Rhode Island College announces commencement speakers
and honorary degree recipients
May 16th ceremonies to take place at Dunkin’ Donuts Center
Rhode Island Public Radio political reporter Scott MacKay will serve as featured speaker at the Rhode Island College undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. Secretary of Health and Human Services Elizabeth H. Roberts will deliver the commencement address for the RIC graduate ceremony, held at 2:30 p.m. at the center.
This is the first year that RIC will hold its commencement ceremonies at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Demand for seating at the undergraduate ceremony, which until this year had been held outdoors on the RIC quadrangle, has grown beyond the available space on campus. The move to the Dunkin’ Donuts center will allow more family members to attend this memorable event.
MacKay has a 30-year career of chronicling the Ocean State’s political scene. A Providence native, he worked as a reporter for The Providence Journal from 1984 to 2008. Since 2009, he has served as a political analyst for Rhode Island Public Radio, where he provides commentary and analysis to “Political Roundtable,” “Morning Edition” and ”All Things Considered.” He is also a co-author of the RIPR “On Politics” blog.
Roberts has a notable career in public service, including serving as Rhode Island’s first female Lieutenant Governor. An expert on a variety of health care issues, Roberts has chaired the Health Care Report Commission and helped to establish the state’s Health Care Exchange. Rhode Island College nursing students know her well, as each year she meets with senior nursing students as part of their public/ community health course.
MacKay and Roberts are among six community members chosen to receive honorary degrees from Rhode Island College during commencement ceremonies. MacKay will receive an honorary doctorate of journalism, while Roberts will receive an honorary doctorate of health.
Rhode Island business leaders and philanthropists Robert and Wini Galkin will receive honorary doctorates of humanities. The Galkins are partners in the West Warwick-based Natco Products Corporation, a home products business. Wini Galkin is a graduate of Pembroke College, while her husband Robert holds degrees from Brown University and Cambridge University.
Physician and philanthropist Joseph A. Chazan, M.D., will receive an honorary doctorate of fine arts. A professor emeritus at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Dr. Chazan is a well-known collector of contemporary art, much of which his family has donated to area institutions. Since 2005, his focus has been to highlight the work of Rhode Island artists. The Chazan Family Gallery at RIC is named in honor of his family.
The Honorable Walter R. Stone, associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Judge Stone is a noted white-collared criminal defense, employment discrimination and commercial litigation attorney and is a former R.I. assistant attorney general. He has distinguished himself by extensive public service, including work with the Rhode Island Foundation, the R.I. Black Heritage Society and R.I. Legal Services.
Established in 1854, Rhode Island College serves approximately 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students through its five schools: the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, the School of Social Work, the School of Management and the School of Nursing. For more information, visit www.ric.edu.
{Photo of Scott MacKay attached}
