Suffolk University Announces 2014 Commencement Speakers

State Street Corporation President & CEO Joseph L. Hooley, Boston Medical Center President & CEO Kate Walsh, and ADL National Director Abraham Foxman to speak at ceremonies for Business School, College of Arts & Sciences, and Law School

State Street Corporation Chair, President and CEO Joseph L. Hooley, Boston Medical Center President and CEO Kate Walsh, and Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman will speak as more than 2,500 students receive undergraduate and advanced degrees at Suffolk University commencement exercises on May 17 and 18, 2014.

Sawyer Business School—May 18

Hooley will speak at the Sawyer Business School ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on the Boston waterfront. During his tenure at State Street, he has helped build and strengthen units involved in a variety of tasks, from data and shareholder services to acquisitions and corporate technology. He has positioned State Street as a global leader in providing financial services to institutional investors. Hooley will receive an honorary Doctor of Commerce degree.

College of Arts & Sciences—May 18

Walsh, president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, will speak at the College of Arts & Sciences commencement at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on the Boston waterfront. She has improved access to quality health care for some of the poorest patients in Massachusetts in addition to strengthening the hospital’s finances and operations to ensure the long-range stability of clinical care and medical education programs. Walsh will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Law School—May 17

Foxman, a worldwide leader in the fight against bigotry, will be the keynote speaker at the Law School ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the Citi Performing Arts Center-Wang Theatre, in Boston’s Theatre District. Foxman is a Holocaust survivor who joined the ADL in 1965 and has devoted his life to fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry and discrimination throughout the world. The national director of the Anti-Defamation League will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) also will give remarks. Markey served for 37 years in the U.S. House before being elected last year to fill the seat held by now-Secretary of State John Kerry. He will received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.

Honorary degrees

In addition, the following honorary degrees will be awarded during Suffolk University commencement exercises:

  • William Hubbard, president-elect of the American Bar Association, honorary Doctor of Laws degree
  • Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, honorary Doctor of Laws degree
  • Cedric Cromwell, tribal council chairman for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts, honorary Doctor of Laws degree
  • John Harthorne, chief executive officer for MassChallenge, Inc., a start-up accelerator that provides support to entrepreneurs around the world, honorary Doctor of Commerce degree
  • Financial executive Robert C. Pozen, former chairman of MFS Investment Management and a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, honorary Doctor of Business degree
  • Sam Berns, who made a significant contribution to science through his willingness to shed light on Progeria while inspiring people to live life to the fullest, honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, posthumous
  • Beverly A. Morgan-Welch, executive director of the Museum of African American History, who has worked diligently to tell the stories of emancipated and liberated black communities in New England, honorary Doctor of Public Service degree