Walter Massey to address graduates

Author: Zamir Ahmed

Dr. Walter E. Massey, the former director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and President Emeritus of Morehouse College, will deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of 2008 on May 25, the College will announce later today. Massey and nine others will also receive honorary degrees from the College at a ceremony expected to fill 5,000 seats.

Massey, who graduated from Atlanta-based Morehouse College in 1958 and received a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, is regarded as one of the nation's top science administrators. He was director of the NSF, the U.S.'s lead agency supporting research and education in mathematics, science and engineering from 1991 to 1993. Massey also served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, heading the world's largest general scientific society in 1989.

Massey is currently a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He also previously served as the vice president for research at the University of Chicago from 1984 to 1991 and the director of Argonne National Laboratory from 1979 to 1984.

Those that know Massey personally described him as an educator with valuable advice to offer graduates.

"He's a very distinguished scientist and a very distinguished administrative leader in the academic world," said Pardon Tillinghast Professor of Religion Larry Yarbrough, a member of the Honorary Degree Committee. "I think the students are really going to take to him."

Massey was chosen to lead the all-male, historically black Morehouse College in 1995, serving as the college's ninth president until retiring last June. While at Morehouse,the alma mater of Martin Luther King, Jr., Massey drew praise for overseeing the largest capital campaign in the college's history. The drive, part of a larger effort to raise the college's academic competitiveness to the level of the nation's most prestigious liberal arts institutions, surpassed its initial goal of $105 million by $15 million.

Prior to taking over at Morehouse, Massey held the second-most senior position in California's public education system as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of the University of California from 1993 to 1995. He has also held research and teaching positions at the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago and Brown University.

Massey's influence has extended into the corporate and foundational sectors as well. He serves or has served as a trustee of numerous organizations, including his current position on the boards of such organizations as Bank of America, BP Oil, McDonald's and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Massey has spoken to graduating classes at a number of institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At the 1999 commencement ceremony at Northwestern University, Massey, who had been invited to the event receive an honorary doctorate of science, filled in as commencement speaker after then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who was scheduled to address the graduates, was called away on diplomatic business. Though he had been given fewer than two days notice of the change, Massey wowed the crowd with a speech on ethical leadership.

In his speeches, Massey is known to emphasize leadership strength and conviction, a commitment to individualism and a respect for diversity through knowing one's roots. Yarbrough believes Massey's ideas make him an appropriate commencement speaker for the College.

"Here's a man who just represents so many of the values that Middlebury is trying to instill in its students - serious scholarship but also very serious service," said Yarbrough. "I think that he will be extremely interesting to Middlebury students, and he's just the kind of person we need to have speak."

Following his commencement address, Massey will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the College. The nine other individuals with ties to the College will also receive honorary degrees at the ceremony.

Katharine V. Cashman '76 will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. She is a volcanologist and head of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Oregon. In 2006, the American Geophysical Union honored her with the N.L. Bowen Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to volcanology, geochemistry or petrology.

Patricia H. Cashman '72, a research professor in geological sciences at the University of Nevada in Reno, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. A field-based structural geologist, she solves regional tectonic problems using structural and geophysical techniques.

Susan M. Cashman '72 will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the College. She is a professor of geology at Humboldt State University and served as the associate editor of the Geological Society of America Bulletin from 1996 to 2001.

Churchill G. and Janet H. Franklin will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from the College. Churchill Franklin '71 is the executive vice president and co-founder of Boston-based global investment management firm Acadian Asset Management. He joined the College's Board of Trustees in 1989 and was chair of the board from 2000 to 2004 before becoming an emeritus trustee in 2005.

Janet Franklin '72 has held a number of positions in support of the College, serving as a fundraiser, reunion organizer alumni admissions volunteer and career counselor among other positions. She is also a member of the board for the Concord Museum in Massachusetts and works for an antiques auction house.

M. Arthur Jr. and Drue C. '57 Gensler will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. They co-founded Gensler, the largest architectural firm in the U.S., opening the company's first studio in 1965. Gensler was selected by the American Institute of Architects as the Architectural Firm of the Year in 2000. Additionally, Drue Gensler served as a trustee of the College from 1994 to 2004 and helped establish the May Belle Chellis Women's Resource Center.

Philip O. and Amy Yeager Geier will receive honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the College. Philip Geier is the executive director of the Davis United World Colleges Scholars Program, the largest privately funded international scholarship program for undergraduates in the world. Amy Yeager Geier operates Geier Consulting Services and is a fundraising and nonprofit management consultant. From 1993 to 2005, she was the director of development for the United World College in Montezuma, N.M.

Additional reporting by Kathryn Flagg.