Last Updated on May 9, 2022 by BVN
S. E. Williams |
On Thursday May 5, California State University President Dr. Tomás D. Morales hosted an intimate reception for family and friends of Black Voice News Publisher Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds at the Spanish Art Gallery in downtown Riverside’s Mission Inn.
Those in attendance gathered to not only celebrate the many accomplishments and achievements of Brown-Hinds but also in recognition her coming conferral of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by the California State University Board of Trustees.
Every year, each CSU campus may submit no more than two candidates for honorary degrees to the Board of Trustees. Members of the CSU Board of Trustees then make a final decision on these awards.
Stringent selection process
The process of selecting a candidate for this honor is rigorous and lengthy. Regarding Brown-Hinds, the selection process began last fall when members of the university community and the general public submitted names of possible recipients of honorary degrees.
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB 
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB 
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB 
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB 
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— (L to R) Tomás D. Morales, President, California State University, San Bernardino, and Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB 
22-05-05-RIVERSIDE— A reception was held in honor of Paulette Brown-Hinds ’90, Founder, Voice Media Ventures and Publisher, Black Voice News, and California State University, San Bernardino’s 2021-22 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, at the Mission Inn in Riverside, CA on Thursday, May 5, 2022. Photo by Corinne McCurdy/CSUSB
The submissions were then reviewed by an Honorary Degrees Committee. “The candidates are selected by a special committee formed by the executive committee of the faculty senate,” explained Joe Gutierrez of the CSUSB Office of Strategic Communications. The committee consists of a provost or designee, five faculty members (one from each college), a member of the library staff, and a representative of the University Advancement office.
During the process, committee members have freedom to also consult with additional faculty or others who are specifically familiar with the accomplishments the candidate(s) or with the fields in which they have made their mark. The committee also compiles material to support the selected individual(s).
By December 1, 2021, the committee forwarded its choice of Brown-Hinds and supporting material to the university president who submitted the recommendation to the Board of Trustees for final selection.
In 2014 Hardy Brown Sr., Brown-Hinds father and Black Voice News publisher emeritus, was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the CSU system, making them the first father and daughter to be honored by the California State University system since the beginning of the award in 1963.
Commencement ceremony
The honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters will be conferred on Brown-Hinds during the California State University, San Bernardino Commencement Ceremony on May 21, 2022.