In 2007, Dr. Michael G. Scales, established The President’s Hall of Distinction, a tradition that annually celebrates recipients of a Nyack College honorary doctorate. These men and women are individuals of exceptional accomplishment and public influence. They embody and esteem the ideals of Nyack’s core values of being — academically excellent, globally engaged, intentionally diverse, personally transforming, and socially relevant.
The following honorees were selected by President Scales and the Nyack College/ATS Board of Trustees and inducted into the Hall of Distinction.
2019
Dr. Grady S. “Mack” McCarter III
Founder
Community Renewal International
Dr. Shirley V. Hoogstra
President
Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
Dr. Cicely Tyson
Actress
Emmy,® Tony,® and Drama Desk Award Winner
2018
Dr. Tzuo Yan (T.Y.) Lee
Retired Pharmaceutical
Research & Development Consultant
Dr. Julio Aponte Acosta
Executive Director
Seminario Teológico de Puerto Rico
Dr. Karen A. Bernard
Co-Founder & Vice President
Board of Directors
Christian Cultural Center
2017
Cary L. Summers
President
Museum of the Bible
Peter R. Irvine
Co-founder
Gloria Jean’s Coffees
Luis Palau
International Christian Evangelist
Luis Palau Association
2016
Robert Glover, OBE
Founder/Executive Director
Care for Children
Sameh Maurice
Senior Pastor
Kasr El Dobara Evangelical Church
Carlton T. Brown
Senior Pastor
Bethel Gospel Assembly, Inc.
2015
Juan Hernández
Political Advisor
Datuk Edward Ong
President
OCK Group, Singapore
Frances E. Pratt
President
Nyack Branch, NAACP
2014
Mark Burnett
Film & Television Producer
One Three Media
(A Hearst | Mark Burnett Company)
Roma Downey
Actress, Film Producer, Author
LightWorkers Media
The Lord Edmiston
British Parliament Member
Christian Vision Founder
2013
Thai Phuoc Truong
President
Evangelical Church of Vietnam
Graham Power
Co-founder and Chairman
The Power Group of Companies
Micheal Flaherty
President and Co-founder
Walden Media
2012
Steve Forbes
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief
Forbes Media
Michael Louis
Chairman of Hotels, Vineyards & Strategic Initiatives
The Louis Group International
Gloria Gaither
Grammy and Dove Award Winning Christian Songwriter
and Author
2011
Joel C. Hunter
Senior Pastor
Northland,
A Church Distributed
Theodore Roosevelt Malloch
CEO
The Roosevelt Group
Stuart McAllister
Founder, European Roundtable and Love Europe
2010
Michael Ahn
Retired President and CEO of LG Electronics NA
Martin Palouš
Former Permanent Representative and
United Nations Ambassador
to the Czech Republic
Paul D. Glenn
Attorney
Investment Adviser Association
Washington, DC
2009
A.R. Bernard, Sr.
Founder and CEO
Christian Cultural Center
President
The Council of Churches of the City of New York
J. Douglas Holladay
Co-founder
Park Avenue Equity Partners, L.P.
Abraham M. Lackman
Former President
Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities
2008
Elaine L. Chao
24th U.S. Secretary of Labor
James S.C. Chao
Chairman
Foremost Group
Ronald E. Eastman
Group Vice President
Marriott International
2007
John M. Perkins
Co-founder and President
John M. Perkins Foundation
for Reconciliation and Development
Peter Dys
President
Shell Point Retirement Community