Several Alumni Among Graduation Speakers For Class Of '08

By: Christopher Duray

Posted: 5/11/08

This weekend, the class of 2008 celebrates graduation with massive commencement ceremonies, and to commemorate their departure, the university has arranged notable speakers for the 11 schools holding ceremonies Saturday and today.

Addressing the master's and doctoral students on Saturday was Garry Wills. Wills, who received an honorary Doctorate of Letters, is a professor of history emeritus at Northwestern University. In 1993, he won the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction for his book, "Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America." As a noted historian and author, Wills has written 36 books on subjects such as religion and American politics. His latest book, "What the Gospels Meant," examines the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Gary Gladstein also addressed masters and doctoral graduates. Gladstein, who graduated from UConn's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) in 1966 currently serves on the Board of Directors of the UConn Foundation. Gladstein is the retired chief operating officer of Soros Fund Management. Gladstein has donated over $3 million to the University, contributing to Hillel, the Heath Center, and the School of Business. He has a particular interest in human rights studies at UConn; a large part of his donations have created the Judi and Gary Gladstein Distinguished Chair in Human Rights. Gladstein received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree.

Charlotte Bunch was the third speaker at Saturday's masters and doctoral graduation ceremony. A women's and human rights activist, Bunch is the director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership that she founded at Rutgers University in 1989. Bunch was a pioneer in developing feminist studies as an academic discipline and has published several sets of essays on the topic. Bunch has served as a consultant to many United Nations bodies, including most recently the Advisory Committee for the Secretary General's 2006 Report to the General Assembly on Violence against Women.

CLAS undergraduates will be addressed on Sunday by UConn alumna and Board of Trustees member Rebecca Lobo, who played on UConn's women's basketball team during their undefeated season in 1995. Lobo became the youngest player to win a gold medal for women's basketball in the 1996 Olympics. She played in the WNBA from 1997 to 2003 and currently serves as a women's basketball analyst for ESPN.

Gerald Cianutsos will address the School of Pharmacy graduates on Saturday. Gianutsas is an associate professor of pharmacology at UConn. Gianutsos, who was voted Teacher of the Year by the graduating class, currently serves as the director of the pharmacy honors program.

The School of Social Work, which has its campus in West Hartford, will be addressed by Gary Bailey, an associate professor at the Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work. He is a member of the National Association of Social Work's (NASW) Board of Directors, having served as its president from 2003 to 2005. In 1998, he was named the national and Massachusetts Social Worker of the year by NASW.

The School of Fine Arts, whose ceremony took place Saturday, was addressed by Joseph Volpe, former General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera from 1990 through 2006, a career that he chronicled in his memoir, "The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera." Volpe now works for Theatre Projects Consultants.

The undergraduate School of Pharmacy will be addressed by Samuel Kalmanowitz, a 1961 UConn alumnus. His Meriden-based pharmacy, Kaye's Pharmacy, was named the top independent pharmacy in the United States by Drug Topics magazine in 1998.

The School of Business will be addressed by UConn Board of Trustees member and partner of equity firm Oak Hill Capital, Denis Nayden on Sunday. Nayden is a UConn alumnus who earned his bachelor's in English magna cum laude in 1976 and an MBA in finance in 1977, also from UConn. Before Oak Hill, he served as CEO for G.E. Capital, where he was responsible for 20 businesses representing over $555 billion of total assets.

Addressing the Neag School of Education on Sunday will be U.S. Representative John Larson, a democrat of Connecticut's 1st Congressional District who has been in Congress since 1999. Earlier, Larson he served in the Connecticut State Senate for 12 years where he set the record for longest-serving President pro-tempore after eight years in the position. Larson has been an active supporter of education in the House of Representatives. He has helped start education programs like Head Start and the College Cost Reduction Act.

Roger Newton will address the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Ratcliffe Hicks School of Agriculture Sunday. Newton is the co-creator of Lipitor, a popular cholesterol-reducing drug. He is the managing director of Espereance Bioventures, which he co-founded after serving as senior vice president of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Newton graduated from UConn's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1974 with a master's in nutritional biochemistry. He serves as an adjunct associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Michigan.

Kevin Bouley, the president CEO of Tolland research firm Nerac, Inc. will address the School of Engineering on Sunday. He will be joined by Paul Adams, vice president of engineering at Pratt and Whitney. Bouley graduated from UConn's School of Business in 1980. He joined Nerac right after college and acquired it in 1999. Since then, the firm has become one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Connecticut. Adams will discuss his experience in the field of aircraft engineering, in which he has been working for the last 20 years. His current responsibilities include developing technical globalization strategies. Both speakers serve on the School of Engineering's advisory board.

Valerie Lewis will speak at the Center for Continuing Studies' Sunday ceremony. Lewis has been the president of the State Higher Education Chief Executive Officers organization since 2003. Previously, Lewis served in the Department of Higher Education since 1987. She worked as commissioner for seven years.

The School of Nursing will be addressed on Sunday by Peggy Chinn, founding editor of the medical journal Advances in Nursing Science. She is a professor emeritus of nursing at UConn.

The Law School will be addressed Sunday by Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Chate Rogers. Previously a Superior Court judge, Rogers was appointed Chief Justice in 2007. She started her career as a partner with the law firm Cummings and Lockwood as a commercial and employment lawyer.

Dr. Pauline Chen will address the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine on Sunday. Chen is a transplant surgeon who has recently written a book on death called Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality. Chen is a Harvard graduate who went to Northwestern's Medical School before completing surgical training at Yale, The National Cancer Institute and UCLA.

Contact Christopher Duray at Christopher.Duray@UConn.edu.