ProfNet is a free service that provides journalists, bloggers, authors and other writers with links to experts and story ideas on the topics they cover. You’ll also find links to job opportunities and other news and resources we think you’ll find useful. To receive these updates by email, send a note to profnet@profnet.com with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition.

If you’re in need of an expert source, you can also submit a free ProfNet query and have qualified sources come to you, or search the free ProfNet Connect database, which features nearly 50,000 user profiles, all searchable by keyword.

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EXPERT ALERTS

• The Evidence-Based Benefits of Mind-Body Approaches to Pain Relief
• Air-Conditioning Tips to Save Consumers Money
• Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Junior Seau’s Suicide
• Mandarin Is the Fragrance for the Summer
• May Is National Women’s Health Month: Preventative Health Screenings
• Occupational Therapy as a Career
• Surgical Technology as a Career
• The Weight of Our Nation: Obesity as Our Nation's Complex Health Issue

MEDIA JOBS

• Community Journalist - Tampa Bay, Fla.
• Custom Content Editor - NYC
• Reporter - Marion, Ind.
• Multimedia Reporter - Alexandria, Va.
• Managing Editor - Chicago

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Tricks of the Trade: Online Tools and Apps for Writers
• Grammar Hammer: 'He/She' or 'They' Celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
• Writing for the Health Market

********************

EXPERT ALERTS

Expert Alerts are listings of ProfNet members who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact their media representative at the end of the listing. You can also find Expert Alerts online at bit.ly/pncalerts

The Evidence-Based Benefits of Mind-Body Approaches to Pain Relief

Michael Ellner

Mind-Body Medicine Educator and Medical Hypnotist

“An estimated 80 million Americans are living in chronic pain. Tragically, most of these people and their doctors are not aware that mind-body techniques can often reduce and possibly alleviate even the most persistent pains of chronic conditions. This is important because mind-body modalities are often a last resort for people living with chronic pain, even though the evidence suggests mind-body techniques like hypnosis, self-hypnosis, mindfulness and guided imagery are ideal supplements/complements to front-line medical care."

Ellner is the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association's 2008 Hypnosis Educator of the Year and teaches continuing medical education courses in effective medical communication and mind-body pain relief to frontline pain clinicians for PAINWeek (a major medical conference). He will be co-teaching a certification training course in mind-body pain relief to counselors, therapists and health care professionals in Daytona Beach, Fla., on May 21-22, as a post-conference offering of International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association and the International Association of Counselors and Therapists, following their sixth annual hypnosis education conference May 16-20. Ellner, who resides in New York City, speaks extensively about how mind-body approaches can help people relax, recharge, and relieve pain and anxiety. He is available as a resource on mind-body healing and medical hypnosis.

Website: www.ellner.info

Expert Contact: michaelellner@verizon.net

 

Air-Conditioning Tips to Save Consumers Money

Mike Donley

Owner

Donley Service Center in Phoenix

Donley can discuss air conditioners, high Freon costs and how not to get ripped off: "Recharging an air-conditioning system is only a problem if there is a leak. There are older units that will last approximately 15 years without being recharged. So, if the system is properly maintained, it reduces the chance that you will need to replace the Freon. But when your system does go out, it will be more expensive to repair than a newer energy-efficient air-conditioning system."

Donley can offer consumer advice and tips on how to choose the right contractor for your home for maintenance and repairs; air-conditioning tips in the home to do now before it gets too hot; what to do before calling an air-conditioning repairman to save money; and more. He has won the BBB's Ethics Awards twice, and his company has been used in national "Dateline NBC" air-conditioning investigations.

News Contact: Charlotte Shaff, charlotte@themediapush.com or +1-602-418-8534

 

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Dr. Angela DeRosa, DO, MBA

"It seems every week there is a new article or publication claiming hormones are 'bad' for women. While it appears from the headlines that these studies are new, many people do not realize it is actually more data from the Women’s Health Initiative study of women using Prempro (combination therapy with the synthetic hormones conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate, MPA and progestin) that was first reported in 2002. To say that all hormones are bad is just not true and is not based on scientific data."

News Contact: Charlotte Shaff, charlotte@themediapush.com or +1-602-418-8534

 

Junior Seau’s Suicide

Dr. David Reiss

Sports Psychotherapist/Psychiatrist, Former Interim Medical Director

Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke, Mass.

“I had never evaluated Junior Seau and I cannot provide any opinion as to what extent, if any, the factors discussed below may relate to his tragic death. However, these are issues that should be raised and considered after any such horrible situation -- and, hopefully, raised preventively with both active and veteran/retired athletes. Athletes such as Seau, especially toward the end of their careers or in retirement, are exposed to many risk factors for depression, ranging from physiological effects of repetitive major or minor head trauma, chronic pain, use of prescribed medications, and the psychological issues that accompany a change of identity and lifestyle on the 'downside' of a very successful career. One cannot minimize the psychological threats to self-esteem and identity due to the changes that accompanying coming down from the height of athletic success, especially after a long and fruitful career that probably began during school years. It is particularly important to recognize the vulnerabilities of athletes who are inherently exposed to physical injury and both acute and chronic pain. It is well documented that chronic pain often leads to depression."

News Contact: Marc Kruskol, marc@mjkpr.com or +1-661-538-1789

 

Mandarin Is the Fragrance for the Summer

Renee Bukowski

Senior Product Development Manager

Tru Fragrance, a custom fragrance development company

"Summer is on its way, and with the changing season comes consumers’ desire to explore new trends in the beauty and fashion spaces. As we oversee the fragrance development process from conception to market, it is our job to monitor the pulse of industry trends and what is appealing to today’s consumers. For summer 2012, consumers are looking for something new and unique to celebrate the season. Known to develop the imagination and enhance creativity, mandarin is the ultimate summer scent, offering a fresh and energetic take for warmer weather. The mandarin-fragrance trend for summer echoes those seen outside of the fragrance world, on fashion runways, the cosmetics industry, and in home decor and accessories."

Bukowski is available to discuss mandarin as this summer’s hottest fragrance note, as well as other trends sweeping the industry.

News Contact: Nicole Lierheimer, lierheimer@formulapr.com or +1-212-219-0321

 

May Is National Women’s Health Month: Preventative Health Screenings

Dr. Angela DeRosa, DO, MBA

President and Chief Managing Officer

DeRosa Medical, P.C., a private women’s heath medical practice in Scottsdale and Sedona, Ariz.

"Preventative health screenings are crucial, but often confusing for my female patients. Routine tests are our best defense for early diagnosis of disease and, in turn, higher successful treatment rates if something is detected. Women need to make their health a priority and National Women’s Health month is a great time to do that."

DeRosa suggests these five tests for her patients: 1) electrocardiogram (EKG) every year; 2) skin cancer screenings every year; 3) pap smears annually between the ages of 21 and 30, and then every three years in patients older than 30; 4) starting at age 40, mammograms every other year, and annually after age 50; and 5) a colonoscopy at age 50, and follow-up tests every 5-10 years.

News Contact: Charlotte Shaff, charlotte@themediapush.com or +1-602-418-8534

 

Occupational Therapy as a Career

Joan Welch, MHA COTA/L

Occupational Therapy Assistant Site Coordinator

Brown Mackie College in Merrillville, Ind.

"What do pediatrics, geriatrics and cardiology have in common? Patients in these three very different branches of medicine can benefit from occupational therapy. An occupational therapist (OT) helps people with disabling conditions to recover or develop daily living skills, such as dressing, cooking and eating. An OT’s right-hand man or woman is the occupational therapy assistant (OTA). This versatile occupation is proving to be a rewarding career choice for many who are returning to school to heighten employment prospects. An OTA works under the direction of an OT to provide the rehabilitative exercises and activities prescribed in the therapist’s treatment plan. It’s very interesting work. You learn something new every day."

Welch can discuss the rewarding career of an occupational therapist.

News Contact: J. Stephen Dobbins, stdobbins@brownmackie.edu or +1-513-830-2005

 

Surgical Technology as a Career

Kat LaRue, CST

Surgical Technology Program Chair

Brown Mackie College in Greenville, S.C.

"Today’s health care industry offers a wider variety of positions than ever before. This is, in part, due to the expanding health care needs of about 78 million aging baby boomers. People who are 65 years old or older comprise 12 percent of the population and 35 percent of all hospital stays, according to the TopTenReviews website. Surgical technology can be a rewarding career choice for those looking to enter the health care arena. This option requires a two-year associate of science degree. As more and more of the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, the demand for health care workers will rise. Even in today’s stunted job market, the health care sector showed growth in March, despite fewer overall job gains than in recent months, according to a U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor press release."

LaRue can discuss this career choice.

News Contact: J. Stephen Dobbins, stdobbins@brownmackie.edu or +1-513-830-2005

 

The Weight of Our Nation: Obesity as Our Nation's Complex Health Issue

Dr. Pam Peeke

Best-Selling Author and Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health TV

Peeke can offer expert opinion about the Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, D.C., June 7-9: "There are so many factors contributing to the rising rates of obesity in America, but that doesn’t mean it’s a hopeless situation. To see a change, we must collaborate without singling out any specific party. We can all be a part of the solution."

Peeke, an internationally recognized nutrition and health expert, can help readers understand obesity, one of our nation’s most complex health issues. She can also discuss sensible solutions. Peeke is the chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health TV and the author of best-sellers "Fit to Live," "Fight Fat After Forty" and "Body for Life for Women." She’s also the brains behind Everyday Fitness with Dr. Pam Peeke, a multimedia healthy lifestyle program on WebMD.com. She is a spokeswoman for the American College of Sports Medicine’s global initiative “Exercise Is Medicine,” and advises many food and beverage companies, like The Coca-Cola Company, on nutrition.

News Contact: Kamari Guthrie, +1-212-229-8480

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: bit.ly/pncjobboard

• Community Journalist - Tampa Bay, Fla.
• Custom Content Editor - NYC
• Reporter - Marion, Ind.
• Multimedia Reporter - Alexandria, Va.
• Managing Editor - Chicago

See more listings here.

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at profnetalerts@prnewswire.com

• TRICKS OF THE TRADE: ONLINE TOOLS AND APPS FOR WRITERS: ProfNet Director Maria Perez recaps the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)'s panel on the latest in online software and mobile apps for research, reporting, productivity and promoting: bit.ly/L5wt1P

• GRAMMAR HAMMER: 'HE/SHE' OR 'THEY' CELEBRATE CINCO DE MAYO? ProfNet Editor Grace Lavigne reviews when to use pronouns "he/she" vs. "they": bit.ly/JLn3t4

• WRITING FOR THE HEALTH MARKET: ProfNet Director Maria Perez recaps the ASJA's panel on how freelancers can successfully pitch to health outlets: bit.ly/J6HwGC

ProfNet is a free service that provides journalists, bloggers, authors and other writers with links to experts and story ideas on the topics they cover. You’ll also find links to job opportunities and other news and resources we think you’ll find useful. To receive these updates by email, send a note to profnet@profnet.com with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition.

If you’re in need of an expert source, you can also submit a free ProfNet query and have qualified sources come to you, or search the free ProfNet Connect database, which features nearly 50,000 user profiles, all searchable by keyword.

Submit a free ProfNet query

Search the ProfNet Connect experts database

EXPERT ALERTS

• Ray Easterling's Suicide: Professional Athletes' Mental Health-Related Tragedies, Issues
• World Asthma Day: Make Childhood Asthma a Year-Round Priority
• The Health Benefits of Chocolate
• The Importance of a Home Inspection
• Smile -- It’s Contagious

MEDIA JOBS

• Multimedia Sports Reporter - Chambersburg, Penn.
• Reporter - Marble Falls, Texas
• Editorial Assistant - Fort Mitchell, Ky.
• Health and Wellness Writers - NYC
• Social Media Editor - NYC

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Interesting Expert of the Week, Zappa Edition
• Parenting Blogs: The Daddy Bloggers
• Tool Spotlight: Astrid

********************

EXPERT ALERTS

Expert Alerts are listings of ProfNet members who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact their media representative at the end of the listing. You can also find Expert Alerts online at bit.ly/pncalerts

 

Ray Easterling's Suicide: Professional Athletes' Mental Health-Related Tragedies and Issues

Dr. David Reiss

Psychotherapist/Psychiatrist, Former Interim Medical Director of Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke, Mass.

"There is a very complex interaction between chronic pain, depression and TBI (traumatic brain injury). Unfortunately, the consequences of each are mutually reinforcing and can lead to a dangerous downward spiral. Many such situations (not commenting specifically on this tragedy) are complicated by other personal issues, as well as side effects of medications that may help one aspect of the difficulties but worsen others. For instance, medications that may be medically necessary to control pain can also chemically worsen depression and interfere with judgment and impulse control."

Reiss can discuss the recent suicides of Ray Easterling and other professional athletes. He can also talk about other stories related to professional athletes and mental health, including the topics of depression, borderline personality disorder, drug/alcohol/gambling addiction and more. Reiss also has a great deal of experience working with athletes.

News Contact: Marc Kruskol, marc@mjkpr.com or +1-661-538-1789

 

World Asthma Day: Make Childhood Asthma a Year-Round Priority

Floyd J. Malveaux, M.D., Ph.D.

Executive Director

Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc., the only nonprofit solely focused on childhood asthma

“World Asthma Day (May 1) provides an opportunity to stop to consider the challenges of combating a disease that affects almost 7 million children in the United States. But for some children and their families, every day is asthma day. While we don’t know everything about childhood asthma, we know enough about its financial and human costs to do better in helping control symptoms and life-threatening effects. A new study shows childhood asthma could be a lifelong affliction if we don’t take the necessary steps to provide appropriate management. Indeed, better access to quality, affordable care, plus healthier communities, can control costs and improve health.”

