Author Judy Blume To Speak At Mount Holyoke's 166TH Commencement

For immediate release
March 17, 2003

Blume has written twenty-two books, all of them still in print, including three best-selling novels for adults. Over seventy million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, translated into twenty-six languages.

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Judy Blume, whose novels that center around real issues in her young readers' lives have made her one of the best-loved authors of this century, will speak at Mount Holyoke's 166th commencement, Sunday, May 25. Blume will receive the degree of doctor of arts from the College. She will be joined by four other honorary degree recipients: Jane Garvey '69, the former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; Nancy Woodward Hendrie '54, a pediatrician who founded an organization to assist orphaned and homeless children in Cambodia; James A. Joseph, the former United States ambassador to South Africa; and Amartya Sen, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in economics.

"I am delighted that Judy Blume has accepted our invitation to be our commencement speaker," said President Joanne V. Creighton. "Her many books have helped introduce countless young people to literature. On our campus, and on campuses everywhere, are students who have her to thank for a lifelong love of reading. Her readers love her for her realism, her willingness to take seriously their thoughts about the issues of everyday life. I am certain that our students will find her talk both enjoyable and inspiring."

Blume's books have made publishing history since the appearance in 1970 of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, one of the first novels to deal frankly with the issues of early adolescence. Her books have won more than ninety awards, many of them decided by children themselves, in the United States and abroad.

Judy Blume has written twenty-two books, all of them still in print, including three best-selling novels for adults. More than seventy million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, translated into twenty-six languages. Blume has written for young children (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge, Fudge-a-mania), middle-grade children (Blubber, It's Not the End of the World, Just as Long as We're Together, etc.) and young adults (Tiger Eyes, Forever). The Fudge books have been adapted for TV, and she is currently at work on other TV adaptations of her novels.

In a 1998 interview with Cybergrrl magazine, Blume said that she wants her readers "to come away thinking about the characters and story long after I've reached the last line. I want them to become emotionally involved. I want them to be reminded, without being hit over the head, what's really important in life. And I want them to have a good time while I'm doing it."

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was included on the New York Times list of Outstanding Books of the Year in 1970, the first of many citations for Blume's books. In 1996 she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Library Association.

Jane F. Garvey '69 (Doctor of Humane Letters)
Jane Garvey's distinguished career in government spans more than a decade. In 1997, after four years working for the Federal Highway Administration, she was the first Administrator confirmed by the senate to a five-year term as the 14th administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. During her tenure there, she successfully managed both the Y2K preparedness program and the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Administrator Garvey initiated Safer Skies, the U.S. aviation community's safety agenda, which focuses the agency's resources on taking the actions that safety data and analysis indicate can make the biggest difference in lowering the accident rate. She led the successful transition of the FAA's air traffic control system to January 1, 2000 with no disruptions to service. In addition, the FAA provided world leadership on Y2K transition. Under Administrator Garvey's leadership the FAA continued to move forward on its phased plan to modernize the air traffic control system and had, for the first time, achieved government and industry consensus on how to proceed. To bring immediate modernization benefits, she initiated the Free Flight Phase 1 program under which the FAA reached consensus with the aviation community to deploy five specific technologies by the end of 2002.

Prior to being named FAA Administrator, Garvey was Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). She served as Deputy Administrator of FHWA from April 1993 until February 1997. FHWA, also an agency of the U. S. Department of Transportation, has an annual budget of $20 billion and works in partnership with the states to maintain the safety and efficiency of the Nation's roads and bridges. A creative leader at FHWA, Garvey chaired FHWA's Innovative Financing Initiative, which resulted in more than $4 billion in transportation investment in more than 30 states--projects that in many cases would have not been otherwise built.

Garvey earned a master's degree in English instruction at Mount Holyoke College in 1969 and later taught English and history at South Hadley High School.

Nancy Woodward Hendrie '54 (Doctor of Science)
Dr. Nancy W. Hendrie was a pediatrician in Concord and Carlisle for more than 26 years, when in 1994 she left private practice and began work in Asian orphanages. She later started her own adoption agency, Adopt Cambodia, which has placed Cambodian infants and children with more than 200 New England families.

In 1998, Hendrie founded The Sharing Foundation (TSF), to assist orphaned and homeless children in Cambodia. TSF has also built two schools and rehabilitated another, where it continues to provide supplies. In 1999, TSF established a large rural farming project that provides food and income to 34 of the poorest families of Thom village, including 107 children, and set up an English teaching program for over 300 children.

In 2002, Hendrie was recognized by the Middlesex Central District of the Massachusetts Medical Society as a Community Clinician of the Year, an award which recognizes practitioners who have made significant contributions to patients and to their respective communities.

James A. Joseph (Doctor of Humane Letters)
Ambassador James Joseph is Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Studies and Executive Director of the United States-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values at Duke University. Nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate in December 1995, he was the first and only American Ambassador to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. In 1999, President Thabo Mbeki awarded him the Order of Good Hope, the highest honor the Republic of South Africa bestows on a citizen of another country.

Ambassador Joseph has had a distinguished career in government, business, education and philanthropy. He has served four United States presidents. He was appointed to the number two position in the Department of the Interior by President Carter and also served as Chairman of the Commission on the Northern Marianas. He was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Agency for International Development under President Reagan, and was appointed an incorporating director of the Points of Light Foundation and a member of the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges of President George H.W. Bush. President Clinton appointed him the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National Service.

Amartya Sen (Doctor of Laws)
Amartya Sen is Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK, and Lamont University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. He has served as President of the Econometric Society, the Indian Econometric Association, the American Economic Association and the International Economic Association. He is also honorary advisor of OXFAM. Before joining Harvard in 1987, he was the Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University and a Fellow of All Souls College. Prior to that, he was Professor of Economics at Delhi University and at the London School of Economics.

Sen has received honorary doctorates from major universities in North America, Europe and Asia. Among the awards he has received are the "Bharat Ratna" (the highest honor awarded by the President of India); the Presidency of the Italian Republic Medal; the Eisenhower Medal; and the Nobel Prize in Economics.

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