May 9, 2012
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, to Deliver Main Address
The Catholic University of America will confer approximately 1,500 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees during its 123rd Annual Commencement Ceremony to be held outdoors at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 12, 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 250 degrees will be distributed at the commencement ceremony for CUA's Columbus School of Law at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 25.Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York and alumnus and trustee of Catholic University, will address the Class of 2012 on May 12. Known for his gregariousness and enthusiastic promotion of the Catholic faith, Cardinal Dolan was named last month by Time magazine to its list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World."
"Cardinal Dolan is a charismatic and joyful individual, so whatever message he delivers to our graduating students, he will do so in a highly engaging way," says University President John Garvey. "For Commencement, you want a speaker who is a leader in their field and can share ideas that are based on breadth and depth of experience and knowledge. Cardinal Dolan has all those qualities in spades."
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 Daniel M. Gallagher , commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Gallagher earned his law degree from the Columbus School of Law in 1999. For more information on Gallagher and the law school's commencement, visit http://law.edu .
During the May 12 commencement ceremony, CUA will award the President's Medal to Cardinal Dolan. Honorary degrees will be conferred upon four other individuals. They are Rev. Julian Carrón, leader of the lay ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation; Giuseppe Mazzotta, Sterling Professor of Humanities for Italian at Yale University; Carmen Ana Casal de Unanue, community leader and philanthropist; and Joseph A. Unanue, alumnus and former president and CEO of Goya Foods.
Outstanding students will be lauded during the Honors Convocation on Friday, May 11, at the Basilica.
Students and their families will also attend the 4 p.m. Baccalaureate Mass in the Basilica, Great Upper Church, on May 11. At the end of this Mass, the community will recognize 10 students who will be devoting at least one year to volunteering for a service organization, three students who will be entering the priesthood or religious life, and eight 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 12 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 11, 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.