Dr. Malveaux is available to provide insight on asthma risk factors, health disparities and how community-based interventions can help reduce and prevent asthma, especially among low-income, urban and underserved populations.

News Contact: Kimberly Wise, kwise@ccapr.com or +1-202-609-6015

The Health Benefits of Chocolate

Dr. Debra Miller

Director of Nutrition

The Hershey Company

"There’s been a lot of talk about the health benefits of chocolate lately, but that doesn’t mean you need to eat pounds of it to get the benefits. There is strong scientific evidence from a number of independent sources that supports cocoa having heart health benefits, such as increased blood flow and decreased blood pressure, even with as little as 1-2 tablespoons of natural cocoa a day."

Miller is able to provide additional insights on the research around chocolate, and discuss the health benefits of cocoa -- the magic inside chocolate -- and share how to enjoy cocoa and chocolate as part of a balanced lifestyle. She is an expert on the health benefits of cocoa and dark chocolate, nutrition and obesity, and is a great resource for questions on the topic of cocoa as a superfruit.

Profile: www.profnetconnect.com/debramiller

News Contact: Kathryn Piasta, kathryn.piasta@ketchum.com or +1-202-835-9469

 

The Importance of a Home Inspection

Chip Poli

CEO

Poli Mortgage Group, Inc.

"Home inspections are vital. A home inspection will dig into the quality of the property, as opposed to an appraisal, which compares the value of the home against similar homes. A home inspector will inspect all of the major systems of a home including plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning, as well as sewer or septic if they apply. In addition to these items, other areas of the property will be covered, including structural aspects, attic, roof and basement."

News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com

 

Smile -- It’s Contagious

Dr. Todd Pizzi, DDS

“According to a proverb, ‘All people smile in the same language.’ A smile can communicate so much without a single word. So what's preventing you from flashing your smile? Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who are uncomfortable with their smiles due to dental problems like damaged, misaligned or stained teeth. But with continuing breakthroughs in modern dentistry, a brilliant smile has never been as attainable as it is now. Instead of using amalgam or metals to restore a tooth, the E4D uses a tooth-colored ceramic that bonds to the tooth naturally.”

News Contact: Anna Steinbock, anna@exposeyourselfpr.com

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: bit.ly/pncjobboard

• Multimedia Sports Reporter - Chambersburg, Penn.
• Reporter - Marble Falls, Texas
• Editorial Assistant - Fort Mitchell, Ky.
• Health and Wellness Writers - NYC
• Social Media Editor - NYC

See more listings here.

********************

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at profnetalerts@prnewswire.com

• INTERESTING EXPERT OF THE WEEK, ZAPPA EDITION: ProfNet Director Maria Perez interviews Joseph Klein, chair of the Division of Composition Studies at the University of North Texas, about Frank Zappa: bit.ly/IdTo7W

• PARENTING BLOGS: THE DADDY BLOGGERS: PR Newswire's Thomas Hynes lists some of the best daddy blogs he's seen lately: bit.ly/IDL6Yu

• TOOL SPOTLIGHT: ASTRID: ProfNet Editor Jason Hahn takes a look at Astrid, a productivity tool that helps users stay on top of their to-do lists in a collaborative and enjoyable way: bit.ly/Ibm7No

ProfNet is a free service that provides journalists, bloggers, authors and other writers with links to experts and story ideas on the topics they cover. You’ll also find links to job opportunities and other news and resources we think you’ll find useful.

If you’re in need of an expert source, you can also submit a free ProfNet query and have qualified sources come to you, or search the free ProfNet Connect database, which features nearly 50,000 user profiles, all searchable by keyword.

Submit a free ProfNet query

Search the ProfNet Connect experts database

EXPERT ALERTS

• Legal Analysis of the George Zimmerman Case
• Weighty Employment Decisions
• Time to Power Down Some Remote Worker Access
• Does a Demanding Career Mean Losing Custody?

EXPERT ROUNDUP: CORPORATE COMPLIANCE AND THE FCPA

MEDIA JOBS

• Copy Editor - North Andover, Mass.
• Social Media Editor - NYC
• Bonds/FX Reporter - NYC
• Deputy Editor - NYC
• Reporter - Wichita Falls, Texas

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Journalists: Check out the New ProfNet
• Freelance Focus: Keeping Sources Organized
• Tool Spotlight: Astrid

********************

EXPERT ALERT

Expert Alerts are listings of ProfNet members who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact their media representative at the end of the listing. You can also find Expert Alerts online at bit.ly/pncalerts

Legal Analysis of the George Zimmerman Case

Sandra Guerra Thompson

Law Foundation Professor of Law and Criminal Justice Institute Director

University of Houston Law Center

A national expert on criminal law and criminal procedure, Thompson can offer unique insight into the federal investigation surrounding the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla.

"From what I have heard through the media, it does appear to be a reasonable charge. If a jury found Zimmermann to present some mitigating circumstances, it is possible that they could find him guilty of a lesser charge such as voluntary manslaughter."

Thompson has authored numerous articles on criminal law topics such as eyewitness identification and wrongful conviction, immigration crimes, jury discrimination, police interrogations, federal sentencing and asset forfeiture. She is available to talk about the George Zimmerman case.

News Contacts: Carrie Criado, cacriado@central.uh.edu or +1-713-743-2184; or John T. Kling, jtkling@central.uh.edu or +1-713-743-8298

 

Weighty Employment Decisions

Bryan Neal

Labor and Employment Attorney

Thompson & Knight in Dallas

"A South Texas hospital is drawing scrutiny because of a controversial hiring policy barring those it considers obese, requiring applicants to have a body mass index of less than 35, or about 245 pounds for someone who is 5 feet 10 inches tall. Some states and cities have passed laws prohibiting weight as an employment consideration. Texas has not, and there are no federal laws that explicitly classify obese individuals as a protected class. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that the inconsistently defined condition of 'morbid obesity' is an impairment and potentially protected under federal law. But the vast majority of courts have rejected that view and ruled that obesity must be the result of an underlying medical condition before it qualifies as a protected impairment."

News Contact: Barry Pound, barry@androvett.com or +1-800-559-4534

 

Time to Power Down Some Remote Worker Access

Carrie Hoffman

Labor and Employment Attorney

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Dallas

"With a dramatic increase in lawsuits alleging failure to pay overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are finding the digital age has placed them in a precarious wage-and-hour position. With smartphone and remote access technology allowing employees to be ‘on call’ at all hours, employers need to be vigilant over which employees they are enabling to work virtually. Employers should not provide smartphones or remote access to non-exempt employees unless they have policies in place to ensure those employees are being paid for all hours worked. The FLSA has remained mostly unchanged since its enactment in 1938. Previously, when you punched out of work, you were done with work for the day. It's easier now to blur the lines, and employers who fail to adhere to the strict rules of payment for all hours worked will likely find themselves facing expensive litigation."

News Contact: Rhonda Reddick, rhonda@androvett.com or +1-800-559-4534

 

Does a Demanding Career Mean Losing Custody?

Mike McCurley

Family Law Attorney

McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing LLP in Dallas

"Family court judges are increasingly willing to award primary custody to fathers, particularly when the children's mother works long hours. While some may see this as a backlash against working mothers, it's not. It's simply a continuation of what has always been the case -- judges are much more likely to award primary custody to the parent who is the primary caregiver. That caregiver's gender doesn't matter as much as his or her presence in the children's lives. Parents who are concerned about the potential of losing primary custody may need to step up their parenting efforts by attending teacher conferences, helping out with the scout troop, etc. If need be, they should be willing to hire someone help to keep the household running smoothly. There's certainly no substitute for Mom and Dad's love, but when they're both at work, there needs to be someone ready to step in as needed."

News Contact: Mike Androvett, mike@androvett.com or +1-800-559-4534

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EXPERT ROUNDUP: CORPORATE COMPLIANCE AND THE FCPA (19 experts)

Following is a list of experts who can discuss various aspects of corporate compliance and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Photos of some of the following experts are available on ProfNet Connect. You can view them here: bit.ly/IsbR1j

 

Tim Coleman

Partner, Litigation Practice Group

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Washington, D.C.

Coleman focuses his practice on representing corporations and individuals in criminal and regulatory investigations, and in related civil proceedings. He has represented clients in matters involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, commodities fraud, health care fraud, official corruption and other substantive areas of the law. Coleman previously served for more than eight years with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he played a leading role in some of the most notable corporate fraud cases in recent times. As a senior adviser to the department's leadership, Coleman supervised the work of federal prosecutors throughout the United States on major corporate investigations. He has testified before the United States Senate and House of Representatives on white-collar crime issues and is a frequent public speaker on such topics as corporate compliance, internal investigations and the role of in-house counsel. Coleman is also the author of an award-winning article on anti-bribery and corruption compliance, published in the New York Law Journal last spring: bit.ly/JAwdpv

News Contact: Devon Jaffier, devon.jaffier@freshfields.com or +1-212-277-4023

D. Michael Crites

Partner

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, member of the white-collar crime practice group in Columbus, Ohio

Crites is the former United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and regularly counsels and defends corporations, senior corporate executives and individual clients in a wide range of federal and state investigations and prosecutions, including the Federal False Claims Act and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. He also conducts sensitive internal corporate investigations for corporate clients in the different business sectors and advises corporate clients on corporate compliance programs and the various voluntary self-disclosure protocols. Additionally, Crites continues to speak and publish articles concerning FCPA matters. Most recently, Crites presented at the Ohio State Law Journal Symposium discussing, "The FCPA at 35 and Its Impact on Global Business." Articles: bit.ly/Iu5skU

Website: www.dinsmore.com/mike_crites

Expert Contact: mcrites@dinsmore.com

 

Doreen Edelman

Shareholder

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC

Edelman is a frequent speaker and contributor on all manner of international compliance and regulatory issues. She will not be able to comment on the Wal-Mart/Mexico bribery matter, but can discuss other international compliance or FCPA issues.

Edelman has more than 20 years of experience counseling companies on import and export matters and global expansion. She advises clients on their export, import and compliance obligations related to defense articles, services and technologies and dual-use goods and technologies through the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce, the Directorate of Defense Controls of the Department of State, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of Treasury. Counseling includes the new Part 6 export compliance requirement of the I-129 form requiring businesses to certify that they have read the export-control laws of the U.S. She assists with internal audits, compliance programs and U.S. government investigations, including criminal trials. She determines product classifications, country of origin labeling and prepares license applications, commodity jurisdiction and classification requests, voluntary disclosures, and training modules for large and small companies. Edelman is also monthly columnist for CorporateComplianceInsights.com: bit.ly/I2CNlh  Additionally, she authors a blog written for exporters and business executives who want to hear about business issues that affect their growth, including practical information they can use to expand their business, increase profit and minimize risk: bit.ly/JFKKCU

Bio: www.bakerdonelson.com/doreen-m-edelman

News Contact: Vivian Hood, vhood@jaffepr.com or +1-904-220-1915

 

David Gebler

President

Skout Group in Sharon, Mass.

Regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): "Be sure the organization has institutionalized reality checks. FCPA violations are too easy for pressured executives to rationalize away: 'It's how they do business in that country,' or 'If we don't bribe, someone else will.' At every level of management where someone has the ability to engage in misconduct, there has to be someone who can serve as a trusted adviser to bounce off the idea before it happens and provide the 'reality check' that engaging in actions that violate FCPA is not something senior management would wish them to do. Culture is a risk factor because culture drives behavior. The culture in which an individual operates has a greater impact on whether he or she violates the law than mere knowledge of the rules and sanctions."

Gebler is a thought leader on corporate ethics. He is a business lawyer, author ("The 3 Power Values") and a professor of business ethics at Suffolk University. He has written extensively on compliance and governance issues, and advises global corporations on ways to reduce people-based risks.

Website: www.skoutgroup.com

News Contact: Cathy Lewis, clewis1333@aol.com

 

Jeff Lehtman

Partner

Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP

In reference to the Wal-Mart and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) probe in Mexico:

"The penalties paid by companies in settling these types of FCPA investigations have grown significantly larger in recent years. Depending on the facts uncovered, companies like Wal-Mart can expect the penalties to be incredibly high. It is an open question as to whether Wal-Mart’s prior disclosure would have allowed investors to understand the magnitude of potential exposure."

Lehtman can provide analysis on a number of issues involving the FCPA, including managing FCPA investigations in Latin America, legal compliance and regulatory requirements when investigating corruption allegations, FCPA trends and cross-border risk management. Lehtman has particular regional expertise on matters involving Latin America and the Caribbean.

Bio: www.rkollp.com/attorneys-Jeffrey-Lehtman...

News Contact: Brian Levitt, blevitt42@optonline.net or +1-732-318-6248

 

Aaron Marcu

Partner, Litigation Practice Group

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in New York

Marcu focuses his practice on the defense of white-collar criminals, and SEC enforcement investigations and related civil litigation. He also conducts internal corporate investigations and advises boards of directors, audit committees and special committees on sensitive matters involving possible misconduct by corporate personnel. Marcu represents both institutions and executives, with a particular emphasis on financial institutions, and has represented clients in investigations and litigation involving allegations of financial accounting and other securities fraud, insider trading, stock-options backdating, cartel and other anti-competitive activity, and possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He also helps design corporate compliance programs, and advises public companies and new issuers on disclosure and related issues, and on issues of corporate governance.

