| Ashley Bryan, is a distinguished author of children’s books whose stories, poems, illustrations, and interpretive readings have enriched the African-American experience and added new dimensions to American culture. After surviving the landing at Normandy in World War Two as part of an all-black battalion in the still segregated U. S. Army, he devoted his life to the cause of literacy and humanity primarily by inspiring in children a love of music, art, and language. He has been awarded numerous prizes and recognitions for his prolific creations, including the Coretta Scott King Award for illustration, six Coretta Scott King Honors, the Arbuthnot Prize, and a Fulbright Scholarship. Bryan has also had a distinguished academic career as Professor and Chairman of Art and Visual Science at Dartmouth College. As a frequent visitor to the Detroit metropolitan area and as a guest lecturer at Oakland University he has shared with us his exhibitions, storytellings, and poetry readings. Oakland University celebrated Bryan's accomplishments in the arts by conferring upon him the degree of Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa. |