Renowned musician and producer Quincy Jones will be the commencement speaker at the graduation ceremonies June 14 at Husky Stadium. This past December, the School of Music also nominated Jones to receive an honorary doctorate from the UW. The Board of Regents approved the nomination in February.

The music department nominated Jones independently of the University’s consideration of him as keynote speaker.

Nominees must come to campus to receive their honorary degrees, which was convenient, said Norm Arkans, executive director of UW media relations.

Jones’s career has earned him 27 Grammy awards and seven Academy Award nominations. His work in television includes well known programs such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and MadTV, both of which his company produced. Jones has also devoted much of his time to humanitarian causes.

In 1985, he collaborated with many musical artists to record “We Are the World,” to help the Ethiopian famine. It became a best-selling single. Along with the song, he supported poverty-stricken countries through the Quincy Jones Foundation, which earned him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was the first African-American to receive it.

“Everyone knows the music, but not everyone knows the philanthropy,” said School of Music director Robin McCabe. “He uses his influence to be a citizen of the world.”

In December, McCabe sent her nomination letter, as well as supporting letters from three other faculty members, to the faculty council to request the honorary degree. Then they waited, she said.

“Back in autumn, Tom Collier suggested to me that it would be a good idea,” McCabe said. “He’s a native of Washington state and a luminous figure throughout the world, both as a musician and a philanthropist.”

The University didn’t give out honorary doctorates until six or seven years ago, Arkans said.

Giving honorary degrees is a way for the UW to show the community what kinds of achievements it holds in high regard, Arkans said.

“It’s a way to reaffirm the University’s values,” he said. “We use that mechanism to recognize someone who’s had a significant major impact on the world.”

[Reach reporter Molly Rosbach at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]