News Contact: Devon Jaffier, devon.jaffier@freshfields.com or +1-212-277-4023

Jonathan Marks

Partner

Crowe Horwath LLP

"Even the best compliance programs will fail if they don’t have the right tone from the top. Most organizations do not have a sound response plan that includes investigating all allegations of bribery and corruption and includes involving independent professionals in the process. Trust is a professional hazard -- verify."

Marks advises engagement teams and clients on anti-fraud and fraud-related matters, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He also works with boards and senior management on various corporate governance matters, which includes business practices and ethics and risk management. Marks is based in Crowe’s New York office. He is a CPA, CFE (certified fraud examiner) and CFF (certified in financial forensics), as well as a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of fraud prevention, internal audit, FCPA compliance and corporate governance. He is a member of the American Institution of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Website: www.crowehorwath.com

Twitter: @jtmarkscpa

News Contact: Jan Lippman, jan.lippman@crowehorwath.com or +1-312-899-8414

Robert A. McTamaney

Partner

Carter Ledyard & Milburn

McTamaney has written extensive on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). He can provide advice for corporations on how they can comply with international law and the FCPA.

Bio: bit.ly/ItVTT7

Expert Contact: mctamaney@clm.com

 

David Nour

Managing Partner

The Nour Group, Inc.

"In my experience, the rest of the world builds relationships first, from which they do business. Unfortunately, as North Americans, we're so focused on the business part that if -- and only if -- that part works, we'll think about building and nurturing relationships. Beyond legal and ethical considerations and compliance, corporations must also learn how to balance the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with the need to build real, productive and highly valuable relationships on the ground where they want to conduct business."

Nour is an enterprise social strategist and the thought leader on "Relationship Economics," the quantifiable value of business relationships. In a global economy that is becoming increasingly disconnected, The Nour Group, Inc. has attracted consulting engagements from HP, Siemens, Delta Dental, Gen Re and over 100 marquee organizations in driving unprecedented growth through unique return on their strategic relationships. Nour has pioneered the phenomenon that relationships are the greatest off-balance-sheet asset any organizations possesses, large and small, public and private. He is the author of several books including the bestselling "Relationship Economics: Revised" (Wiley, 2011), "ConnectAbility" (McGraw-Hill, 2010), "The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Raising Capital" (Praeger, 2009) and the "Social Networking Best Practices" series. He is most excited about his newest book: "Return on Impact: Leadership Strategies for the Age of Connected Relationships" (ASAE, 2012).

Expert Contact: dnour@nourgroup.com

Luis Ramos

Chief Executive Officer

The Network Inc., based in Atlanta

Ramos is an expert on corporate ethics, compliance and governance. The Network Inc. provides integrated governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions that help organizations mitigate risk; achieve compliance; and, ultimately, create better, more ethical workplaces. Ramos has more than 20 years of experience in risk management and compliance, and his thought leadership has been featured in publications including National Underwriter, Risk Management, Loss Prevention, Security and Ethikos. Ramos previously held positions as The Network’s COO, senior vice president of operations and technology, and vice president of risk management services; and was critical in the development and launch of The Network's proprietary software applications. Prior to joining The Network, Luis held positions at ADP and Crawford & Company.

News Contact: Joy Reddy, jreddy@arketi.com or +1-404-929-0091, ext. 209

David Raskin

Partner

Clifford Chance

Raskin represents companies, audit committees and senior executives in sensitive matters and corporate crises before the United States federal government, including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in internal investigations.

Raskin is a former federal prosecutor who has handled some of the most important international terrorism investigations and prosecutions in United States history. From 1999 to 2011, Raskin was an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he served for many years as a chief of that office's Terrorism and National Security Unit. He was to lead the prosecution in New York City of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and other Guantanamo Bay detainees, for their alleged participation in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, after having previously prosecuted Zacarias Moussaoui for conspiring to take part in those attacks. In addition to his national security work, he also led a worldwide investigation of significant violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which resulted in the December 2011 indictment of former executives of Siemens AG. Raskin also prosecuted numerous cases involving violent organized crime, and argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals in a wide variety of matters, including the appeal of three al-Qaeda operatives convicted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Bio: bit.ly/I13yq7

News Contact: Alison Meyerstein, CliffordChance@peppercom.com

 

Sue Ringler

Deputy General Counsel

Xylem

Ringler is an expert on international corporate governance and anti-corruption. She is well-versed in the intricacies of large-scale corporate investigations and is an authority on anti-corruption strategies, regulations and compliance. Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings.

Ringler is the former senior counsel for international compliance at ITT Corporation, responsible for providing strategy, regulatory and programmatic advice on compliance with U.S. and foreign laws and regulations regarding anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and related compliance issues. Ringler is also the former general counsel for the independent inquiry into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme. Previously, Ringler was a consultant to the World Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) conducting investigations of fraud and corruption involving World Bank Group funds. She was the deputy director of the ABA-CEELI Criminal Law Program supervising the program’s criminal-justice reform programs in Russia and the former Soviet Republics. From 1985-1998, Ringler was a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Ringler received her B.A. at Franklin & Marshall College and her JD from Catholic University Law School.

Website: www.xyleminc.com

News Contact: Elliot Steinbaum, elliot.steinbaum@edelman.com

 

Adam Siegel

Partner, Litigation Practice Group

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in New York

Siegel is co-head of the Global Investigations practice at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He focuses on representing clients facing government investigations and related civil litigation. Siegel has defended clients in a broad range of industries in investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC and the state attorneys general. These investigations have involved, among other things, allegations of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, insider trading, stock-options backdating and the off-label promotion of pharmaceutical products. Siegel works regularly with other firm lawyers around the world, defending multi-jurisdictional investigations, developing compliance and training programs that are tailored to the international regulatory regimes faced by clients, and conducting due diligence regarding bribery and other risks in corporate transactions. He has conducted numerous internal investigations, and has represented corporations, board committees and individuals.

News Contact: Devon Jaffier, devon.jaffier@freshfields.com or +1-212-277-4023

Andrew Brady Spalding

Law Professor

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law

Spalding is an expert on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and can speak on the Wal-Mart bribery scandal: "Wal-Mart faces liability for illegal payments, inadequate investigation of the payments and improper accounting. Its potential financial liability is three times the profits made possible by the bribes, and its executives could face individual criminal liability. At the same time, many of the payments now reported in the press may not be illegal under U.S. law due to the 'facilitating payments' exception as defined by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."

Spalding's teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of business law, international law and criminal law, with a specific focus on international anticorruption statutes. His research has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine. At IIT Chicago-Kent, Spalding teaches international business transactions. He is the author of "Four Unexplored Corners of Anti-Corruption Law and Unwitting Sanctions: Understanding Anti-Bribery Legislation as Economic Sanctions Against Emerging Markets." Prior to coming to IIT Chicago-Kent, Spalding was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar based in Mumbai, India, where he studied the impact of anticorruption laws on developing countries in Asia. He previously conducted corporate governance investigations and securities fraud litigation in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Bio: works.bepress.com/andrew_spalding1

News Contact: Gwen Osborne, gosborne@kentlaw.edu or +1-312-906-5251

Alexandra Wrage

President and Founder

Trace International

Trace International is a global anti-corruption/anti-bribery nonprofit that works with companies and governments to develop compliance programs and increase transparency in business dealings. Wrage has written extensively on the steps companies can take to comply with FCPA and other worldwide regulations. Wrage is the author of "Bribery and Extortion: Undermining Business, Governments and Security" and the host of the training DVD "Toxic Transactions: Bribery, Extortion and the High Price of Bad Business" produced by NBC. She has written three compliance guidebooks, is a guest blogger on Huffington Post and speaks frequently on topics of international law, anti-corruption initiatives and the hidden costs of corruption. Wrage currently serves on the Independent Governance Committee of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), football’s governing body. She has previously served as chair of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the ABA’s International Section, and chair of the International Legal Affairs Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel. She has participated in anti-bribery working groups with the OECD and the UN Global Compact. Wrage was named one of the “Canadians Changing the World” by the Toronto Globe and Mail in 2011. Prior to founding Trace, Wrage was international counsel at Northrop Grumman, where she was responsible for managing and improving the company’s FCPA program, including policy revisions, training, monitoring and board briefings.

Website: www.traceinternational.org

News Contacts: Jamie Moss, Jamie@newspros.com or Jaime Baum, jsb@newspros.com

Wendy Wysong

Partner

Clifford Chance

Wysong focuses on white-collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation, and international and domestic regulatory compliance. She counsels and defends clients based on her unique combination of experience and insight as both a prosecutor and regulator before courts and agencies. Her practice includes international law, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Export Administration Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control economic sanctions, and U.S. anti-boycott laws, as well as government fraud and public corruption. Through Clifford Chance's global network, she provides clients multi-jurisdictional representation that takes into account local, regional and international laws.

Wysong is the former assistant United States attorney in Washington, D.C., and the deputy assistant secretary for export enforcement for the Bureau of Industry and Security (Department of Commerce. Wysong has tried more than 50 jury trials in federal and state courts. In addition to numerous special achievement awards, she was given the Attorney General's Director's Award in 1996 for an investigation of congressional fraud and corruption. Wysong is also a guest lecturer at American University Washington College of Law on white-collar crime. She is the co-chair of the Transnational Crimes Subcommittee of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee, Criminal Justice Section and of the ABA Export Controls & Economic Sanctions Committee, International Law Section. Video of Wysong on "What's Next With Respect to the FCPA" (YouTube): bit.ly/K39dMo

News Contact: Alison Meyerstein, CliffordChance@peppercom.com

David W. Simon
Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP (Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., locations)
Quote from "Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Sports & Entertainment Marketing" white paper: "As explained by the United Kingdom’s chief enforcer, no one wants to stop firms from getting to know their clients by taking them to events like Wimbledon or the Grand Prix. But in an environment of heightened anti-corruption enforcement -- which has led to billions of dollars of fines and penalties over the last few years -- companies run the risk of triggering anti-corruption laws if their marketing and entertainment expenditures cross a line into conduct that could be characterized as bribery. In particular, companies need to understand the strict limits placed on providing things of value, including tickets to sports and entertainment events, to both domestic and foreign government officials, to employees of state-owned enterprises, and even to purely private, commercial customers."
Simon is a member of the Government Enforcement, Compliance & White Collar Defense; Securities Enforcement & Litigation; and Antitrust Practices. He currently serves as the vice chair for strategic development of the firm’s litigation department. Simon -- a litigator with substantial experience conducting internal investigations, defending corporations in government enforcement actions, and representing corporate clients in state and federal courts -- devotes much of his practice to helping corporate clients manage crises that potentially give rise to government enforcement actions. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a principal focus of his practice. Simon counsels clients on FCPA issues that arise in their operations, assists clients in the development and implementation of anti-corruption compliance programs, advises clients on third-party anti-corruption due diligence, conducts internal investigations into FCPA and other anti-corruption issues, and defends corporate clients in government enforcement actions that arise from potential FCPA violations. He also focuses on the defense of False Claims Act (FCA) investigations initiated by the United States government and defends companies against FCA claims brought in qui tam lawsuits. Much of his FCA practice is devoted to representing health care providers in investigations and lawsuits in federal and state courts.
Expert Contact: dsimon@foley.com
News Contact: Shari Nakakura, nakakuras@aol.com or +1-509-366-7778

Tony Knopp
CEO and Co-Founder
SpotlightTMS in Calabasas, Calif.
Knopp can discuss the need for transparency by companies that want to steer clear of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by proper oversight of their sports and entertainment tickets: "Companies today invest millions of dollars yearly on corporate tickets and sponsorships, yet are unable to measure the business impact of this investment. The all-too-common manual methods for purchasing, allocating and tracking tickets are time-consuming, error-prone and inefficient. The result: 40 percent of corporate and business tickets go unused and many tickets are wasted on attendees that don't drive business. And, if tickets are not monitored properly with complete transparency, companies can violate Sarbanes-Oxley rules and get into trouble with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Based on experience, those opposed to transparency are the most likely to be misusing the tickets they manage. Where there is smoke, there is often fire."
Knopp is the CEO and co-founder of Spotlight Ticket Management (SpotlightTMS), a web-based SaaS application helping companies understand the business impact of their sports and entertainment tickets. He has spent his career at the crossroads of sports and technology holding positions at the Los Angeles Dodgers, AEG, StubHub and now Spotlight Ticket Management.
Twitter: @anthonyknopp
Website: www.spotlighttms.com
Expert Contact: aknopp@spotlighttms.com or +1-877-423-4868 Cell: +1-312-242-1603
News Contact: Shari Nakakura, nakakuras@aol.com or +1-509-366-7778

Joseph Hoffmann

Harry Pratter Professor of Law

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Hoffmann is an expert on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) who is available to discuss how the FCPA applies to the current Wal-Mart bribery scandal in Mexico: “The FCPA has two major provisions: the first prohibits corporations from paying bribes to foreign government officials and the second provision requires issuers of U.S. stock, stock issued through the SEC, to maintain transparent accounting records. If the allegations against Wal-Mart are true, then it could conceivably go to both parts of the FCPA: first, that Wal-Mart de Mexico was paying bribes to obtain permits and other sorts of approvals from government officials, and that the accounting used by Wal-Mart’s Mexican subsidiary was specifically designed to hide these payments -- just the opposite of the transparency required by the FCPA. Wal-Mart could eventually face several hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties over the alleged misconduct -- and if widespread problems are uncovered, then it could reach the billion-dollar range.”

News Contact: Brianne O’Donnell, brianne.odonnell@gabbe.com or +1-212-220-4444

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With the 2012 commencement season approaching, we compiled the following list of speakers who will be addressing graduates at 62 universities and colleges that are part of the ProfNet network. (Part 1 of the list can be seen here.)

Lawrence University

The university's commencement will take place on Sunday, June 10, at 10:30 a.m. CDT, at Main Hall green on campus in Appleton, Wis.

Anton “Tony” Valukas, the court-appointed examiner in the historic bankruptcy case of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., will serve as Lawrence University's 2012 commencement speaker and be recognized with an honorary doctor of laws degree. The chairman of the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, Valukas is a 1965 graduate of Lawrence.

In 2009, Valukas was appointed by a federal judge as the examiner for the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy in United States history. As examiner, Valukas investigated the causes of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. After reviewing 34 million documents and interviewing nearly 300 witnesses, Valukas issued a seven-volume, 2,200-page report detailing potential wrongdoing by certain Lehman executives and Ernst & Young, the auditor. Earlier this year, The American Lawyer named Valukas its 2011 “Litigator of the Year.”

News Contact: Rick Peterson, richard.peterson@lawrence.edu or +1-920-832-6590

 

Macalester College

The 2012 commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m., at the college in St. Paul, Minn. Jack Weatherford, DeWitt Wallace Professor of Anthropology, will deliver the commencement speech for the 2012 graduation ceremony. The title of his talk is "Macalester Lessons." Yeukai Mudzi is the senior class speaker. Mudzi, from Zimbabwe, is an economics major with a minor in anthropology.

Website: bit.ly/I9DEQv

News Contact: Barbara K. Laskin, laskin@macalester.edu or +1-651-696-6451

Malone University

The ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. EDT at the Faith Family Church, located at 8200 Freedom Avenue NW in North Canton, Ohio.

The speaker is Joan Mussa, senior vice president of mobilization at World Vision. Mussa has provided World Vision U.S. with leadership in communications and fundraising for more than two decades. In 1985, Mussa came to World Vision to produce fundraising videos about the Ethiopian food crisis. She was later based in Nairobi, Kenya, and worked throughout the continent before returning to the U.S. Mussa was named senior vice president for advocacy and communications in 2005. In 2009, private fundraising was added to her portfolio. Under Mussa's energetic leadership, accomplishments include a thorough brand review, development of advocacy and government relations, launch of a capital campaign, as well as award-winning print and electronic media. Among her current areas of focus, Mussa is organizing an incubator project to develop new and innovative fundraising methods.

News Contact: Suzanne Thomas, sthomas@malone.edu or +1-330-471-8239

Marquette University

Hank Aaron, baseball Hall of Famer, will be Marquette University’s commencement speaker at this year’s spring ceremony. As part of the ceremony, Aaron will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. The 131st commencement ceremony will take place at the Bradley Center on Sunday, May 20.

Aaron played as an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers from 1954-1976, and holds many of baseball's most distinguished records. In 1976, he hit his 755th and final home run at Milwaukee County Stadium, having broken Babe Ruth’s home run record two years before. Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982 and was named the Atlanta Braves' vice president and director of player development, making him one of the first minority executives in Major League Baseball. In addition to Aaron’s contributions to baseball, he has worked on behalf of racial equality, civil rights and helping others through his Chasing the Dream Foundation, which helps underprivileged children.

News Contact: Kate Venne, kate.venne@marquette.edu or +1-414-288-4181

McDaniel College

McDaniel College will have two commencement speakers: 1) Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick, Maryland's first female state superintendent of schools, and 2) Dr. Edwin Welch, president of the University of Charleston in West Virginia and 1965 alumnus of McDaniel College. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 19, at the Gill Center. For more info: www.mcdaniel.edu/7986.htm

McDaniel College is located in Westminster, Md.

Bios: www.mcdaniel.edu/8011.htm

Website: www.mcdaniel.edu

News Contact: Cheryl Knauer, cknauer@mcdaniel.edu or +1-410-857-2294

Michigan Technological University

The university's commencement will take place on April 28, at the Student Development Complex in Houghton, Mich.

Martha Sullivan, 1985 alumna of Michigan Tech (B.S., mechanical engineering), is now president and chief operating officer of Sensata Technologies, a global technology company based in Attleboro, Mass. Sensata formerly comprised the sensors and controls division of Texas Instruments Inc. Sullivan is a member of Michigan Tech's Presidential Council of Alumnae, an honorary group of highly successful women graduates of the university who serve as advisers to the president. She is also a member of the Mechanical Engineering Honor Academy, the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Industrial Advisory Committee and the university's Capital Campaign Committee. She recently participated in an entrepreneurs' panel discussion for students, faculty and staff.

News Contact: John Gagnon, jggagnon@mtu.edu or +1-906-487-3509

 

Montgomery County Community College

Montgomery County Community College's commencement will take place on Thursday, May 17, at 7 p.m. EDT, at the college's Central Campus (340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422). The speaker will be Dr. William E. Trueheart, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream, Inc.

Trueheart participates in a number of national organizations and initiatives, including the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation National Advisory Committee for Completion by Design; the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Statistics Pathway Steering Committee; and the Gulf Coast Partner Achieving Student Success National Advisory Board; among others. Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is a national network of 150 institutions dedicated to improving student success and completion. Established in 2004 by the Lumina Foundation and its partners, Achieving the Dream is considered the most comprehensive non-governmental reform movement for student success in higher education history.

News Contact: Alana Mauger, amauger@mc3.edu or +1-215-641-6359

 

Northampton Community College (NCC)

The commencement ceremony will be held on May 24 at the Spartan Center at 3835 Green Pond Rd. in Bethlehem, Penn. The speaker is NCC's college president Dr. Arthur L. Scott, Ed.D., who will be retiring in June.

Scott has served NCC in a variety of positions, including director or records, director of admissions, dean of student services, chief negotiator for the board, vice president for student affairs, vice president for student and college services, vice president and provost. He became the college’s president in 2003.

During his tenure, NCC began construction on the new, full-service Monroe Campus; received recognition as a leader college in the Achieving the Dream initiative; earned designation as a “We the People” institution by the National Endowment for the Humanities; became one of the first colleges in the country named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor roll; and achieved a 49 percent increase in enrollment, including a three-fold increase in the number of minority students. Additionally, Scott initiated the Presidential Leadership Institute, to train future leaders; innovated a free-tuition program for laid-off employees; helped transform a former Bethlehem Steel office building into the Fowler Family Southside Center, an educational and cultural center serving more than 5,000 people a year; and worked to build a $30 million endowment fund, enabling NCC to offer more scholarship aid than any other community college in Pennsylvania.

News Contact: Myra Saturen, msaturen@northampton.edu or +1-610-332-6547

 

Quinnipiac University

The university's undergraduate commencement ceremonies will take place Sunday, May 20. The featured speakers will be Stephen Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of the financial services firm Blackstone; and Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. They will address the university’s approximately 1,400 graduating students and their families on the academic quad of the Mount Carmel Campus in Hamden, Conn.

-- Schwarzman began his career at Lehman Brothers and has more recently been involved in all phases of Blackstone’s development since its founding in 1985. He will address graduating students from the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Business at 10 a.m. EDT

-- Brinker has served as a U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and most recently served as U.S. Chief of Protocol. She will address graduating students from the schools of communications, health sciences and nursing at 3 p.m. EDT.

Receptions will follow each ceremony on the academic quad. Both ceremonies will be approximately equal in size. If severe weather prevents outdoor ceremonies, commencement will be held in the TD Bank Sports Center on the York Hill Campus. In that case, each graduate will be allotted four tickets to distribute to friends and family. Tickets will give those individuals access to the basketball arena. Guests without tickets will be directed to the High Point Solutions Arena at the sports center, where they will be able to view the ceremony on large screens.

News Contact: John W. Morgan, John.Morgan@quinnipiac.edu or +1-203-582-5359

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

Bill Nye, scientist and beloved TV personality, is the keynote speaker for RIT's 127th commencement celebration. His address comes during Academic Convocation, which begins at 3 p.m., May 25, in the Gordon Field House and Activities Center. The event serves as the kickoff to the university’s two-day commencement celebration. In addition to Nye’s address, RIT President Bill Destler will confer degrees on more than 3,500 RIT undergraduate and graduate students.

As a scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor, Nye has made it his mission to foster a scientifically literate society. By making science entertaining and accessible, he strives to help people understand and appreciate how science makes the world a better place. He first brought his crusade to the RIT campus in 2008 as a presenter for the Frank Horton Distinguished Speaker Series. Nye’s TV show, "Bill Nye the Science Guy," originally ran on public television from 1992 to 1998. Donning a white lab coat and aided by flashy video effects and his offbeat brand of comedy, Nye enthusiastically demonstrated science experiments while explaining their impact to his viewers. After graduating in 1977 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, Nye went to work in the Seattle area as an aeronautics engineer for Boeing before transitioning into a broadcasting and entertainment career. Today, Nye contributes to a variety of news programs as an all-purpose science expert and serves as director of the Planetary Society, the world’s largest nongovernmental space interest organization.

Website: www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/commencement

News Contact: Paul Stella, pbscom@rit.edu

 

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

The 134th commencement will take place on May 26, in Terre Haute, Ind. The address will be delivered by inventor and science advocate Dean Kamen.

Kamen, a world-famous inventor, innovator, entrepreneur and advocate for science and technology education, founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to introducing young minds to science and technology, in 1989. By 2011, it was serving more than 250,000 young people, ages 6-18, in more than 50 countries. As an inventor, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. While still a college undergraduate, he invented the first wearable infusion pump, which rapidly gained acceptance from such diverse medical specialties as chemotherapy, neonatology and endocrinology. In 1976, he founded his first medical device company, AutoSyringe, Inc., to manufacture and market the pumps. At age 30, he sold that company to Baxter Healthcare Corp. By then, he had added a number of other infusion devices, including the first wearable insulin pump for diabetics. Following the sale of AutoSyringe, Inc., Kamen founded DEKA Research & Development Corporation to develop internally generated inventions, as well as to provide research and development for major corporate clients. Kamen has received many awards for his efforts. Notably, he was awarded the 2000 National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton in recognition for inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide, and for innovative and imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science and technology. Kamen was also awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.

Website: www.rose-hulman.edu

News Contact: Dale Long, longd@rose-hulman.edu or +1-812-877-8418

 

Saint Joseph’s University

The university's 2012 commencement ceremonies are set for Saturday, May 12. The graduate, doctoral and College of Professional and Liberal Studies ceremony will begin at 9 a.m., and the undergraduate ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. Both ceremonies will be held on the University’s Maguire Campus. Gregory J. Boyle, founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries of Los Angeles, will speak at the graduate, doctoral and College of Professional and Liberal Studies ceremony. James J. Martin, author and culture editor of America, the national Catholic, Jesuit magazine, will speak at the undergraduate ceremony.

-- Boyle is founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries of Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the nation. He will receive a doctor of public service. Through Homeboy Industries, he has been an advocate for at-risk and gang-involved youth in Los Angeles and around the world for more than 25 years. The organization’s nonprofit economic development enterprises include numerous successful businesses. Boyle’s first book, "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion" (2010), received the 2010 Southern California Indie Booksellers Association Non-Fiction Book Award, was named one of the Best Books of 2010 by Publishers Weekly, and is the PEN USA 2011 Best Creative Nonfiction Book of the Year.

-- Martin is author and culture editor of America, the national Catholic, Jesuit magazine. He will receive a doctor of humane letters. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in 1982, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in finance. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1988, after working for six years in corporate finance and human resources for General Electric Co. From 1990-92, he studied philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. He received a master’s degree in divinity and a master’s in theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1999.

For more information on both of the university's speakers, see here: bit.ly/HQkseJ

News Contact: Harriet K. Goodheart, hgoodhea@sju.edu or +1-610-660-1532

Saint Mary's College of California
An expected 500 students will receive their diplomas at the undergraduate commencement on Saturday, May 19, at 9:30 a.m. at SMC Stadium. An estimated 400 students will receive diplomas the following Sunday, May 20, at 4 p.m. at the graduate and professional programs commencement also at SMC Stadium. The stadium is on the campus of Saint Mary's, which is located at 1928 St. Mary's Road, Moraga, CA 94556.
-- Tom Meschery, '61, Bay Area basketball legend, poet, educator and Saint Mary’s alumnus, will deliver the commencement address for the college’s undergraduates. Bio: bit.ly/HNWTlt
-- Jim Fruchterman, a former rocket scientist and CEO and founder of the innovative nonprofit Benetech, which uses technology to address social needs, will offer the commencement address to Saint Mary’s graduate students. Bio: bit.ly/HCrYHx
News Contact: Michael McAlpin, mdm5@stmarys-ca.edu or +1-925-631-4222

Saint Vincent College

Commencement will take place on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m., at the Robert S. Carey Student Center on the campus of Saint Vincent College (US Route 30 East, Latrobe, PA 15650-2690). The speaker will be Richard Frechette, C.P., D.O.

Frechette is a priest, physician and missionary who is the director of medical services at Muestros Pequenos Hemanos in Haiti, where he has served thousands of impoverished children and orphans for more than three decades.

