Miriam gets highest honor from UI<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Miriam Budiardjo, one of the country's most
\nrespected political scientists, was presented with an honorary
\ndoctorate from the University of Indonesia yesterday, becoming
\nthe first woman to receive such a prestigious distinction.<\/p>\n
Miriam, 74, joins the ranks of Indonesia's first president
\nSukarno, first vice president Muhammad Hatta, Cambodia's King
\nNorodom Sihanouk, former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos
\nand former North Korean leader Kim Il-sung as recipients of the
\naward which was first presented in 1956.<\/p>\n
\"I am very happy with this title, because for me it was simply
\nunimaginable before,\" Miriam told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
\n\"Since 1956 the title has only been given to 25 people, mostly
\noutsiders,\" she remarked.<\/p>\n
The title was conferred in a solemn ceremony at the University
\nof Indonesia campus in Depok, West Java, by the rector, M.K.
\nTadjudin.<\/p>\n
Fellow senior political scientist Nazaruddin Samsudin hailed
\nMiriam's career. \"She is a great pioneer in introducing and
\ndeveloping political science in Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Born in Kediri, East Java, Miriam graduated from the College
\nof Law and Literature in Jakarta in 1947. She obtained a masters
\ndegree from Georgetown University in the United States in 1955.<\/p>\n
Upon her return, Miriam was appointed a lecturer at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia and became one of the founders of the
\nFaculty of Social and Political Sciences a few years later.<\/p>\n
She studied at Harvard University between 1959 and 1961 while
\naccompanying her husband, Ali Budiardjo, who was pursuing a
\nmasters degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n
\"I could not finish my studies because I had to take care of
\nmy small baby,\" she said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Miriam's most enduring work remains her book Dasar-dasar Ilmu
\nPolitik (The Basics of Political Science) which is still used as
\na primary textbook and has been reprinted 18 times since first
\nbeing published in 1972.<\/p>\n
In 1973 she was promoted to a professorship in political
\nscience, and one year later became the faculty's dean.<\/p>\n
She was coordinator for social and political sciences at the
\npostgraduate faculty of the university from 1981 to 1989.<\/p>\n
Despite her age she still displayed a strong sense of academic
\nanalysis in her oration yesterday, titled Accountability in
\nPolitical Science.<\/p>\n
Her most recent activities have seen her delve into more
\npractical politics; she was appointed a member of the National
\nCommission on Human Rights in 1993.<\/p>\n
Miriam remains happily married to Ali Budiardjo, and their
\nonly child, daughter Gitayana, is married to Imam Prasodjo and
\nhas two children. (10\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/miriam-gets-highest-honor-from-ui-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}