BOSTON, MA.- The Trustees of Simmons College in Boston, Mass. have announced that artist Edna Hibel will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts in recognition of her life-long commitment to the arts and to medical, educational, children, and other humanitarian causes.

The conferring of the degree will take place during the Simmons College 100th Commencement Exercises at the Bayside Exposition Center in Boston on Saturday, May 14, at 10:00 a.m. Simmons College is ranked among the foremost women's educational institutions in America.

Hibel will be joined by these other distinguished honorands in receiving honorary doctorates: Harvard University Professor Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate for Economics; Dr. Rita Dudley-Grant, Assistant Commissioner of Health in the Virgin Islands; Cheryl Jacques, former Massachusetts State Senator; and Lisa Mullens, the renowned National Public Radio reporter. Ms. Mullens will deliver the commencement address.

Edna Hibel, 88, North America's only recipient of the coveted Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts, is receiving her sixth honorary doctorate. Her others were awarded by the University for Peace in Costa Rica; Mt. St. Mary's College in Maryland; Eureka College in Illinois; Northwood University in Florida; and Providence College in Rhode Island. Hibel delivered commencement addresses at Eureka College and the University for Peace.

Asked about her many degrees, the modest artist says "I'm thrilled about this honor, but also anxious, since now I'll have to work all the harder to deserve it!"