News Contact: Don Orlando, don.orlando@email.stvincent.edu or +1-724-805-2010

Savannah College of Art and Design

Robert S. Jepson Jr., nationally recognized and respected for his business acumen, civic leadership and commitment to the arts and education, will address the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) graduating class of 2012 at commencement ceremonies in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., Saturday, June 2. Jepson will speak to graduates at SCAD’s 32nd Savannah commencement ceremony at 9 a.m., at the Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave. He will then address the graduates at SCAD Atlanta’s sixth commencement ceremony at 6 p.m., at the Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. N.W.

-- Jepson is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Jepson Inc., a private investment company located in Savannah. He formerly served as chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange-traded manufacturing company Kuhlman Corporation from 1993 until its sale in 1999. Prior to that, Jepson founded and was chairman and CEO of the Jepson Corp., which he grew into a Fortune 500, NYSE-traded company before its sale in 1989. He has served on the boards of a number of other companies, including Dominion Resources Inc., AGL Resources Inc., Circuit City Stores Inc., and Washington Water Power Company. Jepson earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business and commerce from the University of Richmond, where he helped found the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

-- Academy and Emmy Award-nominated actor James Cromwell, known his roles in “24,” “L.A. Confidential,” “Babe” and, most recently, “The Artist,” will be honored with an honorary doctorate at the university’s Savannah ceremony.

-- Philanthropist Alice Jepson, known throughout the Southeast for her work on art and education initiatives, will also receive an honorary doctorate at the Savannah event.

Website: www.scad.edu

News Contact: Sunny Nelson, snelson@scad.edu or +1-912-525-5225

Sonoma State University

The 2012 commencement, the university's 50th, will take place on Saturday, May 12, at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Rohnert Park, Calif. Dr. Marc Lamont Hill will be the speaker.

Hill is one of the leading hip-hop generation intellectuals in the country. His work, which covers topics such as culture, politics and education, has appeared in numerous journals, magazines, books and anthologies. Hill has lectured widely and provides regular commentary for media outlets like NPR, The Washington Post, Essence Magazine and The New York Times. He is the host of the nationally syndicated television show "Our World With Black Enterprise." Trained as an anthropologist of education, Hill holds a Ph.D. (with distinction) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is particularly interested in locating various sites of possibility for political resistance, identity work and knowledge production outside of formal schooling contexts. Particular sites of inquiry include prisons, black bookstores and youth cultural production. Since 2009, Hill has been on the faculty of Columbia University as associate professor of education at Teachers College. He also holds an affiliated faculty appointment in African-American studies at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.

Website: www.sonoma.edu/commencement

News Contact: Jean Wasp, wasp@sonoma.edu or +1-707-664-2057

Southwestern University

Teresa A. Sullivan, president of the University of Virginia, will give the commencement address at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. The ceremony will be held Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. in the Corbin J. Robertson Center.

News Contact: Ellen Davis, davise@southwestern.edu or +1-512-863-1570

 

St. Lawrence University

Students, faculty, staff and guests at the commencement ceremony in Canton, N.Y., will hear remarks from "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau and Skidmore College dance professor Mary DiSanto-Rose '75 on Sunday, May 20, at 10 a.m. on Creasy Commencement Commons. Both will be awarded honorary degrees at the ceremony. Indian Lake, N.Y., Spanish teacher Martha Swan, founder of the organization John Brown Lives!, will be awarded the North Country Citation, which is awarded annually to an individual or group from the region who, through professional and volunteer endeavors, has improved the quality of life in the North Country.

-- Trudeau launched the "Doonesbury" comic strip in 1970, and it now appears in nearly 1,500 newspapers in the United States and abroad, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. In 1975, Trudeau became the first comic-strip artist to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Since then, he's been a finalist three times, including this year for his strips concerning the war in Iraq.

-- DiSanto-Rose joined the faculty at Skidmore in 1981 and serves on numerous New York state and independent dance and dance-education groups. She performs as a guest artist with the Isadora Duncan International Institute Dancers of New York City and has restaged a number of classic modern dance works.

-- Swan founded John Brown Lives! in 1999 "to engage Adirondack communities in the freedom history of their region and to promote social justice and human rights." The organization is the recent recipient of a New York State Council on the Humanities Major Grant supporting public programs on historic and contemporary slavery.

The university annually awards the North Country Citation

News Contact: Macreena Doyle, mdoyle@stlawu.edu or +1-315-229-5587

Syracuse University

The commencement will take place on Sunday, May 13, in the Carrier Dome.

Aaron Sorkin, an award-winning screenwriter, producer and playwright, will be the university's 2012 commencement speaker. He was the screenwriter for films such as “A Few Good Men,” "The American President,” “The Social Network” and “Moneyball,” as well as TV shows including “Sports Night,” “The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and HBO’s upcoming drama “The Newsroom." For more information, see here: bit.ly/IXO3k4

News Contact: Sara Miller, semortim@syr.edu or +1-315-443-9038

 

Thunderbird School of Global Management

Robert F. Moran, chairman and CEO of PetSmart, Inc., will speak at the Thunderbird School of Global Management spring commencement, to be held April 27, on the campus in Phoenix.

Moran has been a director of PetSmart since June 2009. He joined PetSmart in July 1999, as president of North American stores. In December 2001, he was appointed president and chief operating officer, and in June 2009, he was named president and chief executive officer. Moran came to PetSmart from Toys R Us, Ltd., Canada, where he was president. In January 2012, he was appointed chairman of the board. For more information, see here: bit.ly/IA3IdC

News Contact: Samantha M. Novick, samantha.novick@thunderbird.edu or +1-602-978-7922

 

Touro University Worldwide

The graduation/commencement for Touro University Worldwide (TUW) will take place on Sunday, June 3, at the Four Seasons Hotel (2 Dole Drive, Westlake Village, CA 91362). Dr. Bernard Luskin, senior provost and chief executive of TUW, will speak at the ceremony.

Luskin has successfully bridged education and entertainment, and has blended careers in both education and corporate life. He is a licensed psychotherapist, with degrees in business and a UCLA doctorate in education, psychology and technology. Luskin has been president and CEO of divisions of major Fortune 50 and 500 companies, including Philips Interactive Media, PolyGram New Media, Philips Education and Reference Publishing, Jones International, Mind Extension University, and Knowledge TV. He has authored and produced best-selling economics, technology and education books; television series; and CDs. He is credited in working with Paramount Studios in putting the first 50 movies on CD in MPEG format, leading to the DVD format. While president of Philips Interactive Media, the company made breakthroughs in many areas in CD and media communications. This included the first Sesame Street CD; Grolier’s and Compton’s Encyclopedias; golf, art, children’s and reference CDs; games; and the first interactive movie on CD, titled "Voyer," starring Robert Culp. Prior to TUW, Luskin was executive vice president, professor and director of the media psychology program at Fielding Graduate University, and is now pioneering and launching the first Ph.D. program applying psychology to media.

News Contact: Ufuoma Otu, uotu@macstrategies.com or +1-202-449-9804

 

UCLA School of Nursing

Patricia Grady, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, is director of the National Institute for Nursing Research. She will be the commencement speaker for the UCLA School of Nursing on June 16.

Grady was appointed director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) on April 3, 1995. An internationally recognized researcher, Grady's scientific focus has primarily been in strokes, with an emphasis on arterial stenosis and cerebral ischemia. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1999, and is a member of several scientific organizations, including the Society for Neuroscience, the American Academy of Nursing, and the American Neurological Association. She is also a Fellow of the American Heart Association Stroke Council. In 1988, Grady joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an extramural research program administrator in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in the areas of stroke and brain imaging. Two years later, she served on the NIH Task Force for Medical Rehabilitation Research, which established the first long-range research agenda for the field of medical rehabilitation research. In 1992, she assumed the responsibilities of NINDS assistant director. From 1993 to 1995, she was deputy director and acting director of NINDS. Grady served as a charter member of the NIH Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center Board of Governors. Grady has been recognized with several prestigious honors and awards for her leadership and scientific accomplishments, including the first award of the Centennial Achievement Medal from Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Sciences, being named the inaugural Rozella M. Schlotfeld distinguished lecturer at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, and receiving the honorary degree of doctor of public service from the University of Maryland. Grady is a past recipient of the NIH Merit Award and received the Public Health Service Superior Service Award for her exceptional leadership.

News Contact: Laura Perry, lperry@sonnet.ucla.edu or +1-310-794-4022

 

University of California, Riverside

Commencement ceremonies for the University of California, Riverside (UCR) will take place Friday, June 15, through Monday, June 18.

-- School of Business Administration/A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management: June 15, at 5 p.m. The speaker is Ruben Barrales, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Barrales has an extensive background in government and private industry, with experience as an elected official and as an advocate for business. He served for five years in the White House as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush, where he was the president's liaison to state and local elected officials. Prior to joining the president's staff, Barrales became the first Latino elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1992 and was re-elected as board president in 1996. In 2005, he received the Ohtli Award from the government of Mexico for his commitment to improving the well-being of Hispanics in the United States. Barrales graduated from UC Riverside in 1994 with a B.A. in political science and administrative studies.

-- College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (Group 1: Psychology, Sociology, Religious Studies and Women's Studies): June 16, at 8 a.m. The speaker is Charles E. Young, chancellor emeritus, UCLA. Young is chancellor emeritus, and professor of political science and public policy at the. He was UCLA chancellor from 1968 to 1997, and president of the University of Florida from 1999 to 2004. In recent years, he has served as CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and as president of the Qatar Foundation. He is a former chairman of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and has served on numerous educational commissions and corporate boards of directors, including semiconductor giant Intel. Young received a B.A. with honors in political science from UCR in 1955, and was UCR’s first student-body president. He earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from UCLA.

-- College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (Group 2: Art, Art History, Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages, Creative Writing, Dance, English, Ethnic Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Hispanic Studies, Interdisciplinary Programs and Liberal Studies, Music and Theatre): June 16, at 5 p.m. The speaker is Chris Abani, professor of creative writing, UCR. Abani holds a B.A. in English (Nigeria), an M.A .in gender and culture (Birkbeck College, University of London), an M.A. in English, and a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing (University of Southern California). He is a professor at UCR, in the Department of Creative Writing, and is the recipient of the PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, the Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond the Margins Award, the PEN Hemingway Book Prize, and a Guggenheim Award.

-- College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (Group 3: Anthropology, Economics, History, Philosophy and Political Science): June 17, at 8 a.m. The speaker is Goodwin Liu, associate justice, California Supreme Court. Liu is an associate justice of the California Supreme Court. He was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the California Commission on Judicial Appointments on Aug. 31, 2011, following his appointment by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on July 26, 2011. The governor administered the oath of office to Liu in a public ceremony in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 1, 2011. Before joining the state’s highest court, Liu was a professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). His areas of expertise are constitutional law, education law and policy, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has published widely on these subjects in books, law reviews and the general media.

-- College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and Division of Biomedical Sciences: June 17, at 5 p.m. The speaker is Naomi Oreskes, professor of history and science studies, University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego); and adjunct professor of geosciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Oreskes is professor of history and science studies at UC San Diego; adjunct professor of geosciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and an internationally renowned historian of science. She received her B.S. with first-class honors from Imperial College London; worked as an exploration geologist in the Australian outback; and then returned to the United States to receive a Ph.D. in geological research and history of science from Stanford University. Among her many awards and honors is being named the 2011 Climate Change Communicator of the Year. Her book “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco to Global Warming” received the 2011 Watson-David Prize from the History of Science Society.

-- Graduate School of Education: June 18, at 9 a.m. The speaker is Doreen Granpeesheh, founder and executive director, Center for Autism and Related Disorders. The center is known internationally for its work in autism research and treatment. It currently provides services via 18 clinics in California, Illinois, Virginia, New York, Texas, Arizona, Australia and New Zealand, and partnerships in Dubai and Johannesburg. She began studying autism as an undergraduate at UCLA, where she also earned a Ph.D. in 1990. While there she worked on a groundbreaking study that showed a recovery rate of close to 50 percent among participants who received early, intensive applied-behavior analysis treatment. She is a licensed psychologist in California, Texas and Arizona, as well as a board-certified behavior analyst. She won the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists Winokur Award in 2011.

-- Bourns College of Engineering: June 18, at 5 p.m. The speaker is Tony Hey, corporate vice president, Microsoft Research Connections. Hey is responsible for the worldwide external research and technical computing strategy across Microsoft Corp. Before joining Microsoft, he served as director of the U.K.'s e-Science Initiative, managing the government's efforts to provide scientists and researchers with access to key computing technologies. His research interests focus on parallel programming for parallel systems built from mainstream commodity components. He is a co-writer of the first draft of a specification for a new message-passing standard called MPI. This initiated the process that led to the successful MPI standard of today. Hey is a graduate of Oxford University, with an undergraduate degree in physics and a doctorate in theoretical physics.

News Contact: Kris Lovekin, kris.lovekin@ucr.edu or +1-951-827-2495

 

University of San Diego (USD)

All ceremonies will take place at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls some 7,800 undergraduate and graduate students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service.

-- College of Arts and Science: May 27 at 9 a.m. The speaker is Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. Drayton has pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, growing a global association of nearly 3,000 leading social entrepreneurs who work together to create an "everyone is a change-maker" world. Drayton has been a social entrepreneur since an early age. During his years as an undergraduate at Harvard and a law student at Yale, he launched a number of organizations, including Yale Legislative Services and Harvard’s Ashoka Table, an interdisciplinary weekly forum in the social sciences. From 1977 to 1981, Drayton served as assistant administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he launched emissions trading (the basis of the Kyoto Protocol) and other reforms. In 1981, he founded both Ashoka. With the support he received when elected a MacArthur Fellow in 1984, he was able to devote himself fully to Ashoka. In addition to his current role as chairman and CEO of Ashoka, he is the chair of Youth Venture, Community Greens, and Get America Working!

