Contact: Deanna Howes Spiro, Director of Communications, AJCU
(202) 862-9893 | dhowes@ajcunet.edu
It’s that time of year again! The following is a list of speakers and dates for the 2018 commencement ceremonies at all twenty-eight Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States:
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) (Photo by Gonzaga University)
Boston College: May 21
Archbishop of Atlanta Wilton D. Gregory
Canisius University: Graduate: May 16, Undergraduate: May 19
Graduate: Allegra C. (Thompson) Jaros ’93, MBA ’96 (president of the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital), Undergraduate: Norma J. Nowak Ph.D. ’79 (executive director of the University at Buffalo’s Center for Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences; acclaimed researcher in human genomics)
College of the Holy Cross: May 25
Michele Norris (Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist; longtime NPR host; founding director of The Race Card Project)
Creighton University: May 12
Mae Jemison, M.D. (first African-American woman in space; physician; scientist; dancer)
Fairfield University: Undergraduate, Graduate: May 20
Undergraduate: Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J. (director of the Vatican Observatory; president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation), Graduate: John R. Mitchell (chairman of Mitchell Stores; bestselling author)
Ruth Johnson Colvin (Photo by Le Moyne College)
Fordham University: May 19
Dennis Walcott (president and CEO of the Queens Library; former New York City schools chancellor)
Georgetown University: Georgetown University in Qatar (May 3); McCourt School of Public Policy (May 17); Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of Continuing Studies, McDonough School of Business [undergraduate, graduate] (May 18); Georgetown College, School of Nursing & Health Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service [undergraduate, graduate] (May 19); School of Medicine, Georgetown Law (May 20)
- Georgetown University in Qatar: Aysha Al Mudahka (CEO of Qatar Business Incubation Center)
- McCourt School of Public Policy: Ernest J. Moniz (Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; Co-Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative)
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: William D. Phillips (Physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- School of Continuing Studies: Brendan Tuohey (Co-Founder and Executive Director, PeacePlayers)
- McDonough School of Business: Ursula Burns (Executive Chair of the Supervisory Board, VEON and Former Chair and CEO, Xerox)
- Georgetown College: Susan Hockfield (G’79) (President Emerita and Professor of Neuroscience, MIT)
- School of Nursing & Health Studies: Luci Baines Johnson (Founder, LBJ Family Wealth Advisors; daughter of former President Lyndon Johnson)
- Walsh School of Foreign Service: António Guterres (Secretary-General of the United Nations)
- School of Medicine: Thomas J. Nasca, M.D. (President and Chief Executive Officer for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and ACGME International)
- Georgetown Law: Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia)
Georgetown’s commencement speakers will be announced at a later date.
Gonzaga University: Law, Graduate: May 12, Undergraduate: May 13
Law: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto ’90 (D-NV), Graduate: Rev. Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J. (president emeritus of Georgetown University; director of mission at Jesuit Refugee Service/USA), Undergraduate: Andrew Dwonch ’99 (mission director in Palestine for Mercy Corps)
Ronan Farrow (Photo by Loyola Marymount University)
John Carroll University: May 20
Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna, III ’69 (Chairman of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Le Moyne College: Graduate: May 18, Undergraduate: May 20
Graduate: Student Speaker, Undergraduate: Ruth Johnson Colvin (literacy pioneer; recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom)
Loyola Marymount University: Undergrad: May 5, Graduate: May 6
Undergraduate: Ronan Farrow (Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; human rights advocate), Graduate: Shane Martin, Ph.D. ’80 (outgoing dean of LMU’s School of Education; incoming provost of Seattle University)
Loyola University Chicago*: School of Education and Institute of Environmental Sustainability, The Graduate School and Institute of Pastoral Studies (May 8); Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, School of Social Work (May 9); Quinlan School of Business, School of Communication and School of Continuing and Professional Studies (May 10); College of Arts and Sciences, St. Joseph College Seminary (May 11); School of Law, Stritch School of Medicine (May 12)
- School of Education and Institute of Environmental Sustainability: David W. Orr, Ph.D. (Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Emeritus, Oberlin College)
- The Graduate School and Institute of Pastoral Studies: Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, JD (Executive Director, NETWORK)
- Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing: Beverly Malone, Ph.D. (CEO, National League for Nursing)
- School of Social Work: Reuben Jonathan Miller, Ph.D. ’13 (Assistant Professor, University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration)
- Quinlan School of Business: Nicki Pecori Fioretti, MBA ’96 (Director of Community Affairs, Illinois Housing Development Authority)
- School of Communication & School of Continuing and Professional Studies: Nikole Hannah-Jones (Author, Journalist, Activist)
- College of Arts and Sciences (Morning) & St. Joseph College Seminary: Julia Stasch ’74 (President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
- College of Arts and Sciences (Afternoon): Peter Pronovost, MD, Ph.D., FCCM (Senior Vice President for Clinical Strategy, UnitedHealthcare)
- School of Law: Honorable Sara L. Ellis, ’94 (United States District Court Judge, Northern District of Illinois)
- Stritch School of Medicine: Brian H. Williams, MD, FACS (Medical Director, Parkland Community Health Institute)
*Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago will host its commencement ceremony on August 11
Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan (Photo by Marquette University)
Loyola University Maryland: May 19
Miguel “Mike” Fernandez (philanthropist; founder of MBF Healthcare Partners)
Loyola University New Orleans: May 12
Undergrad: Rev. James Martin, S.J. (bestselling author and editor-at-large, America Magazine), College of Law: Charles L. Rice Jr., J.D. ’95 (president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans Inc.)
