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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 2005
CONTACT: Daniel P. Finney, (515) 271-2833, Daniel.Finney@drake.edu
MEDLY OF DRAKE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES BEGINS FRIDAY
More than 1,400 undergraduate, graduate, pharmacy and law students will graduate from Drake University this spring in a series of commencement ceremonies beginning Friday, May 13.
 Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation |
The 124th Commencement Ceremony for Undergraduate Degree Recipients will be at10 a.m., Saturday, May 14, in the Drake Knapp Center. Three honorary doctoral degrees will be awarded at the ceremony. The honorees are Drake alumnus Lawrence K. Fish, president, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group Inc.; Daniel P. Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation; and Drake alumnus Roger Williams, renowned pianist and musician.
Fish, who graduated from Drake in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, will receive an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree. In addition to his position with Citizens Financial Group Inc., Fish joined the Federal Advisory Council in 1999 and became vice president in 2001. The council consists of 12 bankers who serve as a key source of information for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the banking community. Fish also is extremely active with his community and the University. He is an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a member of the board of directors of Boston’s Dimock Community Health Center. He was active with the Drake Board of Trustees and Board of Governors from the late 1970s to mid 1990s. In addition, he has established the Lottie and Robert Brown Scholarship Fund at Drake in honor of his grandparents.
Jordan will receive an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree in recognition of his many contributions to the historical knowledge of President Jefferson. He has overseen the restoration and maintenance of Monticello, led the development of the Thomas Jefferson Library and established the International Center for Jefferson Studies in conjunction with the library. Jordan is noted for his devotion to portraying President Jefferson's life with accuracy and respect and for encouraging critical studies of Jefferson. He has received numerous state and national awards, including the United States Department of the Interior’s Public Service Award, the department’s highest award for a private citizen.
Williams, who earned a graduate degree from Drake in 1951, will receive an honorary Doctor of Music degree. After studying as a piano student at Drake, he joined the Navy and then studied at Juilliard. Williams has since recorded 116 albums, with numerous tracks reaching Top 10 charts. He was the first pianist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Billboard Magazine named him the greatest-selling pianist in history. He is also the only artist to have ever received the Steinway Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, last year he played and 13-and-a-half-hour concert for Jimmy Carter as the former president celebrated his 80th birthday, which also was Williams' 80th birthday.
The 124th Commencement Ceremony for Graduate and Doctoral Degree Recipients will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 14, in the Drake Knapp Center. Journalist Gwen Ifill will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at this ceremony and will deliver a brief acceptance speech. R. Dean Wright, professor emeritus of sociology at Drake, will give the commencement address.
Ifill has covered national and local affairs for The Washington Post, Baltimore Evening, Boston Herald American and The New York Times. She spent five years with NBC News as chief Congressional and political correspondent, covering issues such as national campaigns, Congressional legislation and the impeachment trial of President Clinton. Ifill is currently the senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS and moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week," the longest-running public affairs program on public television.
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