UPDATED: Who's speaking at Philly-area commencements in 2017

Here are the men and women who will deliver commencement addresses to area graduates – and receive honorary degrees – in the coming weeks, presented in no particular order. PhillyVoice will be adding to this list as colleges make additional announcements.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA

Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League and an advocate for economic empowerment, will deliver the commencement address at the Community College of Philadelphia on Saturday, May 6, 2017, at 10 a.m. in The Liacouras Center. A long-time advocate for individuals seeking meaningful employment pathways, Morial has been a powerful voice for economic inclusion. As leader of the National Urban League since 2003, he has served as a seasoned strategist for revitalizing communities and local economies. His energetic and skilled leadership has expanded the League’s work around an empowerment agenda, which is redefining civil rights in the 21st century with a renewed emphasis on closing the economic gaps between whites and blacks, as well as other communities of color, and rich and poor Americans. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics and African-American studies, he also holds a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., as well as numerous honorary degrees.

ROSEMONT COLLEGE

Eustace Wolfington, president of Cabrini Asset Management in King of Prussia, will serve as commencement speaker and received an honorary degree during ceremonies on Saturday, May 13 at 2 p.m. on the campus' Connelly Green. The founder of the Half-a-Car company (HAC Group), he has made an extraordinary philanthropic commitment to Catholic institutions in the Philadelphia area. After spending two and a half years at the University of Notre Dame and then serving in the United States Army in Korea, Wolfington returned to Philadelphia and St. Joseph's University. He earned a bachelor of science degree.

Honorary degrees also will be granted to two alumnae, Margo Barry Polett, a 1961 graduate of the Undergraduate College, and Ann E. Myhr, a 1997 and 1999 graduate of the Schools of Graduate and Professional Studies.

ST.JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY

Madeline Bell, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, will address the Class of 2017 at Saint Joseph’s University’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 20 at 9 a.m. on campus. She will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree. Bell, who began her career at CHOP as a pediatric nurse, became the woman CEO of the hospital in 2015. Her contributions to the hospital include the development of the largest pediatric ambulatory network in the country; the implementation of a single platform electronic health record; expansion of a four-million-square-foot campus; and the development of numerous nationally recognized clinical and family-centered care programs. U.S. News & World Report named CHOP No. 2 nationwide in its 2016-17 Honor Roll of the Best Children’s Hospitals. 

In addition to Bell, Cora Marie Billings, R.S.M., and alumnus J. Eustace Wolfington ’56 will be honored at the undergraduate ceremony with the honorary doctorate of humane letters. Billings, a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy for 60 years, was the first African-American to join the order’s Mid-Atlantic Community in Merion in 1956. She has dedicated her life to teaching and advancing racial equality and social justice. Wolfington is a dedicated alumnus and longtime supporter of his alma mater who is known as an innovator in the retail automobile, car leasing and insurance industries. A prominent leader in Catholic philanthropy, Wolfington was a member of Saint Joseph’s University’s Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2002, and in 2004 received the Shield of Loyola, the University’s most prestigious alumni award. 

Alumna Linda Cliatt-Wayman ’92 will deliver the address at the graduate and doctoral ceremony on May 20 at 3 p.m. on campus. She will receive the honorary doctorate of humane letters.A leader in education advocacy on behalf of children living in poverty, she spent 20 years as a special education teacher. As principal at Strawberry Mansion High School, Cliatt-Wayman received national attention for her role in turning around the school. After one year of her leadership, the school was removed from the federal Persistently Dangerous Schools List, and student achievement and test scores improved dramatically.

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, will speak to graduates of Villanova University at this year's commencement on May 19. He will receive an honorary doctor of humane letter degree. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School, his invention of the Bloomberg terminal, a computer software system for the financial service sector, led to the creation of his technology startup in 1981. The company has since gone global and grown to more than 19,000 employees in 73 countries. He was elected mayor of New York City in 2001 and served three terms. His Bloomberg Philanthropies supports initiatives in public health, education, the environment, the arts and government education.

The university also will present honorary degrees to Anne Welsh McNulty, the Rev. Wally Kasuboski, O.F.M. and Irwin Medway.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil will address graduates and receive an honorary degree at commencement on May 11 at 9:30 a.m. in Liacouras Center. He will be awarded a doctorate of humane letters. Vermeil led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl in 1981 and went on to coach the St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. (He led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.) Vermeil maintains strong local ties to the Philadelphia area and is a huge supporter of the Chester County Council Boy Scouts of America.

School Reform Commission nominee Estelle Richman, a former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, will receive a doctorate of laws. Richman’s honorary degree will further solidify Temple’s connections to the School Reform Commission — which has two seats filled by current Temple employees. Governor Tom Wolf nominated Richman in October to fill the SRC’s empty seat, but she is still waiting for the state senate to confirm the nomination.

PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

Joan Semmel will address the class of 2017 at commencement on May 12 at 3 p.m. in the Historic Landmark Building, 118 N. Broad St. A feminist painter, professor, and writer, Semmel was born and raised in New York City, where she graduated from Cooper Union and Pratt Institute. She began as an abstract painter but is best known for the large-scale nude self-portraits she has been making since the 1970s. She has long been involved in the feminist movement and feminist art groups devoted to gender equality in the art world. Semmel's works are found in museum collections across the country, and she is professor emeritus of painting at Rutgers University.

Anne Minich, whose dexterous drawings and meticulously painted constructions investigate the consistency and the truth of human duality, ambiguity, and multiplicity, will receive the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award. Minich, who attended PAFA in 1954 and 1955, is known for her abstract, mixed-media paintings on wood that are often inspired by architectural elements. She refers to them as "painting/constructs" and incorporates intentionally ordinary and mundane found objects into her work.

