By Kim Lamb Gregory
Four individuals who have supported education in unique ways were awarded honorary doctorates at the University’s Commencement ceremonies, which took place on May 18 at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
President Erika Beck presented an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to both Founding President of Excelencia in Education, Sarita E. Brown and Excelencia co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Deborah A. Santiago during the morning ceremony.
At the afternoon ceremony, Beck presented a Doctor of Laws to Los Angeles attorney and former Trustee of the CSU system Laurence K. Gould Jr. and a Doctor of Humane Letters to Janice Bryant Howroyd, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the ActOne Group.
“These four remarkable individuals have had an extraordinary impact on our University in their own distinctive ways,” said Beck. “From facilitating CSUCI’s establishment to working to raise academic achievement and prepare for career success — they have all helped create opportunity for our students.”
A record 2,700 students were eligible to graduate and about 10,000 guests gathered at each ceremony to watch the students accept their degrees and listen to the honorees address the 2019 graduates.
Brown and Santiago co-founded Excelencia 15 years ago, which is a national non-profit organization working to accelerate Latina/o success in higher education. Brown and Santiago were generous with their expertise when CSUCI became a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
Bryant Howroyd is founder of The ActOne Group, a multibillion-dollar international enterprise that provides talent, technology and business solutions to a wide range of industries. She is known as the first African American woman to create a billion-dollar company.
And Gould, who has practiced law in Los Angeles since 1971, was instrumental in the very beginnings of CSUCI — serving on the CSU Board of Trustees at the same time CSUCI was forming.
All four have removed barriers to education for those who might never have otherwise attended college, helped students with internships, or volunteered their expertise to the continued success of students at CSUCI.
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© Spring 2019 / Volume 23 /Number 01 / Bi-annual