The University’s 62nd Commencement exercises will be held Monday, May 16, at 10 a.m., at the Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.

During the ceremony, the University will honor four distinguished leaders who will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees. Two thousand graduates will receive doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees. Honorary degrees will be conferred upon Malcolm Borg, chairman of the board of North Jersey Media Group; Rami Chhabra, an activist, writer and journalist from India; alumnus and New Jersey Acting Gov. Richard Codey, BA’81 (Flor); and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who will deliver the comnmencement address.

Seymour Hersh, right, will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree. Other honorary degree recipients will be, from left, Richard Codey, Malcolm Borg and Rami Chhabra.

The campus provosts will present the Student Pinnacle awards to a student from each FDU campus who has demonstrated academic excellence, public service and commitment to the University.

Kenneth Greene, interim provost (Flor), will present the College at Florham Student Pinnacle Award to Mark Bullock, who completed a five-year accelerated program leading to both a bachelor of science in biology and a master of arts in teaching. Bullock has twice been elected president of the Student Government Association and has served as student representative to the University Board of Trustees and a resident assistant. Bullock was named a Fairleigh Dickinson University Charter Day Scholar three times, received the Burden Award for Meritorious Achievement and is a member of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. A substitute teacher throughout his collegiate career, Bullock has been serving since January as a student teacher at Wayne Valley High School in Wayne, N.J.

The Student Pinnacle at the Metropolitan Campus will be presented to Kelley Kramer by Metropolitan Campus Provost Joseph Kiernan. Kramer, a communication major, served as managing editor and then editor-in-chief for the last two years of The Equinox. Under her leadership, the paper earned honorable mention in the 2003 New Jersey Press Association’s Better College Newspaper Contest. She also has been an orientation leader and media board senator for the Student Government Association. Her honors include the Emerging Leader of the Year award from the division of student affairs, being named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges and receiving a Campus Service Grant. Off-campus, she is a volunteer youth group leader and has worked as an intern and production assistant for “Inside Edition,” WTXF-FOX 29 and “Live! With Regis and Kelly.”

Greene and Kiernan will read the graduates’ names. For detailed commencement instructions for faculty and staff see “Commencement Logistics” below.

Honorary Degree Recipients

Malcolm Borg

Malcolm Borg represents the third generation of his family to lead the company that started with ownership of the Bergen Evening Record — now The Record, and New Jersey’s award-leading newspaper and flagship of North Jersey Media Group. In 2004, the company was ranked as the 103rd largest media company in the United States. In addition to his corporate accomplishments, Borg’s prodigious contribution to and involvement in civic, educational, health and environmental activities is a testament to his deep commitment to New Jersey and the nation. He has served more than 40 civic, professional and charitable organizations.

Rami Chhabra

An activist and a pioneer journalist in both print and the electronic media, Rami Chhabra has focused her work on population issues and women’s development. She has served as a senior administrator with the Indian government in national family planning efforts and has worked with many nongovernmental organizations worldwide. Chhabra has been and remains a steadfast and independent voice for women in India.

Richard Codey

New Jersey’s Acting Gov. Richard Codey, BA’81 (Flor), has long played a significant role in the state. His distinguished legislative career began in 1973, when he became the youngest legislator ever elected in New Jersey. In 2004, Codey became Senate president and has been a leading advocate for education as well as health and mental health issues. He has earned a reputation as a skillful leader who brings people together to achieve bipartisan goals. Numerous organizations and associations have recognized Acting Gov. Codey for his contributions to the state and to the people of New Jersey, awarding him “Legislator of the Year” many times.

Seymour Hersh

One of the nation’s leading investigative journalists and the author of eight books, Seymour Hersh is a regular contributor to The New Yorker. His journalism and publishing honors include the Pulitzer Prize, five George Polk Awards, the National Magazine Award and more than a dozen other awards for investigative reporting on the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and the C.I.A. bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger’s wiretapping spanning his tenure under Richard Nixon as national security adviser and secretary of state and the C.I.A. efforts against Chile’s President Salvador Allende, among other topics. In 2004, Hersh was responsible for exposing the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in a series of three pieces in The New Yorker. In 2005, he was awarded the National Press Club’s Lifetime Achievement award.

For full background information on the four honorees, visit http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=751 .

Commencement Logistics

Faculty, staff and candidates for graduation must arrive at the arena no later than 8:30 a.m. Marshals must arrive by 8 a.m. For security reasons, backpacks and large bags will not be permitted within the arena. All should enter the arena between Gates A and D and proceed on the escalators to the floor level. There, signs will be posted for faculty robing rooms and for volunteers to receive instructions. Students will be lined up on the arena floor level according to degree and by college. All graduates will have their names called and will walk across the stage and shake hands with President J. Michael Adams. Photographs will be taken of each graduate. The ceremony should end by 1 p.m. Graduates will be able to pick up their diplomas in the Office of Enrollment Services on each campus starting June 13, or if preferred, diplomas can be mailed to the graduates’ homes.

The College at Florham marshals’ meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, at noon in the Bottle Hill Room, Student Center. Metropolitan Campus faculty and staff marshals must attend a training session on Wednesday, May 11, at 3 p.m. in the Rutherford Room, Student Union Building. Individuals who are volunteering (nonmarshals) should attend a pre-Commencement meeting on Wednesday, May 12, at 4 p.m. in the Rutherford Room, Student Union Building.

Faculty and staff must return their academic regalia in the original boxes to their respective campus bookstores — at the College at Florham — no later than 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, and at the Metropolitan Campus — no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17. Charges will be incurred if the regalia is not returned on time. Metropolitan Campus bookstore hours are Monday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The College at Florham bookstore is open Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information on commencement, go to http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=1566 .

April/May 2005

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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