Lorraine Riesenbach, co-founder and director of the Artists' House Gallery in Philadelphia, will receive the 2017 Alumni Service Award. She and her husband Marvin ran the gallery in Philadelphia's Old City neighborhood for 22 years before retiring in 2013. Riesenbach, who received her certificate from PAFA in 1991, has helped many emerging young artists exhibit in a gallery.

DELAWARE VALLEY UNIVERSITY

Marie Rodale, CEO and chair of Rodale Inc., America’s largest independent, family-owned publisher, will deliver the commencement address on Saturday, May 13, 2017. A third-generation Rodale to take the reins of the family business headquartered in Emmaus, she oversees a global business with more than 700 employees and partners around the world in 70 countries. Some of Rodale’s titles include Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Running Times, Runner’s World, Bicycling and Prevention. 

DREXEL UNIVERSITY

John Maeda, global head of computational design and inclusion at Automattic, the parent company of Jetpack, WooCommerce, Longreads and WordPress.com, will address the class of 2017 at Drexel University’s commencement on June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park. Maeda, who will receive a doctor of humane letters degree, is a major catalyst behind the national movement to transform STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — into STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Steven Van Zandt, legendary musician, actor, and human rights activist, will address graduates during commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 14, 2017, at 10 a.m. in High Point Solutions Stadium on Rutgers' Busch Campus in Piscataway, New Jersey. Perhaps best recognized as a guitarist and influential member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and for his portrayal of Silvio Dante in HBO’s The Sopranos, Van Zandt will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.

Harvey J.  Makadon, a physician and tireless advocate for the poor, the homeless, patients living with HIV, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree. As director of education and training programs at the Fenway Institute and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, he continues to teach health care providers across the nation how to better serve the LGBTQ and HIV communities and improve their access to quality care.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Cory A. Booker, Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey, will address graduates during commencement on May 15, 2017 at 10:15 a.m. at Franklin Field. A graduate of Stanford University, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and played varsity football, he is an advocate for criminal justice reform and community empowerment. A Rhodes Scholar, Booker has a graduate degree from the University of Oxford, Queen’s College, and a J.D. from Yale Law. He moved to Newark and started a nonprofit organization to provide legal services for low-income families and tenants seeking to improve living conditions. He then served on Newark City Council and was elected the Newark mayor.

HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS

Isabel Allende, writer, journalist, and women's rights activist, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree and the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Clara Franzini-Armstrong, emerita professor of cell and developmental biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will received an honorary doctor of sciences degree; Terry Gross, host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air on NPR, will received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree and the National Humanities Medal; Ada Sue Hinshaw, inaugural director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, NIH, and groundbreaking researcher in the science of nursing, will receive an honorary doctor of sciences degree; Robert P. Moses, founder and president of The Algebra Project, and educator and civil rights champion, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree; and Paul Muldoon, poet and Howard G.B. Clark '21 University Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University, and poetry editor at The New Yorker, will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

IMMACULATA UNIVERSITY

Sister Rosemary Donley, Ph.D., APRN, FAAN will address graduates and receive the Immaculata Medal at the commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 21, at 10 a.m. Donley, whose work to improve the lives of the elderly, immigrants, veterans, children, people with disabilities or mental illness, and victims of violence, is raising awareness of national social justice issues. She is a member of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill. Donley was dean of nursing, then executive vice president and COO of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 2009, she joined Duquesne University School of Nursing where she holds the Jacques Laval Chair for Justice for Vulnerable Populations.

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY – CAMDEN

Dr. Carla D. Hayden, the first woman and the first African-American to lead the Library of Congress, will address graduates and receive an honorary degree at commencement ceremonies for the College of Arts and Sciences on Wednesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Nominated to the position by President Barack Obama in February 2016, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13, 2016.

Steven G. Selfridge SBC’79, president of government services for Day & Zimmermann Co., will be the keynote speaker at commencement for the School of Business on Thursday, May 18 at 9:30 a.m. He is known for building and leading high-performance multinational teams and uniting parties on a common mission and goals. He serves as chair of the Foundation Board of Lourdes Hospital in Camden. Selfridge received his bachelor of arts in accounting from Rutgers University – Camden, where he serves on the Leadership Council of Rutgers School of Business.

James J. Sandman, Esq., president of Legal Services Corp., will deliver the commencement address for the Rutgers Law School at Camden on Thursday, May 18 at 2 p.m. He has been president of the Legal Services Corp. since 2011. He practiced law with Arnold & Porter LLP from 1977 to 2007 and served as the firm’s managing partner from 1995 to 2005. From 2007 to 2011, he was general counsel for the District of Columbia Public Schools. He was named one of the “90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years” by the Legal Times in 2008. 

Dr. Marcel Pop, director of international relations at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, will address graduates of the School of Nursing during commencement on Thursday, May 18 at 5:30 p.m. Pop's expertise is focused on the intersections of global nursing education, biomedical education, health care systems, and internationalization. Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden is expanding its global reach through an ongoing collaboration with Semmelweis University that will allow the two higher education institutions to partner on scholar exchange programs that investigate emergency care, infection control, and health care policies in the European Union and the United States.

Dr. Sherman Leis, CCAS ’63, professor and chair of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, will be the keynote speaker at commencement ceremonies for the Graduate School on Wednesday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Board-certified in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery, he founded The Center For Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the first private out-patient cosmetic surgery center in the region. In addition to surgery, Dr. Leis has been training plastic surgery residents since 1982 and served as a National Board Examiner for certification in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 

All Rutgers University – Camden graduation ceremonies will be held at the BBBT Pavilion in Camden.

ROWAN UNIVERSITY