For Immediate Release
April 10, 2006

Contact: Melanie McDonald, director of public relations, 574-284-4579

Saint Mary’s College Names Honorary Degree Recipients

NOTRE DAME, Ind.— The presiding judge for the WorldCom case and a
longtime philanthropist will each receive honorary degrees during
commencement festivities this year at Saint Mary’s College. The
honorees are Hon. Denise L. Cote and MaryAnn Mathile.

Commencement will be held at noon on Saturday, May 20 in front of Le Mans Hall. United States District Judge Denise Cote presided over the largest securities class action settlement in history, known as the WorldCom trial. The “New York Law Journal” lists WorldCom as one of the top trials in 2005. Cote has also presided over trials involving immigrant smuggling, police brutality, Wall Street, sex discrimination suits and more. Prior to her law career, Cote taught black history, American history and world history at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Manhattan.

MaryAnn Mathile lives and serves in Dayton, Ohio. She focuses her
philanthropic efforts on the Mathile Family Foundation, established in
1989 to foster hope and inspire change in the lives of children and
families in need. Some of the agencies supported by the Foundation are
Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley, Mercy Manor, and
Womanline. Her approach to philanthropy involves direct, hands-on
involvement and a belief that the work and the gifts are offered in
service to God. Mathile, her husband, and five children, owned The Iams
Company, a world leader in pet nutrition. The family sold the business
to Procter & Gamble in 1999.

Ann Claire Williams, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, will deliver
the commencement address at Saint Mary’s. Williams became the first
African American woman on the bench for the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois when Ronald Reagan appointed her in 1985.
At 35 years old, she was also one of the youngest federal appointees.
President Bill Clinton appointed Williams to the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit in 1999, making her the first African American
woman to serve on the Seventh Circuit, and only the third to serve on
any appeals court in the country.

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SMC06-19

For additional information, see the Countdown to Commencement Web site at
http://www.saintmarys.edu/Commencement/Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. “U.S. News & World Report” ranks Saint Mary’s #1 among Midwest Comprehensive Colleges offering bachelors degrees. Sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the College was founded in
1844 and now enrolls approximately 1500 students.