Schools, Colleges Announce Convocation Speakers

From men and women who have achieved outstanding careers in their fields to prominent faculty members to some of the most accomplished students, all of Syracuse University’s schools and colleges have named speakers for their Convocation ceremonies. The Convocations will take place in the day or two preceding the University’s Commencement on Sunday, May 11.

Following are the schools’ and colleges’ Convocation speakers:

Martha Thorne

School of Architecture—The speaker will be Martha Thorne, executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and associate dean for external relations at the IE School of Architecture & Design in Madrid/Segovia, Spain.

College of Arts and Sciences—Sandra Hewett, the Beverly Petterson Bishop Professor of Neuroscience, professor of biology and executive director of the neuroscience program at Syracuse University, will speak to the graduates.

School of Education—Craig Forth ’05, center on the 2003 men’s basketball NCAA National Championship Team, will speak to the graduates. He is a graduate of the School of Education and currently assistant principal of Mechanicville Junior-Senior High School in Saratoga County.

College of Engineering and Computer Science—The College of Engineering and Computer Science will have two Convocation speakers. Mary Ann Hopkins ’87, G’89, president of Parsons Government Services, will speak to graduating seniors. Mark J. Viggiano G’80, recently retired as head of Saab’s Traffic Management business, will speak to graduate students.

Philip Kaplan

David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics—Three students will speak at the Falk College Convocation. They are Elissa Roberts, a master’s degree student in sport venue and event management, who will give the graduate student reflection; Rachel Ahart, a senior in the School of Social Work, and Janine Savage, a senior in public health and child and family studies, who will give the undergraduate student reflections.

School of Information Studies—Philip Kaplan ’97 will speak to the graduating students of the School of Information Studies. A serial entrepreneur, Kaplan has co-founded several companies, including Blippy, a venture-backed social shopping company, and AdBrite, the largest privately-held Internet ad network.

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs—Karen DeYoung, an award-winning senior national security correspondent and associate editor for The Washington Post, will deliver the Maxwell School’s graduate Convocation address.

Newhouse School of Public Communications—The Newhouse School Convocation address will be delivered by Deb Henretta G’85, group president of global beauty at Procter & Gamble.

Danielle Nottingham

College of Visual and Performing Arts—CBS News correspondent Danielle Nottingham ’99, who joined the network in 2011 and has spent the last three years covering politics in Washington, D.C., will address the graduating students of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Whitman School of Management—The Convocation speakers for the Whitman School of Management will be Donald Cardarelli, Faculty Member of the Year, who teaches Strategic Management, Business Ethics, Leadership and Human Resource Management; Zhi Quan Yang, president of Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society for undergraduate and graduate students in business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International; and the school’s two marshals, Alexandra Briskin and Hillary Tucker.