CUNY Commencement 2006
Human rights activists, public servants, distinguished writers and musicians, renowned journalists, leading scholars, scientists and educators are among the speakers and honorees for the 2006 commencement ceremonies at The City University of New York.
“The CUNY Class of 2006 is a source of great pride for the University and the city,” said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. “Our graduates have compiled an outstanding record of achievement, and most of them will remain here, paying taxes and contributing immensely to New York City and state, as well as to our nation.”
The 2006 Commencement speakers include New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer at the CUNY Honors College; Congressman Charles Rangel at Baruch College; New York State Health Commissioner Antonia Coello Novello, at Bronx Community College; award winning journalist Sheryl McCarthy, at the CUNY BA Program; Lieutenant-General Romeo A. Dallaire, former Commander of the UN Mission in Rwanda, at Queens College; Vishakha N. Desai, the first woman and first Asian-American to become president of the Asia Society, at College of Staten Island; CNN’s Africa correspondent and CUNY alumnus Jeff Koinange, at Kingsborough Community College; and New York State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, at both Medgar Evers College and Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Among those who will be honored are author and women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem at Hunter College; Judge Navanethem Pillay, former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, along with New York Times Op-Ed columnist Bob Herbert and Norma Cantú;, former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights in the Clinton Administration, at the CUNY School of Law; historian and Schomburg Center Director Howard Dodson and physicist Harry Lustig at City College; and Victor Navasky, former publisher and editor of The Nation, at the CUNY Graduate Center, together with celebrated author E.L. Doctorow and distinguished educator and community leader Roscoe Brown.
Hispanic pioneer and investment consultant Myrna Rivera will be the speaker at Lehman College, where human rights activist Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., and renowned jazz flutist Dave Valentin, will be honored. Meanwhile, John Jay College of Criminal Justice will cite legal scholar Paul Chevigny, gender studies pioneer Carol Gilligan, theater producer Woodie King, Jr, African-American Studies pioneer Manning Marable, and criminal justice authority Herbert Sturz.
A complete schedule of 2006 commencement exercises is attached. Links to college commencement sites are available at www.cuny.edu/news. Visit the college sites for more details about outstanding graduates and their stories.
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university: eleven senior colleges, six community colleges, the CUNY Honors College, the Graduate School and University Center, the Graduate School of Journalism, the Law School and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. The University serves more than 220,000 degree-credit students and 230,000 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 200 high schools throughout the five boroughs of the City of New York. In 2006, the University is launching an on-line baccalaureate degree through the School of Professional Studies and a new Teacher Academy offering free tuition for highly motivated mathematics and science majors who seek teaching careers in the city’s public schools.
CUNY School of Law: May 19, 12 Noon, Kupferberg Center for the Arts
(formerly known as Colden Center) 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, Queens
Honorary Degrees: Honorary Doctor of Law: Norma Cantú, Professor of Law and Education, University of Texas at Austin and former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights in the Clinton Administration. Honorary Doctor of Law: Bob Herbert, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, whose articles often focus on political and social topics. Honorary Doctor of Law: Navanethem Pillay, a judge on the International Criminal Court and former president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
Contact: Frank Shih at 718-340-4207
CUNY Graduate Center: May 25, 2 pm, Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th St., (8th & 9th Ave.), Manhattan
Speaker: Victor Navasky, former publisher, editor, and editorial director of The Nation and currently professor of journalism at Columbia University. Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters: Victor Navasky. Doctor of Humane Letters: Roscoe Brown, educator and community leader who is soon to receive the Congressional Gold Medal as a former Tuskegee Airman. Doctor of Humane Letters: E. L. Doctorow, celebrated author whose most recent work is the acclaimed novel, The March.
Contact: David Manning at 212-817-7177
Baruch College: May 31, 11 am, Madison Square Garden., 7th Avenue at 32nd St., Manhatttan.
