Economists aren’t usually considered humanities scholars, but according to a news release issued by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mr. Sen is being honored for “his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice.” Also being recognized is National History Day, a program that inspires in American students a passion for history.

Dickinson State could face penalties from its accreditor and from the U.S. Departments of Education, Homeland Security, and State, the audit report says. The university’s president and the university system’s chancellor are holding a news conference today to present the report. In a news release, the university said it would be working with various agencies “to ensure compliance with all regulations, policies, and procedures.”

Word of the audit is the latest bad news to hit Dickinson State recently. The university’s previous president was fired in December over inflated enrollments, and this week Dickinson State dropped plans to open a Confucius Institute, a cultural center supported by the Chinese government, on the campus.

Update (5:44 p.m.): The body of a top administrator at the university was discovered this afternoon near the campus, the victim of an apparent suicide, the AP reported. The official, Douglas A. LaPlante, was dean of the university’s School of Education, Business, and Applied Sciences. He was not named in the audit report, so it is unclear if his death is connected at all with the report’s release. But business students were among those said to have improperly received degrees.

In April 2008, Crystal Dixon, who was associate vice president for human resources, wrote a letter to the editor of the Toledo Free Press, in which she objected to the notion that gay people are “civil-rights victims.” Unlike one’s race, homosexuality, she wrote, is purely a choice.

Ms. Dixon argued in her lawsuit, among other things, that the university had fired her for speech protected under the First Amendment. But a court ruled on Monday that her remarks, as a public employee, were sufficiently insubordinate for the university to be legally justified in firing her. The judge said that the university had the right to protect its interests in making gay employees feel welcome, attracting prospective employees who may be gay, and avoiding potential discrimination lawsuits, all of which may have been threatened by Ms. Dixon’s comments.

The state’s Board of Higher Education last April approved the opening of the institute, which would have promoted the study of Chinese languages and culture. But Dickinson State faculty voted to oppose the institute last fall. In December the state fired the university’s president for inflating enrollment figures.

Confucius Institutes at other colleges have prompted some concerns that the programs, which receive Chinese-government funds, would interfere with academic freedom.

The student, Amanda Tatro, who received her diploma last fall, had argued that the university had no authority to discipline her for off-campus activities. In a decision last July, however, a state court of appeals ruled in favor of the university.

In arguments before the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, Jordan Kushner, a lawyer for Ms. Tatro, stated that his client did not identify the cadaver by name or describe the dissection procedure in detail, which student-conduct rules forbid, The Pioneer Press reported. Because her comments did not violate program rules, he said, “it would not be constitutionally reasonable for the university to restrict that speech.”

Mark Rotenberg, general counsel for the university, argued that the university was enforcing reasonable rules “to meet legitimate pedagogical objectives.”

The justices had questions for both sides, but Mr. Kushner seemed to get the bulk of the interrogation, the newspaper said.

“Do you agree that the mortuary-science program has an interest in the willingness of donors to participate in the program?” asked Justice G. Barry Anderson.

Another justice, Paul H. Anderson, asked why the court should not defer to university officials on a disciplinary matter, saying “they have to provide for the safety of their students.”

Mr. Kushner said he was not arguing that the university should have no authority over those matters. But in the case of Ms. Tatro, he said, there were “no specific threats. … That would be a different situation.”

In comments to the Student Press Law Center after the hearing, Mr. Rotenberg said the university was not advocating for blanket restrictions on student speech. “This is a case about professional training,” he said. “The university is meeting a narrow interest that is context specific.”

The case will be among the first to analyze the free-expression rights of college students online, the law center said. The court did not announce when it might issue its decision.