 -- School of Business Administration: May 27 at 2 p.m. The speaker is Albert "Al" P. Carey, CEO of PepsiCo America Beverages, a unit of PepsiCo. PepsiCo owns the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines, each of which generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo employs nearly 300,000 people worldwide. Carey is responsible for overseeing all aspects of PepsiCo’s beverage business across North, South and Central America. He joined PepsiCo in 1981, and has served in a variety of positions.

-- Graduate Schools of Business, Education, Nursing and Peace Studies: May 26 at 1 p.m. The speaker is Carolyn Y. Woo, Ph.D., president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Catholic bishops of the United States to serve survivors of World War II in Europe, CRS has become one of the world’s largest and most respected international relief and development agencies, reaching more than 100 people in nearly 100 countries each year. Before coming to CRS in January of 2012, Woo served from 1997 to 2011 as dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. During her tenure, the Mendoza College was frequently recognized as the nation’s leading business school in ethics education and research, and received top ranking in 2010 and 2011 for its undergraduate business program from Bloomberg Businessweek magazine.

 -- Law School: May 12 at 9 a.m. The speaker is Congressman Dave Camp. Camp represents the people of the 4th Congressional District of Michigan, which comprises portions of the state’s central and northern regions. He is also chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Albion College in 1975 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego in 1978. As head of the Committee on Ways and Means, Camp is helping to set the nation’s economic, health care and social welfare policies. His committee has sole jurisdiction over tax policy and oversees tariff and trade laws, Medicare, Social Security and welfare, and unemployment programs.

News Contact: Liz Harman, Harman@sandiego.edu or +1-619 260-4682

 

University of Southern California (USC)

USC's 129th annual commencement will occur at 9 a.m. on May 11 in Alumni Park, at the heart of USC's University Park Campus across Trousdale Parkway from Bovard Auditorium. Degree candidates, Half-Century Trojans, faculty and distinguished guests will form a processional leaving Bovard Auditorium at 8:30 a.m., with the main ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. The event will feature an address by Christiane Amanpour, global affairs anchor at ABC News and chief international correspondent for CNN International. USC is located in Los Angeles.

News Contact: Robert Perkins, perkinsr@usc.edu or +1-213-740-2215

 

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)

The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 2, in Galveston, Texas.

Dr. Jennifer Arnold, medical director of the Pediatric Simulation Center at Texas Children’s Hospital, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and star of TLC’s “The Little Couple," will be this year's keynote speaker.

A neonatologist and compassionate caregiver, Arnold helps critically ill babies and their families through some of life’s most challenging times. She champions health care simulation as a means of improving patient safety and has lectured nationally and internationally on this rapidly growing field. Arnold has contributed greatly to prenatal-care education, and has been honored for her creative, scholarly work with the Ray E. Helfer Award for innovation in medical education from the Academic Pediatric Association. Her numerous accolades also include the Compassionate Doctor Recognition in 2010 and 2011; and the Patients' Choice Award for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 from Vitals.com.

News Contact: Brianne G. O'Donnell, brianne.odonnell@gabbe.com or +1-212-220-4444

 

Washington University in St. Louis

The university's 151st commencement will take place on May 18, at 8:30 a.m. in Brookings Quadrangle on the Danforth Campus. Alumnus Mike Peters, the 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial cartooning and creator of the award-winning cartoon strip "Mother Goose & Grimm," will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the university. The other honorary degree recipients and their degrees are: David M. Becker, C. Ronald Kahn, Richard J. Mahoney, Gloria M. Steinem and Donald M. Suggs.

Peters, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from WUSTL in 1965, is recognized as one of the country’s most prominent cartoon artists for his outstanding work as both a political and comic-strip cartoonist. His editorial cartoons appear in more than 400 newspapers and publications worldwide. "Mother Goose and Grimm," the comic strip he created in 1984, now appears in more than 800 newspapers worldwide, and is consistently placed in the top 10 most popular comic-strip ratings. In 1981, Peters received a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

Website: bit.ly/ILpCXi

News Contact: Susan Killenberg McGinn, smcginn@wustl.edu or +1-314-935-5254

 

Webster University

Anne W. Patterson, U.S. ambassador to Egypt, will deliver the Webster University commencement address on May 12, and will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the ceremony. The commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. CDT, at the Muny in Forest Park.

An American diplomat and career minister in the U.S. Foreign Service, Patterson was appointed to her current position on June 30, 2011. She previously served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan from July 2007 to October 2010, and as acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2005. Prior to her assignment to Pakistan, Patterson served as the assistant secretary of state for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. She has also served as ambassador to Colombia and El Salvador. Patterson’s numerous awards include the State Department’s Superior Honor award in 1981 and 1988; its Meritorious Honor award in 1977 and 1983; and a Presidential Honor award in 1993. She also received the Order of the Congress from the Congress of Colombia, and the Order of Boyaca from the government of Colombia. Patterson was also recognized by the government of El Salvador with the Order of Jose Matias Delgado.

News Contact: Susan Kerth, susankerth14@webster.edu or +1-314-246-8232

 

Western Connecticut State University

The graduate commencement will take place on Friday, May 11, at 7 p.m., in the Feldman Arena at the William A. O’Neill Athletic and Convocation Center on the Westside campus. The speaker is Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.

The undergraduate commencement will be held on Sunday, May 13, at 10:30 a.m. at the Athletic Stadium on the Westside campus. The speaker is Ronald Bruder, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and founder of Education For Employment (EFE) Network.

Western Connecticut State University is located in Danbury.

Website: www.wcsu.edu

News Contacts: Sherri Hill and Paul Steinmetz, pr@wcsu.edu or +1-203-837-8486

 

Westminster College

Bruce Bastian, co-founder of WordPerfect and head of the B.W. Bastian Foundation, will deliver the commencement address at the college’s commencement ceremony on June 2, at 1:45 p.m. MDT, at the Maverik Center at 3200 South Decker Lake Dr. (2200 W.) in West Valley. At the commencement, Bastian will also be presented an honorary degree.

As a social activist, Bastian is involved in local and national service projects and has established his own charitable foundation, the B. W. Bastian Foundation, which supports organizations that embrace the principle of equality. The Bastian Foundation is committed to supporting programs and organizations that benefit, encourage and preserve the rights of individuals, and promote equality for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community.

Bio: bit.ly/HNkS6W

News Contact: Arikka Von, avon@westminstercollege.edu or +1-801-832-2682

 

William Peace University

Burley Mitchell will serve as the 2012 commencement speaker for William Peace University, a private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, May 5.

Formerly chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mitchell served as an assistant attorney general of North Carolina from 1969 to 1972, and a district attorney from 1972 to 1977. A judge on more than 400 decisions, Mitchell has ruled on numerous landmark cases such as Leandro v. State of North Carolina, which argued the issue of equal educational opportunities without bias for all children within the state of North Carolina. Now retired, Mitchell continues to dedicate his time to serving the North Carolina community, through his seat on the board of trustees for North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors, and as a chairman of the advisory panel on federal judicial nominees for U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. His wife, Lou Willett Mitchell, is an active university alumna from the graduating class of 1962, and the couple co-chaired the largest fundraising campaign in the college's history -- the $30 million Promise of Peace Campaign. His mother and grandmother both attended the university as well.

News Contact: Jennifer Fair, jennifer@mmipublicrelations.com or +1-919-233-6600

 

Wofford College

The commencement will take place on Sunday, May 20, at 9:30 a.m. EDT, at the lawn of Main Building on the campus in Spartanburg, S.C. In case of rain, the location will be changed to Benjamin Johnson Arena on campus. By tradition, the commencement speaker at Wofford College will be the president of the college, Dr. Benjamin B. Dunlap.

Dunlap is an intellectual and inspirational speaker who gave a 2007 TED Talk on "The Passionate Life of Sandor Teszler" (bit.ly/IjgA4h), which has had more than 595,499 views on the TED website. A frequent moderator for the Aspen Institute’s Executive and C.E.O. Seminars, as well as its Henry Crown Fellowship and such affiliated programs as the Executive Seminar Asia, the Wye Faculty Seminar, the Aspen-Rodel Fellowship, the Africa Leadership Initiative, the Central European Leadership Initiative, and the Liberty Fellowship of South Carolina. Dunlap has also designed and moderated seminars in Europe, Africa and the United States for corporate clients as varied as Netflix Inc., Young & Rubicam, the Waters Global Forum, the NOVA Chemicals Corp., and the Arab Banking Corp.

News Contact: Laura Corbin, Laura.corbin@wofford.edu or +1-864-597-4180

 

Yale School of Public Health

The commencement is on Monday, May 21, featuring Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s founder and CEO, Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker. The ceremony will be held at Battell Chapel, located on the corner of Elm and College Streets (65 Grove Street).

Regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement, Brinker’s journey began with a simple promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything possible to end the shame, pain, fear and hopelessness caused by this disease. Brinker’s determination to create a world without breast cancer is matched by her passion for enlisting every segment of society -- from leaders to citizens -- to participate in the battle. In 2009, President Barack Obama honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for this work. The same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations’ World Health Organization, where she continues her mission to put cancer control at the top of the world health agenda. For more info: bit.ly/IZ00JT

Bio: ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/NancyBrinker.html

News Contact: Kara Hughett, Kara.Hughett@morris-king.com or +1-212-561-7424

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With the 2012 commencement season approaching, we compiled the following list of speakers who will be addressing graduates at 62 universities and colleges that are part of the ProfNet network:

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

On Saturday, May 12, Kerry Kennedy will speak at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences' commencement. Kennedy is the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights.

News Contact: Gil Chorbajian, gil.chorbajian@acphs.edu or +1-518-694-7394

Alma College

Sen. Debbie Stabenow

Stabenow will deliver the 2012 Alma College commencement address. She will also receive an honorary doctor of laws degree during the ceremony for approximately 320 graduation candidates. Commencement takes place at 2 p.m. EDT, Saturday, April 21, in the Hogan Center, Art Smith Arena, on the Alma College campus in Alma, Mich. A leading voice in Congress on issues related to jobs, manufacturing, agriculture, energy and the environment, Stabenow holds membership on several important congressional committees. She is chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and serves on the Finance, Energy and Budget committees.

News Contact: Mike Silverthorn, silverthorn@alma.edu or +1-989-506-3728

 

American University

Dedicated public servants from the White House, Smithsonian and United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and the CEOs from The Associated Press and Calvert Investments will address American University’s graduates at the 126th commencement ceremonies on May 12 and 13, followed by the law school ceremony on May 20. It is a longstanding tradition for American University to hold graduation ceremonies on Mother’s Day weekend. The university will confer degrees on more than 3,500 undergraduate, graduate and law school students. All ceremonies will be held in American University's Bender Arena located at 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C. 

-- School of Communication: May 12 at 9 a.m. The speaker is The Associated Press president and CEO Tom Curley. As leader of The Associated Press since 2003, Curley has moved to capture the growing audience for digital and video news in a rapidly changing media world. He will address students who are launching their careers in an expanding digital environment. Curley will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

-- Kogod School of Business: May 12 at 1 p.m. The speaker is Calvert Investments Inc. CEO Barbara J. Krumsiek, an advocate for issues relating to the advancement of women and corporate social responsibility. This year, she is leading the discourse within the global investment community on the links between sustainability and financial performance. As Kogod launches its master of science in sustainability management this fall, Krumsiek’s advice will resonate with graduating students seeking careers in today’s global marketplace. Krumsiek will receive an honorary doctorate of laws.

-- School of International Service: May 12 at 4:30 p.m. The speaker is Dr. Rajiv Shah, the administrator for the USAID. As administrator, he has led President Obama’s Feed the Future food-security initiative, and has managed "USAID Forward," which focuses on reforms to USAID’s business model, including procurement, science and technology, and monitoring and evaluation. Shah, a medical doctor, will receive an honorary doctor of international affairs.

-- School of Public Affairs: May 13 at 9 a.m. The speaker is Erskine B. Bowles, who has a lifelong commitment to public service and to promoting economic growth in his home state of North Carolina. He will be of interest to the future politicians, campaign staffers and policy wonks graduating. His career has spanned both education and politics as the former president of the University of North Carolina system, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, former director of the Small Business Administration and most recently co-chair of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. He will receive an honorary doctor of public service.

-- College of Arts and Sciences: May 13 at 1 p.m. The speaker is Wayne Clough, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Guided by a new strategic plan and using new technology, the Smithsonian is expanding access to its collections and experts to spark discovery and excite the learning in everyone, no matter where they live. Work continues on four grand challenges: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, Valuing World Cultures, and Understanding the American Experience -- much in the same way that American University’s students have emphasized the arts and sciences in their studies in order to connect them to the larger issues of contemporary society. Clough will receive an honorary doctor of public service.

-- Washington College of Law: May 20. The speaker is Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Jarrett has held positions in both the public and private sector, including the chairman of the Chicago Transit Board; commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago and deputy chief of staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley. Jarrett will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Website: bit.ly/HKDRey

News Contact for May 12 and 13 ceremonies: Maralee Csellar, csellar@american.edu or +1-202-885-5952

News Contact for May 20 ceremony: Franki Fitterer, +1-202-274-4279

 

Ashland University

The commencement ceremony will take place on May 5 in Miller Stadium at the Dwight Schar Athletic Complex on campus. The speaker is Arie Lipsky, conductor of the Ashland (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra, and music director and conductor of the Ann Arbor (Michigan) Symphony.

