Next week's commencement ceremonies will honor an award-winning author and a leading scientist.

Arthur M. Schlesinger and Leroy Hood will be the featured speakers at graduation and will receive honorary degrees from Penn State. Schlesinger will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Hood will receive an honorary doctor of science degree.

David Wormley, dean of the College of Engineering, chaired the 15-member faculty committee that nominated this year's honorary degree recipients. The committee is composed of a diverse group of faculty members representing the many colleges across the university.

"Schlesinger and Hood are both outstanding in their respective fields, and the committee feels that they've made contributions that exemplify the mission of this university," Wormley said.

Schlesinger is a renowned historian, educator and writer. He is the author of numerous books and has received two Pulitzer Prizes. He has also received additional awards that include two National Book Awards, the Francis Parkman Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize and the Gold Medal for History from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Hood is recognized as one of the world's leading scientists. He is a prominent geneticist and researcher and is the founding director of the Institute for Systems Biology. His research has resulted in laying the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology. He has numerous patent awards and previously held the Gates Professorship of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Washington and was founding chair of the Department of Molecular Biotechnology there.

Hood is also the central figure of the Human Genome Project. Hood said he will probably talk about the project in his speech, telling people how it has revolutionized the view of medicine and how it will affect our lives in the future.

"My prediction is in the next 15 to 20 years, we will move from reactive medicine to predictive medicine," he said.

Schlesinger has not yet decided on his exact topic.

"I usually speak on whatever is on my mind, happening in the news and on the mind of the people."

He said that he would probably allude to Sept. 11.

There is an extensive procedure that is followed for choosing honorary degree recipient nominees, Wormley said.

First, people from throughout the Penn State community submit letters of recommendation for outstanding figures they would like to see receive nominations. Students, faculty and staff are all encouraged to make submissions.

Once they receive the letters, the committee meets about once a year to narrow the field of candidates. They are assisted by a staff that assembles additional information on the candidates. The committee reviews all the information and then makes recommendations to Penn State President Graham Spanier. Spanier reviews the candidates and their list of achievements and discusses them with the Board of Trustees.

The nominees are selected and invited to come to Penn State. If they accept this invitation, they are awarded an honorary degree.

The graduation speakers are then chosen from this process. Almost all of the nominees who come to the university are asked to speak at graduation.

"When you have the opportunity to bring someone of that stature to campus, we would like to have them speak to the students and take advantage of having them here," Wormley said.

He said that usually a handful of candidates stick out and even members of the committee from different fields can appreciate their contributions.

The commencement ceremonies where the two men will be given their degrees will be held Dec. 15 in the Bryce Jordan Center. Hood will speak at 10 a.m. and Schlesinger will speak at 1 p.m.