University’s 103rd Commencement Comprises Seven Graduation Ceremonies in May and June

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, American Bar Association President Martha W. Barnett, drummer Louis Bellson, theater advocate Ben Cameron, technology access leader Antonia Stone, Algebra Project founder Robert Moses, Eleanor Roosevelt expert Allida Black, former Cook County Hospital Medicine Department Director Quentin Young, M.D., and immigration researcher and economist Michael J. Greenwood will receive honorary degrees at DePaul University’s 103rd Commencement this spring.

Diplomas will be presented to more than 3,500 students at the seven ceremonies of DePaul’s commencement on May 20, June 16 and June 17. The DePaul Class of 2001 includes students who have completed undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the university’s eight schools and colleges.

Barnett will receive an honorary degree and address graduates at the College of Lawcommencement at noon, May 20, at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive. A partner in the global law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP, she is the second female president in the ABA’s history, and in 1994 became the first woman to chair its policy-making House of Delegates. Barnett, who specializes in public policy and governmental law, is being awarded the College of Law’s honorary degree for her outstanding service to the bar and to legal education.

Black, research professor of history at George Washington University and director and editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt and Human Rights Project, will deliver the address and receive an honorary degree at the School of Education commencement at 9 a.m. June 16 at the Civic Opera House.

An authority on Eleanor Roosevelt and modern first ladies, Black has written three books about Roosevelt and her work, including “Casting Her Own Shadow: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Shaping of Postwar Liberalism,” which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in history. Outside the classroom, Black has penned teachers’ guides for PBS documentaries on the lives of opera singer Marian Anderson and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. She curated an exhibit honoring Eleanor Roosevelt’s role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She also serves as a historical consultant to the White House Historical Association’s conference celebrating the bicentennial of the White House.

Cameron and Bellson will receive honorary degrees at the combined Theatre School and School of Music commencement ceremonies at noon on June 16 at the Civic Opera House. Cameron will deliver the commencement address. Bellson is expected to perform a tune with the DePaul Jazz Ensemble at the ceremony.

A leading advocate for American theater arts, Cameron is executive director of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), a New York-based national service organization for the nonprofit theater community. With 380 member theaters and 17,000 individual members, TCG offers the theater community an array of services, including publications such as American Theater magazine to advocacy projects to conferences.

Hailed by Duke Ellington as “not only the greatest drummer (but also) the world’s greatest musician,” Bellson has performed on more than 200 albums with many of the greatest crooners and jazz legends. A composer and author, Bellson has written more than 300 compositions and more than a dozen books on drums and percussion. A drummer since age three, Bellson pioneered the double bass drum set-up. At age 17, he triumphed over 40,000 drummers to win the Gene Krupa drumming contest. Bellson, who devotes much of his time to jazz education, has played critically acclaimed concerts with the DePaul Jazz Ensemble and recently issued a CD with the university band.

Young will receive an honorary degree and speak at the School for New Learning graduation ceremony at 3 p.m. June 16 at the Civic Opera House. Young is chairman of the Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group and is a former director of the department of medicine at Cook County Hospital.

Moses will speak at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences commencement at 9 a.m. on June 17 at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont. A pivotal organizer for the Civil Rights movement, Moses first formulated what was to become The Algebra Project in 1982 while living with his family in Cambridge, Mass. His daughter’s eighth grade teacher invited the former math teacher to assist several students with algebra. Over time, Moses transformed this local tutoring program into a national math literacy effort aimed at helping low-income students and students of color overcome barriers to mathematical excellence. The program reaches 10,000 students and 300 teachers each year, and it has developed curricula materials, trained teachers and trainers of teachers to implement a systematic change in mathematics education.

Stone will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree from the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems during its graduation ceremony, at 1:30 p.m. on June 17 at the Allstate Arena. Stone is a pioneer in the area of technology access for disadvantaged people. After having successfully introducing computers into prison education during the early 1980s, she established, in 1983, in the basement of a New York public housing project, the first community computer center in a low-income inner city area. Stone went on to found Playing To Win Network, now known as Technology Centers’ Network, Inc. (CTCNet). With an international membership of close to 500, CTCNet brings together agencies and programs that share a commitment to providing technology tools for those who otherwise would have no access.

Adamkus will speak and receive an honorary degree at the College of Commerce commencement ceremony at 4:30 p.m. June 17 at the Allstate Arena. Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1926, Adamkus was a member of the resistance movement for Lithuanian independence during World War II and fought against the Soviet Red Army as a member of the National Defense Force. He and his family emigrated to the Chicago area in 1949, where he took a blue-collar job at a car parts manufacturer. Through diligent work and educational achievement, Adamkus entered the field of scientific environmental research and eventually became Midwest Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. Adamkus, who frequently visited his home country while living in Hinsdale, Ill., became a leader in both the Lithuanian and Lithuanian-American communities and assisted the Baltic States with acquiring resources for environmental protection projects. Active in Lithuanian affairs, he ran for president of Lithuania and returned to lead his home nation after his stunning election in 1998.

In addition to Adamkus, the College of Commerce will confer an honorary degree on Michael J. Greenwood, an economics professor at the University of Colorado. One of the world’s foremost experts on internal migration and immigration issues, Greenwood has provided insight to both academic leaders and public policymakers on these topics through his extensive research.

DePaul is the largest private university in Chicago and the largest Catholic university in the United States. The university enrolls a richly diverse population of approximately 20,500 students who take classes on two city and five suburban campuses. A leader in international business and technology education, DePaul’s reach has extended around the globe, from its MBA and bachelor’s degree programs in Hong Kong to program partnerships for foreign study all over the world.

DePaul was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (or Vincentian fathers) religious community, which follows the teachings of 17th century French priest St. Vincent de Paul. The university’s mission emphasizes academic excellence, service to the community, access to education and respect for the individual.