Catholic universities announce commencement speakers

 
By Catholic Review Staff
 
Loyola University Maryland, Notre Dame of Maryland University and St. Mary’s Seminary and University, all in Baltimore, and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Emmitsburg have announced the speakers who will address the Class of 2014 at their respective commencement exercises.  
 
Mount St. Mary’s Seminary
Capuchin Franciscan Father J. Daniel Mindling, academic dean at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, will deliver Mount St. Mary’s Seminary’s 2014 annual address May 2 at the Emmitsburg institution.
The seminary expects to award diplomas to 20 students, all of whom are receiving their Master of Divinity.   
Mount St. Mary’s University
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in Indiana will deliver Mount St. Mary’s University’s 2014 commencement address May 11 in the Knott Athletic Recreation Convocation Complex in Emmitsburg.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades
“We are honored Bishop Rhoades is returning to the Mount to deliver this year’s commencement address,” Dr. Thomas H. Powell, president of the Mount, said in a statement. “He is a true ‘son of the Mount,’ having served as a professor and rector of our seminary, and his presence will certainly add to the excitement of this special day for our graduates.”
Following his ordination to the priesthood in 1983, Bishop Rhoades served in Spanish-speaking apostolates, as assistant chancellor and pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Harrisburg, Pa., all in the Diocese of Harrisburg.
He served as a professor and then rector of the Mount from 1995 to 2004.
Bishop Rhoades was ordained a bishop in 2004 and installed as bishop of Harrisburg. He was installed as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in 2010.
He serves on several committees for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, including as a member and past chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and as a member of the USCCB’s Administrative Committee. 
He also serves as Episcopal Moderator of the National Catholic Office for the Deaf and as Catholic co-chairman of the International Catholic-Reformed Theological Dialogue on behalf of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The Mount expects to award diplomas to 535 students – 394 undergraduate and 141 graduate.
St. Mary’s Seminary and University
Christopher Leighton, executive director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies in Towson, will deliver St. Mary’s Seminary’s 2014 commencement address May 15 at the Roland Park institution.  
Leighton is a Presbyterian minister who has served in his current role since the Institute was formed in 1987.   
In addition, Leighton has been an adjunct professor at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University.
St. Mary’s expects to award diplomas to 40 students – 18 from the School of Theology and 22 from the Ecumenical Institute of Theology.
Loyola University Maryland
Mark Kennedy Shriver, senior vice president for strategic initiatives and senior adviser to the chief executive officer of Save the Children, will deliver Loyola University Maryland’s 2014 commencement address May 17 at the Baltimore Arena.
Shriver is the son of the late Sargent and Eunice Shriver, founders of the Peace Corps and Special Olympics, respectively, and the nephew of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.
“As members of an institution committed to and strengthened by Jesuit values, our community shares a deep appreciation for Mark Shriver’s lifelong commitment to advancing critical social justice initiatives focused on the needs of children,” Jesuit Father Brian F. Linnane, Loyola’s president, said in a statement. “I am confident his address will further inspire the Class of 2014 to go forth from their transformative educational experience at Loyola and pursue personal and professional endeavors that lift up others.”
Shriver joined Save the Children in 2003 as vice president for U.S. programs and created the agency’s early childhood development, literacy and health programs in the United States. 
In 2005, Shriver created Save the Children’s domestic emergencies programs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children before, during and after disasters. He led a national coalition that persuaded Congress to create the National Commission on Children and Disasters and was appointed to the Commission by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). He was elected chairman by his fellow commissioners and served in that role for the life of the Commission, from 2008 to 2011.
Shriver was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. He was the first chairman of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families, and was appointed chairman of the Children and Youth Subcommittee of Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee.
Loyola will honor Shriver with the president’s medal, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the university and greater community.
Loyola expects to award diplomas to more than 1,200 students – 869 undergraduate and 353 graduate.
Notre Dame of Maryland University  
Carolyn Woo, president and chief executive officer of the Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, will deliver Notre Dame of Maryland University’s 2014 commencement address May 24 at the Hilton Baltimore.

Carolyn Woo
“In responding to the recent typhoon in the Philippines, assisting victims of violence and unrest in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria and fostering development in more than 90 countries, CRS is a face of compassion to millions of people around the globe,” Dr. Joan Develin Coley, Notre Dame’s president, said in a statement. “CRS truly embodies the mission of Notre Dame by engaging in social action that is transformational.”
Woo heads CRS, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the U.S. Previously, Woo served for 14 years as dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.  
She will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters.
Notre Dame expects to award diplomas to 720 students – 334 undergraduate and 386 graduate. 
Also see: