91直播
Sister Mary Scullion to receive honorary degree during La 91直播鈥檚 Commencement Weekend
She has worked more than a half-century to support Philadelphians who suffer mental illness and housing insecurities.
Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., a champion of Philadelphia鈥檚 homeless and mentally ill communities, and co-founder of Project HOME, will receive an honorary degree from La 91直播 at Commencement Weekend 2023, the University announced.
La 91直播 will confer a doctor of humanitarian services degree to Scullion at its May 13 undergraduate Commencement ceremony, to be held at McCarthy Stadium on the University鈥檚 campus.
鈥淪ister Mary Scullion is nationally renowned for her commitment to the people of Philadelphia. She is a treasure to our city and an emblem of justice whose work continues to inspire hope and create impactful change,鈥 said University President Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D. 鈥淭he breadth of her life鈥檚 work is in direct alignment with our University鈥檚 historic mission, and I can think of no one more befitting to receive an honorary degree from 91直播 than Sister Mary.鈥
Scullion is the first recipient of an honorary degree from La 91直播 since 2021, when current Explorers men鈥檚 basketball coach Fran Dunphy, 鈥70, and chairman and CEO of LabCorp. Adam Schechter, 鈥86, were honored in ceremonies recognizing the graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 at Philadelphia鈥檚 Lincoln Financial Field. Past recipients of honorary degrees from La 91直播 include: John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States; Marian Wright Edelman, civil rights activist and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; and Dunphy, who has earned more wins than any men鈥檚 basketball coach in Big 5 history; among many more.
Scullion, of the Sisters of Mercy, began her work nearly a half-century ago in the 1970s. Committed to ending homelessness, she founded Women of Hope in 1985 to connect housing-insecure, mentally ill women in Philadelphia with support services and permanent residences. Her work continued through the years, leading to the founding of Project HOME in 1988. The mission of the organization, which has earned national acclaim, centers on ending the pernicious cycles of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia鈥攖he largest, poorest city in America鈥攂y providing housing, employment, education, and health care to the city鈥檚 chronically homeless and low-income residents.
Time magazine recognized Scullion in 2009 as one of its 鈥100 Most Influential People in the World,鈥 an honor she shared that year with former First Lady Michelle Obama and journalist Oprah Winfrey.
鈥擟hristopher A. Vito