Speakers and additional details have been announced for all of the St. Thomas commencement celebrations:
School of Law: On Saturday, May 14, Judge Michael Melloy of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals addressed 160 School of Law graduates.
About the speaker: A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, Judge Melloy was a private practice attorney for 12 years. In 1986 he was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Iowa, beginning an outstanding career on the bench. In 1992 he was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. In 2002 Judge Melloy was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He has served on the 8th Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction Committee and was a member of the Gender Fairness Task Force. He currently serves as Chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on Administration of the Bankruptcy System.
Commencement Mass will be held for all St. Thomas graduates, their families and guests at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 239 Selby Avenue in St. Paul.
Sister Carol Keehan, D.C.
Graduate exercises: Sister Carol Keehan, a member of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees and president of the National Catholic Health Association, will address 550 recipients of graduate degrees awarded by St. Thomas’ College of Applied Professional Studies, School of Divinity, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and School of Social Work. She will also receive a Doctor of Laws honorary degree.
Commencement begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. Graduate students participating in the morning ceremony need to be in Schoenecker Arena with their cap, gown and tassel by 9:30 a.m. to line up. Students will receive their hoods at line-up. Doctoral students will be hooded on stage during the ceremony.
About the speaker: Keehan is the ninth president and chief executive officer of the CHA. She is responsible for all association operations and leads CHA’s staff at offices in Washington, D.C., and in St. Louis. Keehan has worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years and has held influential roles in the governance of a variety of health care, insurance and educational organizations.
Ken Hackett
Baccalaureate exercises: Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services will address 1,175 undergraduate bachelor’s degree recipients and receive a Doctor of Laws honorary degree.
Commencement begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, in O’Shaughnessy Stadium. Undergraduate students participating in the afternoon ceremony need to be in Schoenecker Arena on the first floor of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex with their caps, gowns and tassels by 1:30 p.m. to line up.
If the rain plan is implemented for the undergraduate ceremony, it will be announced on the commencement website and WCCO 830 AM at noon on Saturday. If it rains, the ceremony will be held in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. Each student received three tickets for guests with their cap and gown. These tickets cannot be replaced and due to space constraints in the field house. There are no additional tickets available.
About the speaker: Hackett joined CRS in 1972, starting his career in Sierra Leone. He has served CRS in posts throughout Africa and Asia, as well as in a variety of positions at the organization’s headquarters. He was the regional director for Africa, guiding CRS' response to the Ethiopian famine of 1984-1985. He supervised operations in East Africa during the crisis in Somalia in the early 1990s. Hackett has led CRS since 1993. During his tenure, CRS has embarked on a concerted effort to engage the Catholic community in the United States in its work around the world.
Bill George
Opus College of Business graduate ceremonies: Bill George, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic, will address 300 graduate business students and their guests and receive a Doctor of Laws honorary degree.
Commencement begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, in the field house of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex.
About the speaker: Bill George is the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. George joined Medtronic in 1989 as president and chief operating officer, was CEO from 1991-2001 and was chairman of the board from 1996 to 2002. Earlier in his career, he was an executive with Honeywell and Litton Industries and served in the U.S. Department of Defense.
For additional information: Graduating students and their guests are invited to visit St. Thomas’ commencement website for details on hotel accommodations, photography, parking, location changes in case of inclement weather and more.
