| University Communications | For Immediate Release |
| Drew Wilson, Director, Media Relations | |
| 412.578.2095 (phone) | |
| 412.260.6807 (cell) | |
| 412.578.2080 (fax) | |
| agwilson@carlow.edu |
Media Advisory
Dr. Regina Benjamin, former U.S. Surgeon General, Will Give Commencement Address
Dr. Benjamin and Eugene Beard, Chairman and CEO of Westport Asset Fund, to Receive Honorary Degrees
Pittsburgh, Pa. – There will be plenty of Pomp and Circumstance – plus lots of caps and gowns – when Carlow University celebrates its Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 10, 2014, at 1 p.m. in Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland.
The commencement speaker will be Regina Benjamin, MD, the former Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, and current Endowed Chair in Public Health Sciences at Xavier University in New Orleans, La. She will receive an honorary doctorate during the commencement ceremony. Benjamin has been involved in community service since high school and is an out-spoken proponent of the power of prevention through education to improve the health of the nation, and champions the cause of medical care for the uninsured and underinsured. As Surgeon General, Benjamin was able to refocus the nation from sickness and disease to wellness and prevention, and published several vision and call-to-action papers on these issues. Her accomplishments are many and include being the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees. In 2002, she became the first African-American female president of a state medical society in the United States when she assumed leadership of the Medical Association State of Alabama. In 2010, Carlow presented Benjamin with a National Woman of Spirit Award.
Eugene Beard, chairman and CEO of Westport Asset Fund, Inc., will also receive an honorary doctorate from Carlow. Prior to founding Westport Asset Fund, Inc. in 1983, Beard served as Vice Chairman of Finance and Operations at the Interpublic Group of Companies. His distinguished achievements have been the subject of cover stories and features in Investors Relations, Forbes, Business Week and Harvard Business Review, to name a few. A native of Pittsburgh, Beard’s commitment to professional ethics and his generosity in supporting higher education are equally admirable. At Carlow, Beard established the Rose Marie Beard Woman of Spirit Honors Program in memory of his mother, who quit school at 16 to raise her six younger siblings after the death of their parents. The Beard Scholars program is designed for young women who want to achieve their individual potential as competent and compassionate leaders. In the last decade, Beard’s generosity has impacted the lives of more than 60 Carlow students by providing them with a unique opportunity for academic study, personal growth, compassionate outreach, and professional development.
Nearly 300 degrees will be conferred at the ceremony, including 13 doctoral degrees and 96 master’s degrees.
In keeping with Carlow’s Catholic heritage, the day’s festivities will begin with the Baccalaureate Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Paul Cathedral, located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Craig Street in Oakland. Mass will be celebrated by the Most Reverend William J. Winter, STD, Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh. The concelebrant will be the Reverend Mark A. Thomas, Carlow University Chaplain.
### Editor’s Note: The news media is welcome to cover any of the day’s events of Carlow University Commencement. Please contact Drew Wilson on his cell phone, (412) 260-6807, to arrange convenient parking.
About Carlow University
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carlow University was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1929. Offering both undergraduate and graduate programs, Carlow University is a comprehensive master’s institution dedicated to learner-centered education at the collegiate levels and at the elementary school level in the Campus School of Carlow University.