May 16, 2004
The approximately 1,200 members of the University of Hartford’s graduating class of 2004 will be recognized for their academic successes at the
University’s 47th annual Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 16, at 10 a.m., on the lawn in front of the University’s Gengras Student Union building. U.S. Rep. John B. Larson (D.-Conn.) will deliver this year’s Commencement address.
Larson is one of six individuals who will receive honorary degrees. The other recipients are Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee; acclaimed architect Robert A.M. Stern; poet, and short story writer Tess Gallagher; world renowned classical guitarist Oscar Ghiglia; and Saint Joseph College President Winifred E. Coleman.
Congressman Larson, who will be presented with a Doctor of Laws, is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Connecticut’s First Congressional District. Larson serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Science Committee. He is co-chairman of the Digital Divide Caucus, which is devoted to closing the technology gap that exists along socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographical lines by advancing education technology and training for schools and communities. Among his accomplishments, Larson has introduced legislation to advance fuel cell technology, increase research and development funding for America’s aviation and aerospace industries, and provide municipalities with funding to improve their preparedness for responding to disasters or acts of terrorism. Larson served in the Connecticut State Senate from 1982 to 1994. As a senator, Larson established the nation’s first family and medical leave legislation.
Albee, who is being presented with a Doctor of Letters, is probably best known for his dark masterpiece,
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962), which established him as one of the nation’s leading playwrights. During his career, Albee has been awarded three Pulitzer Prizes, for
A Delicate Balance (1966),
Seascape (1975), and
Three Tall Women (1994). Albee burst onto the theatrical scene in the late 1950s and changed the landscape of American drama with unflinching examinations of modern American life and his stinging social commentary. With his most recent hit,
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia (2002), Albee remains one of the nation’s most celebrated and influential playwrights.
Stern, who will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts, is the dean of the Yale School of Architecture and the founder of the prominent New York firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects. Stern is widely recognized for his skill at adapting historical styles to a contemporary context and integrating buildings into their settings. Stern designed the 33,000-square-foot Museum Center for the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. His innovative design for the Museum Center involved building it into the slope of the hillside, so that the new facility would not dominate the Victorian-era historical structures on the site. Stern was also involved in the 1992 renovation of Times Square in New York.
Gallagher, who will receive a Doctor of Letters, is the widow of writer Raymond Carver and a poet, short story writer, and essayist, in her own right. She has written more than nine books of poetry, three collections of short stories, and two collections of essays. Her honors include a National Endowment for the Arts award; the Elliston Award for “best book of poetry published by a small press” for
Instructions to the Double (1976); and the Washington Poets Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Soul Barnacles (2000), about her years since Carver’s death in 1988, includes introductory comments by University faculty William Stull and Maureen Carroll. Gallagher collaborated with director Robert Altman on the screenplay for the movie
Short Cuts, which brought nine of Carver’s short stories to life.
Ghiglia, who will receive a Doctor of Music, is the foremost protégé of classical guitar Maestro Andres Segovia and is internationally recognized as one of the leading figures in the classical guitar world. Ghiglia’s passion for teaching has enabled him to pass on Segovia’s musical legacy through his many master classes around the world and his teaching at the Basel Music-Akademie in Switzerland, where he is a professor of guitar. Ghiglia also helped to shape the guitar program at The Hartt School as its artist-in-residence from 1980 to 1988. After founding the guitar department at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado in 1969, he served as its chairman until 1986.
Coleman, who is being presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters, was named president of Saint Joseph College in West Hartford on July 15, 1991. Under her leadership, the college successfully completed its first-ever capital campaign and developed a number of major projects that have benefited both the school and the community, including the construction of the O’Connell Athletic Center, the development of the Carol Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities, and the creation of the School for Young Children. Before taking the helm at Saint Joseph College, Coleman served as dean of students at two women’s colleges for a total of 24 years.
The University’s main Commencement ceremony will also feature the presentation of faculty awards of merit to Professor Bharat Kolluri, chairman of the economic finance and insurance department at the Barney School of Business; Professor J. Holden Camp, chair of the humanities department in Hillyer College; Leo Smith, associate professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture; and Paul Bugl, associate professor of mathematics at the College of Arts and Sciences. Student achievement awards will be presented to Cassi Polk of Brooklyn, N.Y., Nicole Saad of Windham, N.H., and Jacqlyn Tumolo of Upper Darby, Penn. The diploma ceremonies for each of the University’s eight schools and colleges will take place after the main ceremony.
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