Iowa State University’s commencement included honorary degrees for two giants of government and business: Adviser-to-presidents Dwight Ink and Kinze Manufacturing CEO and Chairman Jon Kinzenbaw.
        
Ink, 95, of Leesburg, Va., was ISU’s first graduate in government and went on to work as an adviser to seven U.S. presidents, from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan. He published his fourth book this year, “Getting Things Done With Courage and Conviction: Principles and Cases in Public Management.” Ink received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Kinzenbaw — farmer, inventor, manufacturer and entrepreneur — received an honorary Doctor of Science. For more than 52 years, Kinzenbaw, CEO and chairman of the board for Kinze Manufacturing Inc. in Williamsburg, worked on innovative technologies and mechanical equipment for production agriculture. In addition to its 520-employee Iowa headquarters, Kinze Manufacturing has a facility in Vilnius, Lithuania. Kinzenbaw holds 37 patents.

Faculty members in agricultural and biosystems engineering nominated Kinzenbaw for the honorary degree.