The University of Iowa will award honorary degrees to personal computer pioneer Ted Waitt and corporate health and wellness innovator Martín-José Sepúlveda during spring 2017 commencement exercises May 12 and 13.
Sepúlveda will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree during ceremonies for the Graduate College at 7 p.m. Friday, May 12, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Waitt will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters during the Tippie College of Business’ undergraduate commencement ceremonies at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“The University of Iowa is very pleased to honor these true innovators in a very special way,” says UI President J. Bruce Harreld. “Ted Waitt and Martín-José Sepúlveda have led multiple transformations in their fields of expertise. Between them, they have contributed significantly to our country’s economy, our health and well-being, the health of the planet, and much more. We are proud that the UI played a role in their education, and we are honored to recognize how much they have given back to society.”
Ted Waitt
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Waitt attended the universities of Colorado and Iowa. At 22, he cofounded what would become Gateway 2000, with a vision to make an affordable, quality computer sold directly to home users. Gateway’s successful business model changed the way Americans bought and used home computers. The company went public in 1993 and Waitt became the CEO of a Fortune 500 company at the age of 30. His Iowa start-up grew to employ more than 5,700 people in the Siouxland area, soon dubbed “Silicon Prairie.”
Waitt left the company in 2005 for a life of philanthropy. He founded the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, which is committed to breaking the cycle of violence in homes, schools, and communities. He also founded the Waitt Foundation, which works toward raising global awareness of declining marine resources. He is a member of the executive committee of the board of trustees of the National Geographic Society and the president of the board for the Salk Institute, where he has been a trustee for a decade.
He was a champion of the Genographic Project, which created the largest data set in history focused on our shared human ancestry from an anthropological perspective, and he was a catalytic donor and remains a key advisor to the Pristine Seas initiative, a scientific and conservation program focused on exploring and protecting the last wild places in the ocean. In 2007, he established the Waitt Foundation Advanced Biophotonics Center, which has become a model of interdisciplinary and collaborative research in imaging technology.
Waitt also is a recipient of the Oscar C. Schmidt Iowa Business Leadership Award from the Tippie College of Business.
“We recognize Ted not only for his impressive business accomplishments that made computers available to many more people, but also for the tremendous influence he is making in our world through funding research in areas ranging from domestic violence to marine biology,” says Sarah Gardial, dean of the Tippie College.
Martín-José Sepúlveda
Over a three-decade career with IBM, Martín-José Sepúlveda has become one of the leading innovators in the development of employee health and wellness programs in the U.S. private sector.
After completing a fellowship in internal medicine and occupational medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in 1985, Sepúlveda was instrumental in the development of a health-management framework that has since become a model for employers around the world. In 2009, IBM promoted him to IBM Fellow, the company’s most prestigious technical honor, for “having advanced national priorities for health care delivery reform, healthier people and healthier workplaces.”
Sepúlveda remained closely affiliated with the UI after his fellowship. He is a charter member of the College of Public Health’s Board of Advisors and was a founding member of the External Advisory Committee of the UI Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence. In 2003, he received the university’s highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement, and in 2013, he received the College of Public Health’s highest honor, the Richard and Barbara Hansen Leadership Award and Distinguished Lectureship.
Sepúlveda is the recipient of honors from the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians in recognition of his contributions to internal medicine, primary care, and children’s health. He is a fellow in the American College of Physicians, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and the American College of Preventive Medicine.
“Dr. Sepúlveda is a visionary leader as the result of his outstanding efforts to develop and guide innovation in corporate health, productivity, and employee benefits,” says Sue Curry, UI interim executive vice president and provost, and former dean of the College of Public Health. “His nationally important work has developed and promoted new thinking and business practices in support of better health at the individual, family, corporate, and community level.”