Click here to read McMullen's remarks to the graduates.

For you, John J. McMullen, water--both liquid and frozen--has been the essential element of life.
Growing up with a father in the ship repair business, you turned your sights at a young age to the United States Naval Academy. After graduation you served in the Navy during the Second World War and the Korean War, rising to the rank of commander, and then became chief of the Office of Ship Construction and Repair for the United States Maritime Administration, in charge of all commercial shipbuilding in the United States. During your naval service you earned a master's degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Your outstanding career in business never took you far from your love of ships and the sea. You established a firm of naval architects and marine engineers that is now one of the most prominent such firms in the world, responsible for many innovations in ship design and construction. You were president and chief executive officer of one of the nation's foremost shipping companies; you headed a leading steamship agency company; you organized a nuclear consulting firm; and you were the guiding force in numerous oil tanker and shipping operations across the world.

Shipping and shipbuilding have been shaped by your vision and leadership around the globe, but here in New Jersey--and especially here in the Continental Airlines Arena, as we stand on a wooden floor laid over a sheet of ice--you are best known and admired as the man who brought us the New Jersey Devils. As the owner of this outstanding National Hockey League team, you earned a reputation as one of the most innovative and caring owners. Your patience, dedication and commitment were rewarded with two Stanley Cup championships, and with the knowledge that you have contributed greatly to the economy of our state and the enjoyment of sports fans everywhere.

You have also put your imprint on other aspects of professional sports as a partner in the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, Home Sports Entertainment, and Prime Sports Network--even though they are located on dry land.

For your contributions to commerce and business, for your recognition that sports can be a source of pride as well as enjoyment, and for your commitment to the state of New Jersey, Montclair State University is proud to bestow upon you, Dr. John J. McMullen, the degree of doctor of letters, honoris causa.

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