Marquette University: May 20
Jim Gaffigan and Jeannie Gaffigan ’92 (husband-wife comedy writing / performing team)
Regis University: Graduate, Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions: May 5, Undergraduate: May 6
Rev. Bryan Massingale, S.T.D. (noted Catholic social ethicist and scholar of African-American theological ethics, racial justice and liberation theology; professor at Fordham University)
Rockhurst University: May 12
Undergraduate: Jessica Raya (candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), Graduate: Thataw Moo (candidate for the degree of Master of Education)
Rev. James Martin, S.J. (Photo by Creighton University)
Saint Joseph’s University: Undergrad, Graduate: May 19
Undergraduate: Dominick J. DiJulia ’67 (longtime vice president of athletics and athletics director at Saint Joseph’s), Graduate: Judith A. Spires (CEO and Chair of the Board for Kings Food Markets Inc.)
Saint Louis University: May 19
Rev. Ronald Mercier, S.J. (provincial of the Jesuits’ Central and Southern Province)
Saint Peter’s University: May 21
Denise Morrison (president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company)
Santa Clara University: Jesuit School of Theology & School of Law: May 19, Graduate: June 15, Undergraduate: June 16
Jesuit School of Theology: Dr. Sandra Schneiders, I.H.M. (Professor Emerita of New Testament Studies and Spirituality at JST), School of Law: Howard Charney, MBA ’73, J.D. ’77 (Santa Clara University trustee; former senior vice president at Cisco), Undergraduate: Kirk Hanson (executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara)
Michele Norris (Photo courtesy of Stephen Voss)
Seattle University: Undergraduate, Graduate: June 17
Undergraduate: Sally Jewell (noted environmentalist; former U.S. Secretary of the Interior), Graduate: Sam Green (first Poet Laureate of Washington; Distinguished Visiting Northwest Writer at Seattle University)
Spring Hill College: May 5
Rev. James Martin, S.J. (bestselling author and editor-at-large, America Magazine)
University of Detroit Mercy: School of Dentistry & School of Law: May 11, Undergraduate & Graduate: May 12
School of Dentistry: Judge William J. Giovan ’58 (former chief judge of the Wayne County Circuit Court), School of Law: Judge Michael J. Talbot (Chief Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals and Court of Claims), Undergrad / Grad: Nancy G. Kennedy ’83 (Detroit-based businesswoman, volunteer and philanthropist)
University of San Francisco: School of Nursing & Health Professions (May 17); College of Arts & Sciences [Undergraduate & Graduate], School of Education (May 18); School of Management [Undergraduate & Graduate], School of Law (May 19)
- School of Nursing & Health Professions: Sisters of Mercy (religious order dedicated to serving communities and individuals suffering from poverty, sickness, and lack of education, with special attention paid to the needs of women and children)
- College of Arts & Sciences [Humanities & Sciences]: Dr. Arthur J. Ammann (pediatric immunologist known for his research on HIV transmission)
- College of Arts & Sciences [Social Sciences]: Melba Pattillo Beals (journalist and member of the Little Rock Nine, civil rights pioneer, author and educator)
- College of Arts & Sciences [Graduate]: Michele Norris (Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist, longtime NPR host, founding director of The Race Card Project)
- School of Education: Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Ph.D. (Dean, School of Education, Professor, International & Multicultural Education)
- School of Management [Undergraduate – Business Admin]: Jeff Silk (member, USF Board of Trustees, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Fisher Investments)
- School of Management [Graduate]: Charles Collins (President and CEO, YMCA San Francisco)
- School of Law: Martin Jenkins (Justice, California Court of Appeals of the 1st District)
Bishop George Murry, S.J. (photo by University of Scranton)
University of Scranton: Graduate: May 26, Undergraduate: May 27
Graduate: Peter J. Danchak ’84 (regional president, PNC Bank, Northeast Pennsylvania), Undergraduate: Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J. (Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, OH; Chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee Against Racism)
Wheeling Jesuit University: May 5
Chris Lowney (best-selling author; noted speaker on leadership)
Xavier University: Undergraduate & Graduate: May 12
Undergraduate: Dr. Victor Garcia (surgeon in Cincinnati, OH, affiliated with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center), Graduate: Sr. Sally Duffy, ’74 (former president of the Sisters of Charity Ministry Foundation)