Website: www.ashland.edu

Twitter: @ashlandunivnews

News Contact: Steve Hannan, shannan@ashland.edu or +1-419-289-5007

 

Assumption College

The 95th commencement ceremony will be held Saturday, May 12, at 500 Salisbury Street in Worcester, Mass. The speaker is Brian Kelly '83, head football coach of the University of Notre Dame. As of April 11, there will be 698 expected graduates (includes undergraduate, graduate and continuing education) and 698 degrees awarded. Honorary degree recipients: Brian Kelly; Worcester Bishop Robert McManus; YOU Inc. president and CEO Maurice "Moe" Boisvert '66; and James Welu, director emeritus of Worcester Art Museum.

A 1983 graduate of Assumption College, Kelly is a veteran of 21 seasons as a head football coach in the collegiate setting. He is heading into his third season as the head football coach at Notre Dame, the 29th in their storied history, and he has guided the Fighting Irish to 16 wins and two bowl games over the last two seasons. Kelly became the first Notre Dame head coach to win a bowl game in his first season with the Fighting Irish. Currently the fifth-winningest active coach in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), his 110 victories as head coach since 2001 are more than all but two active FBS head coaches (Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Mack Brown of Texas).

Website: www.assumption.edu

News Contact: Lorraine U. Martinelle, Lu.martinelle@assumption.edu or +1-508-767-7173

 

Babson College

The commencement is Saturday, May 19. The undergraduate ceremony is at 10 a.m. and the graduate ceremony is at 2:30 p.m.

-- Maria Eitel, founding CEO and president of Nike Foundation, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at the undergraduate ceremony. The focus will be on opportunities for girls.

-- Reid Hoffman, co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, and partner at Greylock, will receive an honorary doctor of laws during the MBA event. Hoffman is the author of "The Start-Up of You."

Eitel and Hoffman will speak at both ceremonies. Babson College is located in Wellesley, Mass.

Bios: bit.ly/HRFW98

News Contact: Nancy Sullivan, sullivann@babson.edu or +1-781-239-4623 and Michael Chmura, mchmura@babson.edu or +1-781-239-4549

 

Becker College

Commencement will take place on Monday, May 14, at 11 a.m. EDT, at Hanover Theater in downtown Worcester, Mass. Dom Sagolla, one of the pioneering users of Twitter, will deliver the commencement speech.

Sagolla has helped to challenge and expand the capabilities of Twitter, a platform that has factored prominently in dramatic and world-changing events. He was recently awarded the first International Genius travel grant by the City of Amsterdam and the Appsterdam Foundation, in recognition of his career and his contributions to the advancement of technology. As author of the groundbreaking "140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form," Sagolla produced the first writing-style guide specifically dedicated to communicating with the succinctness and clarity for the Internet age. The book deals with the deluge of information in social media and how to command an audience using one’s unique voice. A software engineer in Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom, Sagolla has been in research and development at HP Laboratories, the MIT Media Lab, and Adobe Systems. He helped build Macromedia Studio, Odeo Studio, the original Twitter, and Adobe Creative Suite. He now produces iPhone apps with his company DollarApp in San Francisco. His successes include the official Obama ’08 iPhone app, as well as two iTunes Staff Favorites: "Big Words" and "Math Cards." He is also co-founder and host of iPhoneDevCamp, an international not-for-profit developer community.

News Contact: Andrea Schneider, definitionpr@gmail.com or +1-917-769-6060

Bucknell University

The university's 162nd commencement will take place on Sunday, May 20, at 10 a.m. EDT. Anna Quindlen, an award-winning columnist, celebrated journalist and best-selling author, will deliver the commencement address.

Quindlen is the first author ever to have fiction, nonfiction and self-help books appear on The New York Times best-seller lists. Prior to her career as an author, she was an award-winning journalist at some of the country's most influential publications. Quindlen got her start at the age of 18 as a copy editor at The New York Post. Soon she was reporting for The New York Times, where she became just the third woman to write for the paper's renowned Op-Ed page. Quindlen was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her column, "Public and Private." She went on to write "The Last Word," a weekly feature for Newsweek. She retired the column in 2009, though she continues to write for the magazine. Quindlen's career as an author took shape in the early 1990s. Her best-selling novel, "One True Thing," was made into a film starring Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger. Her best-sellers "Blessings" and "Black and Blue" were both made into TV movies. "Rise and Shine" debuted on The New York Times best-seller list at No. 1, and "Good Dog. Stay." was a New York Times best-selling book about her beloved black Labrador, Beau. "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" has sold more than 1 million copies, and her 2010 novel, "Every Last One," was also a New York Times best-seller. She has also penned two children's books.

Website: www.bucknell.edu/Commencement

News Contact: Andy Hirsch, andy.hirsch@bucknell.edu or +1-570-577-3698

 

California College of the Arts

The commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 12 at 620 7th Street in San Francisco. The speaker is Bill Moggridge, founder of the global design firm IDEO, designer of the first laptop computer and the first design practitioner to head up the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in its 115-year history. He will be the 105th commencement speaker, and recognized with an honorary doctorate.

News Contacts: Brenda Tucker, btucker@cca.edu or Allison Byers, abyers@cca.edu

Case Western Reserve University

Paul Buchheit, a Case Western Reserve University alumnus and creator of Gmail, will speak to 1,750 students who grew up using the technology he created when he delivers the 2012 commencement address on Sunday, May 20, in Veale Convocation Center, 2128 Adelbert Road on the Case Western Reserve University campus.

Buchheit, a partner at the venture capital firm Y Combinator, was one of the first engineers at Google, where he suggested the company’s famous “Don’t Be Evil” motto and created the first AdSense prototype. After graduating from Case Western Reserve in 1998 with a degree in computer engineering, Buchheit spent a year at Intel Corp. before becoming Google's 23rd employee in 1999. His free email service Gmail launched in 2004 and now boasts more than 350 million registered users. He retired from Google in 2006 and the following year founded FriendFeed. The service allows users to share information like links, photos and messages online and was acquired by Facebook in 2009. Buchheit joined Y Combinator in 2010. Founded in 2005, the firm provides funding, advice and networking opportunities to promising startups.

Website: case.edu/commencement

News Contact: Susan Griffith, susan.griffith@case.edu or +1-216-368-1004

Chestnut Hill College

The 85th commencement will take place on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m., at an outdoor ceremony on the college's campus. Broadcast pioneer Dave Roberts will deliver the 85th commencement address.

Roberts was the weatherman for WPVI-TV in Philadelphia from 1993 until his retirement in 2009, and also co-hosted numerous live events televised on WPVI, including the Independence Day July Fourth Celebration, the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Philadelphia Flower Show. A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Roberts appeared in Brian DePalma's "Blow Out" with actor John Travolta, and made guest appearances on the soap opera “All My Children,” **** Clark’s “Inside America” and “Thirty-Something.” He has been named to Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneer's Hall of Fame and the Buffalo New York Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and was named “Person of the Year” by the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Association for the new millennium. An honorary doctor of laws degree will be awarded to Roberts for his outstanding community service work supporting local charities that include the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Lupus Foundation, and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Roberts has also hosted the Jerry Lewis Telethon on WPVI Channel 6 in Philadelphia.

News Contact: Lisa Mixon, mixonl@chc.edu or +1-215-753-3664

 

Claremont Graduate University

Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, will give the commencement speech for Claremont Graduate University on May 12, at Mudd Quad, 800 N. Dartmouth Ave, Claremont, Calif.

Named by Fast Company magazine as one of "The Most Influential Women in Technology," Whitney has been a leader in broadening the participation of women in the growing digital economy and in increasing the positive impact of technology on the world's women. You can see the announcement about the commencement address here: bit.ly/ILFdJI

News Contact: Rod Leveque, rod.leveque@cgu.edu +1-909-621-8396

College of the Atlantic (COA)

Commencement will take place on Saturday, June 2, at 2 p.m., at Bar Harbor, Maine. Robert Krulwich, co-host of "Radiolab," will be the speaker.

Krulwich is also a correspondent for NPR and has been called “the most inventive network reporter in television” by TV Guide. Krulwich’s NPR blog, “Krulwich Wonders”, features drawings, cartoons and videos that illustrate hard-to-see concepts in science. As co-host of “Radiolab” -- which Ira Glass of “This American Life” called “an act of crazy genius” -- with Jad Abumrad, Krulwich explores new developments in science for people who are curious but not usually drawn to science shows. "Radiolab" won a Peabody Award in 2011. Krulwich earned a B.A. in history from Oberlin College and a law degree from Columbia University. He never practiced law. Instead he joined Pacifica Radio during President Nixon’s impeachment hearings, became Pacifica’s Washington Bureau chief, then did a stint as an editor for Rolling Stone magazine in Washington before moving to NPR, where he started as an editor, but eventually became a business and economics correspondent. He hosted a CBS weekly special during the first Gulf War, presented a PBS/BBC culture show, “The Edge,” in the 1990s, covered economics for "Frontline" and CBS, and moved on to science reporting at ABC. With Ted Koppel, he co-hosted a prime-time series, “Brave New World,” about technology and its effect on our lives, which included commercial television’s only hour-long look at string theory. He has won Emmy awards for a cultural history of Barbie and for a "Frontline" investigation of computers and privacy, a George Polk and Emmy for a look at the Savings & Loan bailout, and the 2010 Essay Prize from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. For years, Krulwich also hosted an improvisational comedy group with friends Jane Curtin, Buck Henry and Tony Hendra, which performed at the White House for President Clinton.

News Contact: Donna Gold, dgold@coa.edu or +1-207-801-5623

College of William & Mary

Jim Lehrer, a broadcast news icon, will be the College of William & Mary's 2012 commencement speaker on May 13, at noon, in William & Mary Hall on the William & Mary campus, in Williamsburg, Va.

Lehrer was a fixture for decades as lead anchor for the Public Broadcasting System and a frequent moderator of presidential debates. Lehrer, the longtime host of the “PBS NewsHour,” will receive an honorary degree during the ceremony. Here are the details of the commencement address: bit.ly/HRHaT3

News Contact: Suzanne Seurattan, scseur@wm.edu or +1-757-221-1631

Connecticut College

The ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 20, at 11 a.m. on Connecticut College’s Tempel Green (270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320). The processional begins at 10:35 a.m. The speaker is Louis B. Susman, the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London.

Susman, who has been active in public service for decades, practiced law for 27 years in St. Louis before becoming an investment banker with Salomon Brothers. He was nominated as the ambassador to the Court of St. James in London by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 10, 2009. He is the father of Sally Susman, a 1984 graduate of Connecticut College and executive vice president of Pfizer Inc.

News Contact: Deborah MacDonnell, deborah.macdonnell@conncoll.edu or +1-860-439-2504

 

DePaul University

With more than 25,000 students, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, nonprofit university in the Midwest. A wide array of leaders in business, the arts and academia will be among the distinguished honorary degree recipients and speakers at DePaul University's 114th commencement ceremonies this year, including a computer pioneer, African-American theatrical impresario and Pulitzer Prize-winning social biologist. There will be seven commencement ceremonies. The June 9 ceremonies for the College of Education, the School of Music and The Theatre School (combined), and the School for New Learning will be held at the Civic Opera House at 20 N. Wacker Drive in Chicago. The June 10 ceremonies for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and the College of Science and Health (combined ceremony), the College of Communication and the College of Computing and Digital Media (combined), and the College of Commerce will be held at the Allstate Arena at 6920 N. Mannheim Road in Rosemont, Ill. 

-- College of Law: May 19 at 2 p.m. at Akoo (formerly Rosemont) Theater, 5400 N. River Road, Rosemont, Ill. The speaker is John B. Simon, a nationally renowned attorney with the firm of Jenner and Block and former federal prosecutor who also is a leader in Chicago's civic and philanthropic spheres. Simon is also a member of DePaul's board of trustees and a former chair.

-- College of Education: June 9 at 8:30 a.m. The speaker is Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor of education at Stanford University and one of the nation's top experts on education reform. She also served as the head of President Obama's education transition team.

-- School of Music and The Theatre School (combined ceremony): June 9 at 11:45 a.m. The speaker is Jackie Taylor, actress, theatrical producer and founder of Chicago's iconic Black Ensemble Theater, which recently opened a new multi-million-dollar performing arts and cultural center in Chicago's Uptown community.

-- School for New Learning: June 9 at 2:30 p.m. The speaker is Laurent Parks-Daloz, author and pioneer in adult learning and the utilization of life experience in shaping education programs in the United States.

-- College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and College of Science and Health (combined ceremony): June 10 at 8 a.m. The speaker is E.O. Wilson, a Harvard professor and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He is one of the world's most influential biologists and evolutionary theorists of the past half century.

-- College of Computing and Digital Media and College of Communication: June 10 at noon. The speaker is Alan C. Kay, a seminal force in the development of the personal computer and the Internet through his work with the Advanced Research Project Agency at the University of Utah and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Also being honored at the ceremony is Al Golin, a leading figure in the public relations industry and founder of the international agency Golin/Harris, an advisor to major global corporations and organizations.

-- College of Commerce: June 10 at 4 p.m. The speaker is Brian Campbell, industrialist, investor and philanthropist who has led the growth of several investment and manufacturing concerns, while supporting numerous charities throughout the Midwest. Also being honored is James J. O'Connor, former chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Edison, current chair of Armstrong Industries and co-chairman of the Big Shoulders Fund, a leading organization providing access to Catholic elementary and secondary education for low-income, inner-city children.