Speaker: Rep. Charles Rangel of Manhattan. President’s Medals: to Congressman Rangel and four members of the Alexander String Quartet, which is marking the 20th anniversary of its Baruch College residency. They are: Sandy Wilson, cello; Zakarias Grafilo, 1st violin; Frederick Lifsitz, 2nd violin; Paul Yarbrough, viola.
Contact: Zane Berzins at 646-660-6113
Queens College: June 1, 9 am, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, Queens.
Speaker: Lieutenant-General Romeo A. Dallaire, who commanded the United
Nations Mission to Rwanda from 1993-94 and tried to stop the genocide that had claimed 800,000 lives in 100 days. His book about that experience, Shake Hands with the Devil, was a best seller. In 1996 General Dallaire was made an Officer of the Legion of Merit of the United States, the highest military decoration for a foreigner, in recognition of his
service in Rwanda. Now retired, Gen. Dallaire continues to write and speak out against human rights abuses, genocide and ethnic cleansing. Honorary Degree: Doctor of Humane Letters: Lieutenant-General Romeo A. Dallaire.
Contact: Phyllis C. Stevens at 718-997-5597 or Maria Matteo at 718-997-5593.
The City College of New York: June 1, 10 am, 138th St. and Convent Ave., Manhattan
Speaker: Dr. Gregory H. Williams, 11th president of The City College and award-winning author under whose leadership CCNY has gained increased national recognition. Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters: Howard Dodson, historian and director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Doctor of Science: Harry Lustig, theoretical nuclear physicist who helped develop CCNY’s Physics Department.
Contact: Jay Mwamba at 212-650-7580
College of Staten Island: June 1, 10 am , 2800 Victory Blvd., Staten Island
Speakers: Ms. Vishakha N. Desai , the first woman and first Asian-American to become president of the Asia Society, a nonprofit institution founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III to foster understanding between Asia and the United States . She supervised the Asia Society’s $40 million renovation of its New York City headquarters, a move that has greatly expanded the Society’s reach, improved its programming, and increased its funding. She is a widely published scholar, was a curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, and Islamic Art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, and Columbia University. She is currently on the boards of the Brookings Institution, Citizens for NYC, and the New York City Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs. Mr. David Randolph, the conductor of The St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra since 1965. A born and bred New Yorker, he was previously a music specialist for the U.S. Office of War Information and a Music Annotator for the Columbia Broadcasting System, writing broadcast scripts for all classical music programs aired on the CBS network, including concerts by the New York Philharmonic. He is author of the book This Is Music, which was described by The New York Times as one of “…the best of the year.” As conductor of Handel’s “Messiah,” he has performed this masterwork a record 172 times, making these concerts a seasonal tradition in New York City, enthralling sold-out audiences throughout the years.
Christopher Loiacono, class of 1988, partner in the accounting firm of Eisner & Company, representing alumni. Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters: Ms. Vishakha N. Desai. Doctor of Fine Arts: Mr. David Randolph.
Contact: Ken Bach at 718-982-2328
Brooklyn College: June 1, 10:30 am, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn
Speaker: Isaiah Sheffer ‘56, playwright, librettist, co-founder and artistic director of Symphony Space, and host of Selected Shorts, an hour-long celebration of the short story aired on 130 public radio stations across the country. Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters: Isaiah Sheffer. Doctor of Music: Randy Weston, influential jazz pianist,
composer, and lifelong Brooklynite whose music fuses African rhythms and melodies with modernist jazz sensibilities. Distinguished Alumnus Awards: Richard Frankel ‘68, veteran Broadway producer of hits such as Hairspray and The Producers; Woodie King ‘99, founder and director of the New Federal Theatre and the National Black Touring Circuit; and Arturo O’Farrill ‘95, pianist, educator and musical director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Contact: LaToya Nelson at 718-951-5882
Lehman College: June 1, 10:30 am, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West, Bronx
Speaker: Myrna Rivera, founder and CEO of Consultiva Internacional, Inc., one of the nation’s first Hispanic investment consulting firms. Ms. Rivera graduated magna cum laude from Lehman in 1973 with an M.A. in mathematics. She rose steadily through the ranks of organizations such as Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith and Salomon Smith Barney, where she became senior vice president and consulting group director. More recently, Ms. Rivera was elected to the Board of Directors of the Lehman College Foundation. Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters: Reverend Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of the Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical foundation committed to empowering those who suffer the pain of civil rights and human rights violations. After being shot and wounded in a 1988 contra attack while leading an IFCO delegation in Nicaragua, Reverend Walker created the Pastors for Peace Material Aid Caravans, which delivers humanitarian aid to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico. Doctor of Humane Letters: Dave Valentin, a world-renowned jazz flutist, who began performing professionally at the age of 11. Working over the past 20 years as a skilled Latin jazz musician, he has recorded 18 albums and received a Grammy Award nomination in 1985 for best R&B instrumentalist. Born in the Bronx, he still lives in the borough and teaches music to children in his community through a variety of different programs.
