April 28, 2009
Boston Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino to address Class of 2009
Mr. Lucchino and Lisa Churchville, president and general manager of NBC 10 WJAR, will give Commencement addresses at undergraduate and graduate ceremonies, respectively.
Bryant University will hold its 146th Undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 16, at 10 a.m., with 808 students expected to participate in the graduation ceremony. Graduate School Commencement will be held for 187 students on Thursday, May 14, at 5 p.m. Both ceremonies will take place in the Main Tent adjacent to the Bryant Center and will be broadcast live on the Web.
Lawrence Lucchino | Malcom G.Chace | Gretchen Dow Simpson
Lisa Churchville | Ernest A. Almonte
Undergraduate Commencement
Lawrence "Larry" Lucchino, president/CEO of the Boston Red Sox, will deliver the keynote address at undergraduate Commencement. Lucchino manages the franchise on a day-to-day basis with the active involvement of, and in collaboration with, Principal Owner John W. Henry and Chairman Tom Werner.
A 30-year veteran of Major League Baseball, Lucchino has served in a variety of capacities with three franchises – the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox. He has served in the role of president/CEO with each team, and earned a ring with every club, including two that represent World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.
He has been a key driver in the creation of ballparks that have transformed the venue’s role in the fan experience, and influenced franchise value and place in the community at Oriole Park at Camden Yards; Petco Park in San Diego; and the successful and well-received infrastructure innovations and improvements at Fenway Park, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.
Under his leadership, each franchise has also reinvigorated its philanthropy and community relations to ensure all fans feel welcome. Today, the Red Sox Foundation, which has distributed more than $30 million in grants, is the largest team charity in Major League Baseball.
A Pittsburgh native, Lucchino graduated with honors from Princeton University, where he was a part of two Ivy League Championship basketball teams, and received a degree from Yale Law School. Prior to joining the Orioles in 1979, he was a partner at Williams and Connolly, a D.C.-based law firm founded by his mentor and friend, Edward Bennett Williams, and was vice president/general counsel of the Washington Redskins.
Lucchino will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Malcom G. “Kim” Chace is chairman of BankRI,a leader among full-service banks in Rhode Island. Chace formed BankRI in 1996 with Merrill Sherman, currently president and CEO of the bank, by winning a bid on 13 Shawmut branches in Rhode Island.
Chace’s ancestor, Oliver Chace, founded the textile mill Berkshire in 1806 in Providence. His father, Malcolm Chace Jr., Berkshire president, oversaw the merger with Hathaway in 1955. The takeover was completed in 1965 and the last mill closed in the mid-1970s.
Kim Chace serves as a director of many companies and organizations. He was a member of Bryant’s Board of Trustees from 1999-2008 and served as vice chair of the Campaign Steering Committee. The Bryant University Wellness and Athletic Center is named for Elizabeth and Malcolm Chace.
He has served on the boards of Women and Infants Hospital, Trinity Repertory Company, WaterFire Providence, John Hope Settlement House, Brown University, and Rhode Island School of Design, among other organizations. He earned a BA from Yale University in 1956.
Chace will receive an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration.
Gretchen Dow Simpson owns and operates the Gretchen Dow Simpson Studio in Pawtucket, R.I. Simpson attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) from 1957-1959 and majored in painting, but, after leaving RISD, she did not take up painting again until 1970.
She began her distinguished career taking photographs of buildings and worked as a freelance photographer in Boston, New York, Minneapolis, and Scranton from 1962-1970. Her first painting was purchased by The New Yorker magazine in 1974 and 58 paintings were used as covers over a 20-year period. She is best known for her distinctive views of New England architecture.
Simpson is the recipient of several prestigious commissions, including assignments from Bostonian, The Atlantic Monthly, Absolut Vodka, and Kirin-Seagram Company. She has held solo shows and group exhibitions in museums and galleries across the country.
Her work is held by many private collectors and within the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and TIME, Inc. in New York City, among others nationwide. A member of the Pawtucket Armory Association and the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative, she received the Pell Award in 2005.
Simpson will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Graduate School Commencement
Lisa Churchville will give the keynote address at Commencement exercises for the Graduate School of Business. She is president and general manager of NBC 10 Providence/New Bedford, which won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in local news this year.
Churchville came to NBC 10 in Providence in 1997 from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, where she was vice president of sales. Prior to that, she served in several key positions at WMAQ-TV in Chicago. She began her career in 1986 at NBC in New York and also worked in advertising sales for ABC and WABC-TV in New York City.
Churchville’s academic involvement includes serving on Brown University’s Civic Leadership Council and the Providence College President’s Council. She has taught or been a guest lecturer or speaker at colleges and conferences throughout the United States and abroad.
She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Providence Public Library, is a board member of Women & Infants Hospital, and has served as Chair of the Board of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, and the Arts & Business Council.
Churchville holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University: Barnard College and an MBA from Harvard University.
Churchville will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Ernest A. Almonte ’78, ’85 MST, has more than 30 years of experience in the accounting profession. He has been Auditor General for the State of Rhode Island since 1994.
Almonte is responsible for the auditing of the $7 billion State Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the $3 billion Federal Single Audit, Municipal Oversight, Performance Audits, Fraud Audits, and oversight of quasi-public agencies.
From 1982-1994 he owned a CPA firm in Smithfield, R.I. The recipient of many awards, including The Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Almonte was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Profession by Accounting Today in 2005 and 2008.
He served on the Bryant Board of Trustees from 1993 to 2002 and is past chair of Bryant’s National Alumni Council. He currently serves as chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Taxation from Bryant University.
Almonte will receive an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration.
Commencement Schedule of Events
Thursday, May 14
5 p.m. Graduate School Commencement – Main Tent
6 p.m. Graduate School Reception – George E. Bello Center for
Information and Technology, Stepan Grand Hall and Patio
Friday, May 15
4 p.m. Baccalaureate Service for the Class of 2009 – Koffler Rotunda
5 p.m. President's Reception for Undergraduates – Salmanson Dining
Room
Saturday, May 16
10 a.m. 146th Undergraduate Commencement – Main Tent
12:15 p.m. New Alumni Reception – George E. Bello Center for
Information and Technology, Stepan Grand Hall and Patio
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To learn more, visit Commencement 2009.