Website: oaa.depaul.edu/what/commencement_schedul...

News Contact: John Holden, jholden2@depaul.edu or +1-312-362-7165

 

DePauw University

The 173rd annual ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 20, at 10:30 a.m. in Holton Memorial Quadrangle. The speaker is James B. Stewart, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, bestselling author, columnist for The New York Times and 1973 graduate of DePauw University. Stewart will also be presented with DePauw's Bernard C. Kilgore Medal for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in Journalism. For more info: bit.ly/HKXjvy

News Contact: Ken Owen, kowen@depauw.edu or +1-765-658-4634

 

Dominican University of California

The undergraduate commencement ceremony will take place Saturday, May 12, at 10:30 a.m. in the university's Forest Meadows Amphitheater. Writer, human-rights lawyer and diplomat Ronan Farrow will receive an honorary doctorate of humanities degree and deliver the keynote address.

Farrow has most recently served as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's special adviser for global youth issues and the director of the State Department’s Office of Global Youth Issues. He recently was named a Rhodes scholar and will begin studies at the University of Oxford in fall 2012. Farrow was Bard College’s youngest ever graduate at age 15, among the youngest students ever admitted to Yale Law School at age 16 and the youngest State Department political appointee on record at age 21. Farrow has served as the senior U.S. official on youth engagement during a critical time of youth-led unrest. Farrow and Secretary Clinton founded the State Department’s first Office of Global Youth Issues to engage young people as economic and civic actors through U.S. programs, encourage governments to respond to youth through U.S. diplomacy and directly engage young people around the world. In 2009, Farrow was named by New York Magazine as their “New Activist” of the year and included on their list of individuals “on the verge of changing their worlds.” In 2010, Harper’s Bazaar named him their “up-and-coming politician of the year.” In 2011, Forbes named him to the “30 Under 30” list of high-achieving young people.

News Contact: Sarah Gardner, Sarah.Gardner@Dominican.edu or +1-415-485-3239

 

Eastern University

Eastern University will hold its two spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 12, on the campus at 1300 Eagle Road in St. Davids, PA 19087. The morning commencement at 10 a.m. will be held for students in the College of Arts and Sciences and Esperanza College. The afternoon commencement at 2:30 p.m. will be held for students in the Campolo College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Both ceremonies will take place outside on the Auxiliary Field. The speakers for both ceremonies are Dr. Michael Johnson and Kay Johnson, who are committed to serving the poor both overseas and in the United States. All education at Eastern University is rooted in core Christian values of faith, reason and justice.

In 1990, the Johnsons joined World Gospel Mission of Marion, Ind., to work at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, East Africa. The Johnsons' ministry, The Least of These, provides health care, food, clothing, education and other necessities to over 1,000 orphaned and at-risk children in Kenya. They have helped provide water and agricultural projects for thousands of families in Kenya, and helped place dozens of children into adoptive homes there. The Johnsons have helped promote and sustain training programs for African doctors pursuing post-graduate training in Africa. They are now seeking to mobilize the churches in the Philadelphia metropolitan area to minister to those newly released from prison, women with unplanned pregnancies, and those who are underinsured and uninsured. This work is being carried out through their Out of Nazareth ministry.

Dr. Michael Johnson is a graduate of the Medical School at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He completed his medical training at the Graduate Hospital of Philadelphia. He is a member of the Diplomate American Board of Surgeons and the Association of Surgeons of East Africa, among other professional organizations. Kay Johnson completed her master's degree in business administration at Walden University.

Website: www.eastern.edu

News Contact: Linda Olson, lolson@eastern.edu or +1-610-341-5930

 

Emory University

Internationally renowned neurosurgeon and humanitarian Benjamin Carson will deliver the keynote address at the university's 167th commencement ceremony on Monday, May 14, at 8 a.m., at the university quadrangle in Atlanta. Of note: Adam Richman, host of "Man v. Food" on the Travel Channel (and a 1996 Emory alum) is the 2012 Class Day speaker for seniors. That event will take place on campus at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 10.

Carson is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center for more than 25 years. He is well-known for overcoming his troubled youth in inner-city Detroit, thanks to his mother's strong guidance and his own avid reading, to become a gifted neurosurgeon famous for his work separating conjoined twins.

Website: www.emory.edu/commencement

News Contact: Beverly Clark, beverly.clark@emory.edu or +1-404-712-8780

Fordham University

Commencement will be on Saturday, May 19, at the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx (441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458). John Brennan, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’77, the Obama administration’s deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism and homeland security, will deliver Fordham’s 167th commencement speech.

Brennan received his appointment in 2009, following a career that included 25 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, with a four-year stint as Middle East station chief in Saudi Arabia. In his role he deals with homeland security issues and works with the federal government’s intelligence agencies and military brass on counterterrorism efforts around the globe. In 2004, he was named director of the federal government’s National Counterterrorism Center, which was established that year to better coordinate intelligence from the myriad agencies collecting data around the world. He left government service briefly in 2005 to become CEO of Analysis Corp., a private firm which contracts with government agencies on security and intelligence issues. The son of Irish immigrants, Brennan was raised in North Bergen, N.J., and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in West New York. He enrolled at Fordham as a commuter student, soon becoming enthralled with the Middle East through the lectures of John Entelis, Ph.D., professor of political science and director of Fordham’s Middle East Studies Program. While a Fordham student, Brennan traveled to Indonesia to work at the U.S. Embassy and to research the politics of oil. He also attended The American University in Cairo, where he studied Arabic.

News Contact: Gina Vergel, gvergel@fordham.edu or +1-646-579-9957

 

George Fox University

Two ceremonies will take place on Saturday, April 28 at the Miller Gymnasium in the Wheeler Sports Center in Newberg, Ore. Graduate, seminary and adult degree programs are slated for a 10 a.m. start and the traditional undergraduate ceremony is set to begin at 3 p.m. Audience seating begins an hour before each ceremony, and in the case of the undergraduate commencement, a live stream of the event will be shown in Bauman Auditorium. The traditional undergraduate ceremony is expected to include 333 students, while the graduate, seminary and adult degree program ceremony is expected to include 367 participants.

-- Angela Bymaster, a 2000 alumna of George Fox who became an M.D. and now works for the Santa Clara County Homeless Healthcare Program, will speak to the undergraduates. The title of her commencement address is “The Kingdom of Heaven: Foolishness Perhaps, But So Worth It!”

-- Jeanette Eggert, an associate professor of math and physics at Concordia University in Portland, Ore., will address the graduate, seminary and adult degree program students. The title of Eggert’s commencement address is “Community Connections.”

George Fox University is ranked by Forbes and Kiplinger’s among the top Christian colleges in the country and is a Christian university classified by U.S. News & World Report as a first tier regional university and a “Best Value” school. More than 3,500 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond, Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 11 master’s and doctoral degrees.

For more info: bit.ly/ImEX21

News Contact: Karlyn Fleming, kfleming@georgefox.edu or +1-503-554-2141

 

Gettysburg College

The commencement will take place on May 20, at 11 a.m. EDT, at Beachem Portico on the north side of Pennsylvania Hall at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa. Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty, will deliver the commencement speech.

Novogratz has dedicated her career to making a difference in the world. As a former consultant for the World Bank and UNICEF in Africa, she helped found Duterimbere, Rwanda’s first microfinance institution. Novogratz also founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership programs at the Rockefeller Foundation before starting Acumen Fund in 2001. She is the author of “The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World,” which examines her quest to understand poverty.

News Contact: Nikki Rhoads, nrhoads@gettysburg.edu or +1-717-337-6803

Goucher College

The 121st commencement will feature public radio host Ira Glass. It will take place on Friday, May 18, at 10:30 a.m. EDT, at the Winslow Great Lawn.

Glass started working in public radio in 1978, when he was 19, as an intern at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Over the next 17 years, he worked on nearly every NPR news show and did nearly every production job they had: tape-cutter, desk assistant, newscast writer, editor, producer, reporter and substitute host. He spent a year in a high school for NPR, and a year in an elementary school, filing stories for "All Things Considered." He moved to Chicago in 1989 and put "This American Life" on the air in 1995. As the host and producer of "This American Life," Glass has become a fixture in the lives of the 1.7 million listeners who tune in every week.

News Contact: Kristen Keener, kristen.keener@goucher.edu or +1-410-337-6316

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Savannah Guthrie, co-host and chief legal analyst of NBC's "Today" show, will be the 2012 commencement ceremony speaker. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 13, on the Quad at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 300 Pulteney St., Geneva, NY 14456. The rain location will be at the Robert A. Bristol '31 Field House at the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation.

Prior to joining "Today" two years ago, Guthrie served as NBC News White House correspondent for three years, offering candid commentary for NBC on "Meet the Press," the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," and MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," where she also served as co-host. As part of the team that covered Sarah Palin's campaign during the 2008 presidential election, she received an Emmy for her election night coverage. Guthrie holds a bachelor's in journalism from the University of Arizona, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where she graduated magna **** laude. After working as a journalist in Arizona and Missouri, Guthrie became the national trial and legal correspondent for Court TV. At Court TV, Guthrie cast a critical eye on many of the nation's most important court hearings, providing the country with a comprehensive and critical analysis of major rulings and cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. Among the many high-profile cases Guthrie reported on were the Zacarias Moussaoui trial, the Lewis "Scooter" Libby case and the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings.

Bio: bit.ly/HN4vCj

News Contact: Mary LeClair, mleclair@hws.edu or +1-315-781-3540

 

Hollins University

The commencement ceremony will take place on May 20 at 10 a.m. at Hollins' Front Quadrangle in Roanoke, Va. The speaker is Elizabeth Brownlee Kolmstetter, Ph.D.

A member of Hollins’ class of 1985, Kolmstetter is the deputy associate director of national intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in Washington, D.C. She is an industrial and organizational psychologist and is responsible for developing and implementing human capital policies, procedures and programs across the 17 departments and independent agencies that make up the intelligence community. In May 2010, the Director of National Intelligence awarded the National Intelligence Superior Service Medal to Kolmstetter in recognition of her leadership, contributions and service.

Hollins University is located in Roanoke, Va.

News Contact: Jeff Hodges, jhodges@hollins.edu or +1-540-362-6503

 

Indiana University (IU)

The details for Indiana University's commencement ceremonies are below:

-- The undergraduate commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 5, in Bloomington, Ind. Legendary soul musician Booker T. Jones, the only IU alumnus elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will be the speaker. Jones, a Grammy Award-winning artist, songwriter, producer and arranger, is best known as the front man of Booker T and the MGs, widely considered the greatest soul band of all time; and for the distinctive Hammond organ sound he brought to his and other soul artists' hit singles. In 1962, while still in high school, Jones formed Booker T and the MGs and co-wrote the group's first national hit, "Green Onions," a song that remains an enduring classic. Widely featured on TV and in movies, "Green Onions" was ranked No. 183 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

-- Indiana University Bloomington's Kelley School of Business: The commencement ceremony will take place on Wednesday, April 4, in Bloomington, Ind. Joo Y. Boe, a director of Credit Suisse Private Banking USA and Kelley alum, will address the 2012 MBA class. Boe came to Credit Suisse from the Private Wealth Management Group at Goldman Sachs. She joined Goldman in 2000 after receiving her MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. While at Indiana, she also earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studied with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio. Boe was a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and performed as an artist in residence with the Emile Beaux Jeux piano trio. She currently sits on the boards of directors of the Juvenile Protective Association and the Chicago High School for the Arts.

-- Indiana University Maurer School of Law: Commencement ceremonies will take place on Friday, May 4, and on Saturday May 5, in Bloomington, Ind. David L. Carden, the U.S.’s first resident ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will be the keynote speaker at the Maurer ceremony on May 5, and the IU Bloomington graduate commencement ceremony on May 4. Carden, also an IU alum, was sworn in as the ambassador to ASEAN in March 2011. Previously, he was a partner at Jones Day, a leading international law firm. While at Jones Day, Carden co-chaired the firm's Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement Practice. In this role, he was responsible for representing clients in some of the largest securities fraud class actions ever litigated, including high-profile cases involving Lehman Brothers, Enron and AIG. In prior years, he also oversaw the firm's intellectual property practice and trial practice in New York.

News Contact: Brianne G. O'Donnell, brianne.odonnell@gabbe.com or +1-212-220-4444

Ithaca College

The 117th commencement ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 20, at Butterfield Stadium on campus in Ithaca, N.Y. The commencement speaker will be Amy Kule, the executive producer of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Kule (pronounced "cue-el") earned her history degree from Ithaca College in 1987. She oversees all aspects of planning and producing the iconic New York City parade, including creative direction, logistics, operations, design/construction, agency liaisons and marketing partnerships. She is just the seventh person to serve in that role since the parade began in 1924. Kule’s formal title is group vice president, national events and partnership marketing, for the Macy’s Parade & Entertainment Group. She also produces the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks in New York City, and leads a team of event and marketing professionals that stages thousands of elaborate events each year, including celebrity appearances, major product launches, fashion shows, culinary demonstrations, window unveilings and tree lightings.

The commencement ceremony will be streamed live at www.ithaca.edu/commencement. We can also provide video and photo highlights to media outlets following the ceremony.

News Contact: Dave Maley, maley@ithaca.edu or +1-607-274-3480

(Part 2 of the list can be seen here.)