FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — One member of the Little Rock Nine and the state's first Republican congressman since Reconstruction are to receive honorary degrees from the University of Arkansas in December.
The university said today that it would award doctorate degrees to Ernest Green and John Paul Hammerschmidt at its fall commencement ceremony Dec. 17.
Green was the first black student to graduate from Little Rock Central High School. He would pursue a career in finance and served at one time as a member of the NAACP's board of directors.
Hammerschmidt is a Harrison Republican who served for 26 years in Congress until his retirement in 1993. He served as ranking member of the House Public Works Committee and helped to direct federal funding to projects in northwest Arkansas.
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