Commencement was a big day for many families but one in particular.
We all applauded them, and parents hugged them and kissed them and wondered where the years went and why their throats were suddenly tight. Commencement also saw a special gesture of recognition and gratitude to one family. The University awarded honorary doctorates to Michel Orradre ’60 and wife Mary Orradre, friends and benefactors of the University’s academic endeavors. The Orradre family’s gifts helped build the former library and current Learning Commons and Library—and endowed the Orradre Chair in Economics, among other benefactions. Most recent, their support for the preservation of California history created a scholarly finding aid for the Mission Santa Clara Manuscript Collection, which consists of hundreds of manuscripts written, collected, and used by the Franciscans at Mission Santa Clara, from its founding in 1777 until the arrival of the Jesuits in 1851.