On May 22, 2002, Esri President Jack Dangermond was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by City University, London, England, in the historic surroundings of the 800-year-old City of London Guildhall. The degree was awarded by Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Rhind, a respected GIS writer and researcher and a colleague of Jack's for more than 25 years. The oration, describing the achievements for which Jack was honored, was read by Professor Jonathan Raper, head of the Geographic Information Science Group at City University. In part it reads: ". . . today we not only honor [Jack] as a successful entrepreneur and as the leader of the highly international and talented Esri team but we mark the manner of his achievement. For Jack Dangermond is a globally known figure among governments and campaign groups for his advocacy of geography as a power to order society and to articulate its debates over land, resources, and people." (See complete oration.)

The honorary degree was awarded at the end of the graduation for City University students, among whom were some of the on-campus and distance learning graduates of the Master's in Geographic Information. Earlier in the day Jack was briefed on the innovative design and delivery of the popular new Master's in Geographic Information that uses Esri software throughout the program. He was also updated on current research at City University in geographic visualization, spatial programming, spatiotemporal data mining, and location-based services.

For more information, contact Jonathan Raper (e-mail: raper@soi.city.ac.uk). More information about the City University Geographic Information Science Group can be found at www.soi.city.ac.uk/organisation/is/research/gisg.