May 11, 2011
Speaker of the House John Boehner to Deliver Main Commencement Address
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University of America will confer more than 1,500 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees during its 122nd Annual Commencement Ceremony to be held outdoors at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, on the east steps of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located at 400 Michigan Ave., N.E.
In addition, approximately 275 degrees will be distributed at the commencement ceremony for CUA's Columbus School of Law at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 27.
John A. Boehner, the 61st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, will address the Class of 2011 on May 14.
Catholic University's Columbus School of Law will hold its commencement in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica. This year's law school commencement speaker is Kevin 'Seamus' Hasson, founder and president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. For more information on Hassan and the law school's commencement, visit http://law.edu .
During the May 14 commencement ceremony, Boehner and Hasson will receive honorary doctoral degrees in law and humane letters, respectively. Also receiving honorary degrees are: Carmen María Cervantes, Ed.D., executive director of the Instituto Fe y Vida, and Carol Lally Shields, M.D., associate director, Ocular Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, and professor of ophthalmology, Thomas Jefferson University.
Catholic University will also award a degree in memoriam to Neil Godleski, a biology major who was murdered in Washington, D.C., in August 2010. His parents will receive the degree.
Outstanding students will be lauded during the Honors Convocation on Friday, May 13, in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica. In a separate ceremony on Friday, about 40 students will be inducted into the honor society Phi Beta Kappa.
Students and their families will also attend the 4 p.m. Baccalaureate Mass in the Basilica, Great Upper Church, on May 13. At the end of this Mass, the community will recognize seven students who will be devoting at least one year to volunteering for a service organization, five students who will be entering the priesthood, and seven students who are entering the military.
For other commencement details, visit: http://graduation.cua.edu . For information about other commencement venues in the event that inclement weather precludes an outdoor ceremony, visit http://commencement.cua.edu/inclement-weather.cfm . Audio and video of the main ceremony will be streamed live starting at 9:30 a.m. at http://live.cua.edu .
MEDIA: For more information or to make arrangements to cover the university's May 14 commencement, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy in the Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5600 or cua-public-affairs@cua.edu . Media must R.s.v.p. by 3 p.m. on Friday, May 13, to gain access to the event.
To cover the law school commencement, contact Tom Haederle in the law school's Office of Public Affairs at 202-319-5438.