Wichita State University will award an honorary doctorate to Wichita physician Donna Sweet during the university's fall commencement ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 13, marking the first time since 1988 that an honorary degree has been given at WSU.

WSU President John Bardo selected Sweet to receive the award in recognition of her 35 years of service to patients with AIDS/HIV, as well as her contributions to health care as a clinical educator.

“It is not overstating the matter to say that Dr. Sweet has changed the world with her scholarship and her heart,” Bardo said. “Her outstanding achievements and visionary leadership in the battle against AIDS make her an excellent recipient of this award.”

Sweet graduated from Wichita State with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences in 1970 and earned a master’s degree in the same field in 1972. She called the award an extraordinary honor.

“Wichita State gave me a chance to have a rewarding career, and I will always be extremely honored and grateful that I was able to go to school there,” Sweet said.

From WSU, Sweet attended the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Today she is a professor of internal medicine at the school’s Wichita campus. In addition to caring for about 1,300 patients with AIDS/HIV, she also is a primary care physician to another 3,000 patients without the disease.

The last time an honorary doctorate was given at Wichita State, it was awarded to Edwin A. Ulrich, for whom the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State is named. A policy change approved recently by the Kansas Board of Regents paved the way for state universities to award honorary doctorates again. Candidates must be approved by the Board of Regents.

Sweet will deliver the commencement address at a ceremony Dec. 13 for Wichita State students who are graduating at the conclusion of the fall semester. The ceremony will begin at
2:30 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena on the WSU main campus.