's commencement speaker and will be receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Science. He will address 260 graduates taking part in the fall ceremony.
Vincent Vellella, president of Veltec Corporation in Coraopolis, PA, will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.
Herbert (Ted) Doan, president of the Herbert H. And Grace A. Dow Foundation of Midland, will be receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Chemical Engineering.
Schwarz, a Republican from Battle Creek, represents Michigan's 24th district, which includes Calhoun, Eaton, and parts of Ingham County. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and earned an M.D. degree from the Wayne State University Medical School. He served with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war and later worked with the Central Intelligence Agency in Southeast Asia. He has had a private medical practice and been a staff member of the Battle Creek Health System since 1974. He has also served as a Battle Creek City Commissioner and from 1985-1987 was mayor of the City of Battle Creek. He was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1986 and has been reelected in 1990, 1994 , and 1998. Since 1993 he has been President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
Senator Schwarz also serves as vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chairs the appropriation sub-committee on Higher Education, and is vice-chair of the sub-committee on Community Health.
Schwarz was chosen "Outstanding Freshman Legislature of the Year" for 1988 by the Detroit News and the same organization named him "One of the Ten Best Legislators of the Year" in 1992. Earlier this year he was named "Champion of Hope" by the National Kidney Foundation.
Vellella attended Hibbing (MN) Community College, then matriculated to Michigan Tech, where he graduated with a B.S. in metallurgical engineering in 1960.
He served four years with the U.S. Navy Air force as a special weapons supervisor and began his professional career as a laboratory research supervisor with Republic Steel Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio. He then went on to hold positions of increasing responsibility with several companies, including Union Carbide, Pittsburgh Pacific, Western Pacific Technology Corporation, and Westinghouse.
Since 1986 he has been president and owner of Veltec, an international metal trading company specializing in nickel and nickel alloy secondary materials. The company reported sales of $8 million in 1998.
Vellella is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Mining Engineers and the American Society of Metals. He is a member of Michigan Tech's Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Academy, the Presidents Society, and the Second Century Society.
A native of Midland, Doan is a former president of The Dow Chemical Company and a former member of the Dow Board of Directors. He attended the Cranbrook School in Bloomington Hills, then enrolled at Cornell University, where he majored in chemical engineering. His education was interrupted in 1943 when he joined the U.S. Air Force. In 1946 he returned to Cornell to complete the five-year course for his degree, which he received in 1949.
Doan joined Dow after graduating from Cornell. He was elected the company's president in 1962 and continued to serve in that capacity until 1971. Thereafter he remained a member of the Board and served on various committees of the company until 1987. He also served on the Board of Directors of Dow Corning Corporation for 18 years, retiring in 1987.
Following his retirement as president of Dow, he formed Doan Associates, a partnership which engaged in venture capital activities. He also served as co-chairman of Governor Engler's Venture Capital Task Force and as president of the Michigan High Technology Task Force from 1981-89. He is currently chairman of Neogen Corporation of East Lansing and of the Michigan Molecular Institute of Midland.
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