Governor Speaks at Tufts Commencement Sunday
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick delivered Tufts University’s commencement address Sunday, May 17, 2009. The commencement took place at 9AM on the green of Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus.
“In these challenging economic times, we need to reaffirm the importance of education to both the individual and society. It is through education that we prepare the next generation to assume positions of leadership in society, and it is through scholarship that we address the great questions of our time. Governor Deval Patrick’s personal journey from the south side of Chicago to the highest reaches of society speaks to the transformative power of education. We are grateful to him for sharing his insights with this year’s graduates as they prepare to put into practice what they have learned at Tufts,” said Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow.
Patrick was elected governor of of Massachusetts in 2006. Born and raised on Chicago’s south side, he received a scholarship to Milton Academy at the age of 14 and and was the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Harvard with honors in 1978. After a year working on a United Nations project in Sudan, he returned to Harvard to earn a law degree. His illustrious career has included serving under President Bill Clinton as assistant attorney general for civil rights, the nation’s top civil rights post; as chair of Texaco’s Equality and Fairness Task Force, widely recognized for creating a model for fostering an equitable workplace; and as vice president and general counsel for Texaco. Patrick later became executive vice president and general counsel for the Coca-Cola Company. He has served on numerous charitable and corporate boards as well as the Federal Election Reform Commission under Presidents Carter and Ford.
Patrick, who is also delivering MIT’s commencement address on June 5, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Six other distinguished leaders are also receiving honorary doctorates:
David Burke, honorary doctorate of humane letters. Burke is a Tufts alumnus whose career reflects a commitment to public service and civic engagement through senior positions with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Gov. Hugh Carey (D-N.Y.), ABC News, CBS News, the Dreyfus Corporation and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.
Leslie H. Gelb, honorary doctorate of laws. Gelb is a Tufts alumnus, president emeritus and board senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a respected voice in journalism, politics, academia and public policy. Gelb will address Fletcher School graduates on Saturday, May 16, during their annual Class Day ceremonies.
Sister Margaret Leonard, LSA, honorary doctorate of public service. Sister Leonard is the executive director and moving spirit behind Boston’s Project Hope, a community-based multi-service agency dedicated to preventing homelessness.
Patricia Q. Stonesifer, honorary doctorate of public service. Stoneseife is the founding CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and chair of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Her career also included 20 years in the technology sector, including leading Microsoft’s consumer products division spanning Encarta, MSNBC.com, Expedia and MSN.
C. Megan Urry, honorary doctorate of science. Urry is a Tufts alumna, Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University, director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, and chair of the physics department at Yale.
Robert A. Weinberg, honorary doctorate of science. Weinburg is a founding member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the director of the Ludwig Center for Molecular Oncology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.