Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Salt Lake physician Lombardo Palma will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees at Salt Lake Community College graduation ceremonies Friday
Hatch and Palma will be honored at the 6 p.m. commencement on the campus quad. The two-year school will graduate 1,475 students.Hatch, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, is now in his third term. He is the ranking member of the Labor and Human Resources Committee. He is responsible for all education, health and labor legislation brought before the U.S. Senate.
Last year, he supported the literacy act, which increased authorization levels for adult education.
A native of Nicaragua who earned his medical degree from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Palma has a Salt Lake practice in family and preventive health. In 1981 and 1984, he received the Physicians Recognition Award from the American Medical Association.
He serves on the Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council for Hispanic Affairs and is a member of the SLCC scholarship committee.