Oakland University to award four honorary degrees at spring commencement ceremonies

Oakland University will present four individuals with honorary degrees in recognition of outstanding achievements in their respective fields during the university’s spring 2025 commencement ceremonies.

 
Irene Miller has been selected to receive a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa in recognition of the tremendous work she has done in her roles as director of the Eleonore Hutzel Recovery Center at the Detroit Medical Center; mental health program director of Detroit Osteopathic, and director and chief administrative officer for Livingston County Community Mental Health.
 
Miller’s contributions both professionally and in public service over decades have impacted tens of thousands of people globally. Beyond her professional roles, she has served on the advisory committee of the Child Welfare League of America, in Washington D.C., and was appointed by the Michigan Director of Public Health to assist on a special task force that formulated managed care services and systems for drug addicted populations in Michigan.

She has also served as a member of the American Public Health Association, American College of Health Care Executives, the Economic Club of Detroit, the Detroit Women’s Forum, the American Cancer Society and the United Health Organization.

As a holocaust survivor, Miller has traveled across the country delivering her message of tolerance and acceptance toward others. Her memoir, Into No Man’s Land, shares her inspiring story of will, chance and survival and is used in classrooms across the country.
 
Miller will be honored at the 9 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, May 1.
 
Mickey Shapiro has been selected to receive a Doctor of Business Honoris Causa. Shapiro is the principal and owner of M. Shapiro Real Estate Group and co-founder of Lautrec Limited, and a prominent leader in the real estate industry and tremendous community advocate.
 
As the son of holocaust survivors, Shapiro has spent much of his life honoring those who suffered and died. He has served as a governance member of The Jewish Hospice of Chaplaincy Network and was appointed by President George W. Bush as a council member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

In broader community service efforts, Shapiro has served on the City of Pontiac Silverdome Committee, the Board of Councilors of the USC Shoah Foundation, the Board of Directors of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Advisory Board of the Directors of the Kellogg Eye Center of the University of Michigan and the Wellness Committee at the Cleveland Clinic.

He played a pivotal role in establishing crucial medical facilities like the Sara and Asa Shapiro Heart and Vascular Intensive Care Unit at Beaumont Hospital and made significant contributions to the educational sector through initiatives like the Mickey Shapiro Opportunity Scholarship Endowment at Ferris State University.

Shapiro has also been honored with the Max M. Fisher Award for Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, as well as a 2023 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Shapiro will be honored at the 2 p.m. ceremony on Thursday, May 1.
 
Brent Wirth has been selected to receive a Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa in recognition of his efforts to improve the health and wellness of people throughout the region through his dedication to higher education and his tireless advocacy for the education and training of mental health professionals.
 
As president and CEO, Wirth has grown Easterseals-MORC into a $144 million organization reaching 21,000 individuals annually and was instrumental in securing a $15 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

His service on Oakland University’s Social Work Community Advisory Board has become a model of how educational institutions can effectively partner with nonprofits.
 
Beyond his professional achievements, Wirth is widely recognized for compassion and dedication to those he serves, including individuals, families and the broader community.
 
Wirth will be honored at the 9 a.m. ceremony on Friday, May 2.
 
Dr. Richard Frankel has been selected to receive a Doctor of Medicine Honoris Causa for his role as an accomplished professor of medicine at Indiana University, as a respected research scientist at the Indiana University Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research in the Regenstrief Institute, and as a core investigator at the VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center.
 
Frankel has also championed the importance of seeing the doctor-patient relationship in all of its social and emotional contexts through his more than 250 publications, as well as in his work teaching, training, outreach and mentoring.
 
Frankel lead the Advanced Scholars Program for Internists in Research and Education program and have served as a mentor for more than 35 research fellows and 15 early career faculty. He has been recognized with the American Academy on Physician and Patient’s George Engel Award and the Lynn Payer Award.

The Richard Frankel Award for Creating a Loving Community was established by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute in honor of his work.
 
Frankel will be honored at the 2 p.m. OUWB ceremony on Friday, May 9.
 
Honorary degrees are awarded by OU’s Board of Trustees in recognition of distinguished accomplishment and service within the scope of the arts and letters, sciences, professions and public service as recognized and supported by the University. The awarding of honorary degrees reaffirms Oakland University’s scholarly, creative and humanitarian values, and ties the university to the community at large.