On a warm cloudless May day Bishop Griselda, supported by many of her close family and friends, received an honorary doctorate from General Theological Seminary in New York City. Griselda was recognized not only as the first woman to hold the office of Diocesan Bishop in Cuba, but also as the first of three women ordained to the priesthood there in 1991. She faithfully served Santa Maria Virgen in Itabo for over twenty years, first as deacon then as priest, leading the way to restore the church to its original splendor and establishing a self-sustaining ecological farm on the church grounds.
The citation, read before the conferring of her degree, described Griselda as a woman of "prayer and good works who has walked faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus,” and has followed the call to discipleship with "bravery, wisdom, and grace." Always "open to the fresh movement of the Spirit, Bishop Griselda has sought to overcome years of division between the Diocese of Cuba and the broader Episcopal Church.”
Other honorary degree recipients were: retired Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Herbert Thomas; The Rt. Rev. De De Duncan-Probe, Bishop of Central New York; and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology, The Rev. Barbara Crafton.