Related
- Men and Residents of Higher Crime Areas See Greater Benefit from Community Parks, in Reduction of Deaths from Heart Disease
- A Framework for Community-Driven Environmental Justice Guided by the Community
- Researchers Develop LLM to Identify and Suggest Alternatives to Words That Stigmatize
- Natural Ventilation in Historic Buildings Can Save Energy
Drexel University will celebrate its 121st commencement Saturday, June 14, with four separate ceremonies, honoring Drexel’s graduating class. The ceremonies will be held at Drexel’s John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center, 33rd and Market Streets, and will be Webcast live at www.drexel.edu.Following is a list of the honorary degree recipients:8:30 a.m. ceremony, honoring graduates of the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business.Carl Icahn, one of the most influential investors in the nation. In 1968, Icahn founded Icahn & Co., a securities firm that focused on risk arbitrage and options trading. Ten years later, he began taking control positions in individual companies. Icahn and his affiliated companies currently own businesses in a wide range of industries, including real estate, gaming, energy, telecommunications, transportation, industrial services, and manufacturing. Companies in which Icahn and his affiliates currently own majority positions include ACF Industries, American Railcar, XO Communications, Philip Services, Icahn Enterprises LP, and American Casino and Entertainment Partners. His many charitable interests, focusing primarily on child welfare, include education and medicine. Icahn’s philanthropic activities include support to organizations such as his alma mater Princeton University, Choate Rosemary Hall and Mount Sinai Hospital. His foundation, the Children’s Rescue Fund, built a house for homeless single mothers, and operates two homeless shelters. Noon ceremony, honoring graduates of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, School of Public Health and Goodwin College of Professional Studies.Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., Acting U.S. Surgeon General since 2007. He also serves as the operational Commander of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service, a uniformed force of 6,000 health professionals dedicated to promoting, protecting, and advancing the health and safety of the people of the United States. Prior to his appointment as Acting Surgeon General, he served as the director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He has also held senior-level positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, where he was the Chief Medical Officer, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Galson received his bachelor’s in 1978 from Stony Brook University, an M.D. from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in 1983, and a M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1990. He is board certified in general preventive medicine and public health as well as in occupational medicine. The late Harold W. Pote was the president and CEO of American Financial Realty Trust. His previous positions included vice chairman of Retail Financial Services at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and executive vice president and head of Chase Regional Banking. He was a founding partner of The Beacon Group, which became part of JPMorgan Chase. Pote had also been the CEO of First Fidelity Bancorporation. Pote served on the Drexel University Board of Trustees for seventeen years and had just been elected as a vice chair of the board at the time of his death. Pote also served on the Board of the Drexel University College of Medicine, and the U.S. President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board. Along with his wife Linda Johnson, Pote was a lifelong advocate for the welfare of the people of Philadelphia. Drexel’s Behind Every Graduate Award—created to acknowledge outstanding high school teachers who inspired a student to consider pursuing his or her career path—is named in his honor.4 p.m. ceremony honoring the graduates of the College of Engineering and School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems.The Honorable Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, a lifetime Philadelphian with an accomplished career of public service, business and financial administration. Mayor Nutter served as a City Councilman for nearly 15 years representing Philadelphia’s Fourth District—one of the city’s largest. He also served as Democratic Ward Leader of the 52nd Ward since 1990. His other public service roles include chairman of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority Board from 2003 to 2007, where he crafted a groundbreaking labor-management agreement, and helped to bring about the Center’s current $700 million expansion project. Mayor Nutter also serves on the Board of City Trusts, managing the City’s charitable assets, supporting institutions such as Girard College and Wills Eye Hospital, as well as administering public school scholarship funds. Before pursuing his career in public service, Mayor Nutter worked as an investment manager at one of the nation’s leading minority-owned investment banking and brokerage firms. He received an academic scholarship to St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School, and received his bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business. 8 p.m. ceremony honoring the graduates of the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, College of Information Science and Technology, College of Arts and SciencesLisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of 14 novels, including Daddy’s Girl, Mistaken Identity and Moment of Truth. She is one of the first women to author legal thrillers. Scottoline also writes a weekly column called “Chick Wit” for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and has won many awards, including the Fun Fearless Fiction Award from Cosmopolitan magazine and the Edgar Award of the Mystery Writers of America. She teaches “Justice and Fiction” at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and appears in Court TV’s crime series, Murder by the Book. Her books are published in more than 20 languages. Before becoming an author, Scottoline worked for seven years as a civil trial lawyer. She serves on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America, the National Italian American Foundation, and Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. Scottoline is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.### News Media Contact: Niki Gianakaris, Assistant Director, Drexel News Bureau 215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell) or ngianakaris@drexel.edu