Contact: Marge Rice at 718-960-4992
Hunter College: June 1, 2 pm, Radio City Music Hall, 6 th Avenue & 50 th Street , Manhattan
Speaker:
Honorary Degree: Doctor of Humane Letters: Gloria Steinem, author, activist, and philanthropist who helped create the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Women’s Action Alliance, and Ms. magazine. She is the author of several books, including Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem and Moving Beyond Words.
Contact: Meredith Halpern at 212-772-4068
York College: June 2, 9 am, Health and Physical Education Field, 160th
Street, between Liberty Avenue and South Road
Speaker: Dr. Shirlene Holmes ‘80, playwright and educator who has taught Speech, Theatre, Women’s Studies and African-American Studies as a member of the faculty of Georgia State University. She has also taught at Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University and Agnes Scott College. Her plays have been produced on local,
national and international stages, and she is a two-time alum of the Playwriting Intensive at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Holmes received her B.A. in English from York College and earned her M.F.A. in Theatre and a doctorate in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University.
Contact: Nate Moore at 718-262-2354
Bronx Community College: June 2, 10 am, West 181st Street & University Avenue, Bronx
Speaker: Antonia Coello Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr. P.H., New York State Health Commissioner. Dr. Novello heads an agency with a $49.4 billion budget, the largest of any State agency and over one-third of the State budget, which includes five health care facilities, two regional offices and field offices, nine district offices, the central office, located in Albany, and the Wadsworth State Health Laboratory. Dr. Novello was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a B.S. degree in 1965 and an M.D. degree in 1970.
Contact: Bryant Mason at 718-289-5208
Borough of Manhattan Community College: June 2, 11:30 am, Theatre at Madison Square Garden, 7th Ave. and 32nd St., Manhattan
Speaker: David A. Paterson, who was elected New York State Senator in 1985 and Senate Minority Leader in 2002. Senator Paterson, who represents the 30th District encompassing Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side, is an advocate for changes in the State’s drug law, as well as for education and medical research. He is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York State. President’s Medal: David A. Paterson.
Contact: Pat Willard at 212-220-1238
Medgar Evers College: June 3, 10 am, Amphitheater, 1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn
Speaker: David A. Paterson, New York State Senate Minority Leader, who represents the 30th State Senate District. He is the highest-ranking African-American elected official and the first nonwhite legislative leader in the State’s history. The Senator, who is legally blind, is a leading advocate for the rights of visually and physically challenged people.
Contact: Tanya Serdiuk at 718-270-6970
City University Baccalaureate Program: June 5, 10 am, The Great Hall at Cooper Union, 7 East 7th St. at 3rd Ave., Manhattan
Speaker: Sheryl McCarthy, Op-Ed columnist for Newsday, adjunct faculty member, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Trustee, Mount Holyoke College, and winner of numerous journalism awards.
Contact : David Manning at 212-817-7177
CUNY Honors College Convocation: June 5, 10 am, Manhattan Center, 311 West 34th Street, (between 8th & 9th Avenues), Manhattan
Speaker: Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate.
