WORCESTER, MA (06/02/2014)(readMedia)– During its 110th Commencement exercises on May 18, Clark University awarded 544 bachelor’s degrees, 472 master’s, and 24 doctoral degrees. The following local students received degrees:
Felicia S. Bakaj of Lebanon; Bachelor of Arts in environmental science
Adam L. Kelley of East Lyme; Bachelor of Arts in English and philosophy
Emily L. Newton of East Lyme; Master of Public Administration
Kristina Noelani Kalolo of East Lyme; Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change
Allison S. Fichtelberg of Niantic; Bachelor of Arts in psychology
Katie A. Freaney of Old Lyme; Master of Arts in Teaching
James M. Spina of Old Lyme; Bachelor of Arts in biology
Charles Francis Catania of Uncasville; Master of Business Administration
Clark Class of 1976 alumnus Ron Shaich, founder, chairman of the board, and CEO of Panera Bread Company, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and delivered the Commencement address.
“So here’s the question for today … what really matters in creating a successful career and a successful life?” Shaich asked the Class of 2014. “If there’s one lesson that I take from my 30 years as a business builder, it is this: Knowing what matters dramatically increases the probability that you will produce the outcome you desire.”
Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, spoke at the master’s and doctoral degree-granting ceremony. Crow, who is nationally recognized for innovative leadership and his commitment to a “reinvention” of the American research university model, lauded Clark University for charting a different academic path. Crow told new graduates they need to do more than just criticize the status quo, they should identify problems from different perspectives and foster change.
Crow received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, as did Cynthia Enloe, research professor in Clark’s International Development, Community, and Environment Department and a renowned feminist teaching and research on women’s politics.
More information about the 2014 Clark University Commencement is available online.
Founded in 1887 in Worcester, MA, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.