NEW YORK—Veteran broadcast journalist Chris Matthews, anchor of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” will deliver the keynote address to the Class of 2006 at Fordham University’s 161st Commencement on Saturday, May 20, at 10 a.m. on the Rose Hill campus.
In addition to hosting “Hardball,” Chris Matthews is the host of “The Chris Matthews Show,” a syndicated weekly news program, and a regular commentator on NBC’s “Today” show. He has covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa and the Good Friday Peace Talks in Northern Ireland, and is the author of four best-selling books, including American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions.
DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 20
TIME: 10 A.M. (PROCESSION BEGINS)
PLACE: EDWARDS PARADE
ROSE HILL CAMPUS
441 E. FORDHAM ROAD, BRONX, N.Y.
Matthews will also receive an honorary degree at the ceremony, with philanthropist Joan Weill, chairwoman of the board of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation Inc.; Angelo R. Mozilo (CBA ’60), chairman and CEO of Countrywide Financial Corporation; Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame; Ruth Sanchez-Way (GSS ’65), a veteran public service administrator; and Joseph Polisi, Ph.D., president of the Juilliard School.
Joan Weill is co-chair of the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center Women’s Health Symposium. Her extensive public service and philanthropy also includes membership on the board of trustees of the Paul Smith College of the Adirondacks and the board of directors of Women in Need, an organization dedicated to helping homeless women and their children.
Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., served as the president of the University of Notre Dame from 1987 to 2005. Father Molloy, known affectionately as “Monk,” is the author of six books, including Monk’s Notre Dame, and is the author of more than 50 articles and book chapters. An ethicist by training, he is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Society of Christian Ethics.
Angelo R. Mozilo co-founded Countrywide Financial Corporation in 1969, eventually building the firm into the largest independent residential mortgage lending firm in the United States. Mozilo guided his firm to membership in the Standard & Poor’s 500, Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000. He serves on the boards of the National Housing Endowment, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, and the Horatio Alger Society. He is a trustee of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Ruth Sanchez-Way, Ph.D., is a veteran public health administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She retired in 2003 as senior advisor at the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives, where she played a key role in increasing faith-based and community organizations’ access to federal funding. Among her various accolades and achievements, she was listed in the 2002 – 2005 Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare: Who’s Who in America and was presented with the Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2001.
Joseph W. Polisi, Ph.D., has been the president of the Juilliard School since 1984. Besides being a seasoned college administrator, he writes on music, public policy and the arts, and is an accomplished bassoonist, having performed extensively in chamber and solo recitals. Polisi has also served as dean of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, dean of faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and executive officer of the Yale University School of Music.
The following colleges and schools will have featured speakers at their diploma ceremonies:
Marymount College at Fordham
Speaker: Joyce Brown, Ph.D., (MC ‘68), president of Fashion Institute of Technology
Date: Sunday, May 21
Time: 3 p.m.
Place: Kenny Field, Marymount College, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Graduate School of Business Administration
Speaker: Angelo R. Mozilo (CBA ’60), chairman and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corporation
Date: Sunday, May 21
Time: 8 p.m.
Place: Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, N.Y.
School of Law
Speaker: John Feerick, (FCRH ’58, LAW ’61), former dean of Fordham Law School
Date: Sunday, May 21
Time: 11 a.m.
Place: Theater at Madison Square Garden, 4 Penn Plaza, New York, N.Y.
Graduate School of Social Service
Speaker: Ruth Sanchez-Way, Ph.D., MSW, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
Date: Tuesday, May 23
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, N.Y.
Log onto the Commencement website for more details.