Contact: Ellen Belton at 212-817-1811
John Jay College of Criminal Justice: June 5, 10 am, Madison Square Garden, 7th Ave. & 33rd St., Manhattan
Honorary Degrees: Doctor of Laws: Paul Chevigny, the Joel S. and Anne B. Ehrenkranz Professor of Law at New York University, is an authority on relations between citizens and the state, the role of police violence both nationally and internationally, and the politics of crime. An acclaimed legal scholar and international human rights attorney, he has published many pioneering studies, including Edge of the Knife: Police Violence in the Americas, a comparative study of six cities in the U.S., Jamaica, Brazil and Mexico. Doctor of Letters: Carol Gilligan, professor at NYU School of Law and in the Graduate School of Education, is a pioneer in gender studies and an internationally renowned expert on the psychological and moral development of girls. Doctor of Letters: Woodie King, Jr. is president and producer of the New Federal Theater, which since 1970 has produced quality and thought-provoking works, including Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enough, God’s Trombone and The Taking of Miss Janie. He also has produced or directed documentary and feature films, edited more than two dozen pioneering books on African-American theater and literature, and received several Obies, a Drama Critics Circle Award, Audelco Awards, and an NAACP Image Award, among others. Doctor of Humane Letters: Manning Marable is a professor of public affairs, political science and history at Columbia University, and founding director of the Columbia Institute for Research in African-American Studies, one of the nation’s most prestigious centers of scholarship on the black experience. Doctor of Laws: Herbert Sturz, a trustee of the Open Society Institute and chairman of the After-School Corporation, has devoted his career to improving the nation’s criminal justice system. He is the founding director of the Vera Institute for Justice, whose groundbreaking studies have resulted in significant changes in the way the system handles victims, witnesses and arrestees.
Contact: Janet Winter at 212-237-8626
New York City College of Technology: June 6, 10:30 am, Theater at Madison Square Garden, 7th Ave. & 33rd St., Manhattan
Speaker and honorary degree (doctor of humane letters) recipient: Edwin Schlossberg, PhD, founder and principal designer for ESI Design, a New York City-based pioneer and leader in experiential and interactive design for museums, public spaces, retail environments and business. Dr. Schlossberg’s first museum project, The Learning Environment at the Brooklyn Children*s Museum, opened in 1977. Among his more recent projects is the American Family Immigration History Center at Ellis Island. Holding a PhD in science and literature from Columbia University, Dr. Schlossberg is the author of 11 books, including the groundbreaking Interactive Excellence: Defining and Developing New Standards for the Twenty-first Century.
Hostos Community College: June 6, 7 pm, Main Theater, 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx
Speaker: Hon. Yolanda Jiménez, Commissioner, Office to Combat Domestic Violence, Office of the Mayor, The City of New York.
Contact: Sandra Ruiz at 718-518-4300
Queensborough Community College: June 9, 10:30 am, at the Athletic Field, 222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, Queens
Speaker: Howard L. Lapidus J.D., who has served CUNY for 38 years, 36 at Queensborough, in a multitude of capacities, ranging from Dean for Faculty and Staff Relations, Special Counsel to the President, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance, Interim President, and finally, as Chief Operating Officer.
Contact: Rosemary Zins at 718-281-5144
Kingsborough Community College: June 12, 11 am, 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Brooklyn
Speaker: Jeff Koinange, a KCC alumnus who is CNN’s Africa correspondent. He has reported on news events throughout Africa and the Middle East, including major stories on Iraq and Darfur. Prior to joining CNN he held positions with Reuters Television and NBC News. President’s Medal: Dr. Otis Hill, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of The City University of New York. Dr. Hill was CUNY’s Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Enrollment Management for five years. Prior to that he served Kingsborough Community College with distinction for 30 years in a variety of teaching and administrative positions, including six-years as Vice President for Student Development.
Contact: Peter Pobat at 718-368-5109