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General Motors Chairman to Receive Honorary Doctorate

16 June 1998

General Motors Chairman John F. Smith, Jr., to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Kettering University

    FLINT, Mich., June 16 -- In its first-ever Commencement
Exercises as Kettering University on June 19, 1998, Kettering University will
confer on General Motors (GM) Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
John F. (Jack) Smith, Jr., an honorary doctorate for his contributions to GM
and the automotive industry.
    "I am proud to receive this honorary degree from an institution that has
played such an important role supporting General Motors success," said
Mr. Smith.  "In more than seven decades, Kettering University and its
predecessor schools have educated thousands of General Motors employees,
including three of our former presidents and many senior executives," he said.
    Mr. Smith joined GM in 1961 at the Fisher Body facility in Framingham,
Mass.  He transferred to the Financial Staff in New York in 1966, advanced
steadily through various Finance positions, and was named comptroller of
General Motors on August 1, 1980.  After leading worldwide product planning,
serving as president of General Motors Canada, then president of General
Motors Europe, Mr. Smith became president of General Motors Corporation on
April 6, 1992.  He was appointed chief executive officer on Nov. 2, 1992, and
became chairman on Jan. 1, 1996.
    Kettering University, formerly General Motors Institute and more recently
GMI Engineering & Management Institute, has a unique co-operative education
program that alternates 12 weeks of on-campus study with 12 weeks of
employment at one of 700 corporate employers.  By the time students complete
the five-year program, they have more than two years of industrial experience
to go with their degree -- a major advantage for both the students and the
employers.  Approximately seven out of 10 students continue with their
employers on a full-time basis after graduation.
    "Kettering University has a long and rich history with GM," said Dr. James
E.A. John, president, Kettering University.  "We can think of no better way to
honor that legacy at our first commencement as Kettering University than to
present Jack with this honorary doctorate."
    Kettering University has educated thousands of current and former GM
employees, including current executive VP and Delphi President J.T. Battenberg
III, and recently retired Vice President and Group Executive E. Michael
Mutchler -- both active members of the Kettering University Board of Trustees.
Currently, General Motors employs approximately 15 percent of Kettering
University's 2,400 undergraduate engineering students.
    "I personally have known and worked with hundreds of Kettering graduates
in my 37 years at General Motors," continued Mr. Smith.  "On behalf of the men
and women of General Motors, I salute Kettering and send best wishes for many
more years of educational excellence."
    Kettering University formally changed its name from GMI Engineering &
Management Institute on Jan. 1, 1998, to honor former GM Vice President
Charles F. Kettering.