FIVE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FIVE SENIORS TO
RECEIVE DIPLOMAS AT MOUNT HOLYOKE'S
166th COMMENCEMENT

Judy Blume, whose twenty-two books have made her one of the best-loved authors of this century, will deliver the commencement address on May 25.

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. ­ Five hundred and eighty-five seniors, one of the largest graduating classes in the College's history, are expected to receive degrees during Mount Holyoke College’s 166th commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 25. Ceremonies begin at 10:30 AM in Gettell Amphitheater. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Kendall Field House.

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 deliver the commencement address. She will receive the degree of doctor of fine arts from the College. She will be joined by four other honorary degree recipients: Jane Famiano Garvey, the former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, who received a master's degree from Mount Holyoke in 1969; Nancy Woodward Hendrie, a pediatrician and founder of an organization to assist orphaned and homeless children in Cambodia, who received a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke in 1954; James A. Joseph, the former United States ambassador to South Africa; and Amartya Sen, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in economics.

Delivering the student address at commencement will be Chiara Davis Fuller '03 of Brookline, Massachusetts, an international relations major with a concentration in race relations. She is also a recipient of the Five College Certificate in African Studies. Fuller has served as an Admission Fellow and as a staff writer for the Mount Holyoke News and has held numerous leadership positions at Mount Holyoke, including facilitator of the Intergroup Dialogue Project, cochair of the ALANA Recruitment Committee for the Student Admissions Board, treasurer of the Association of Pan African Unity, and president of her residence hall, 1837 Hall. Fuller was a member of the basketball and indoor and outdoor track teams and in 2000 was the New England Division III long jump champion. Winner of the Mount Holyoke College Student Leadership Award and the Frances H. Williams Award, she plans to work for the Peace Corps in Belize after graduation.

Among the graduates will be forty-one Frances Perkins Scholars, enrolled through the College's program for women of nontraditional age who wish to complete the requirements for a bachelor of arts degree. In addition, four graduates of the College's Postbaccalaureate Studies Program will receive their degrees, two students will receive master's degrees, and nineteen students will receive certificates through the International Guest Student program. A number of activities related to commencement, including receptions, open houses, campus tours, worship services, and fireworks, will be held in the days before the event. Among the most cherished traditions are the Laurel Chain Ceremony, scheduled for 9 AM on Saturday, May 24 at College founder Mary Lyon's grave, and the Canoe Sing, to be held at 10:30 that evening on Upper Lake. The Laurel Chain Ceremony will be preceded by the Alumnae Parade.

Mount Holyoke College is one of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges. Rigorous academics, an internationally diverse student body, and integration of cutting-edge technologies through all aspects of the Mount Holyoke curriculum create an environment that prepares women to become leaders in an increasingly complex world.

Jane Famiano Garvey ’69, Doctor of Humane Letters
,Jane Garvey is the executive vice president and chairman of the transportation practice at APCO, a global communications consultancy. She is also a lecturer and research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics. Garvey has had a long and distinguished career in transportation administration. In 1997, after four years with the Federal Highway Administration, she served as the first-ever five-term administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. During her tenure there, she successfully managed both the Y2K preparedness program and the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. She also initiated Safer Skies, the U.S. aviation community’s safety agenda. Under her leadership the FAA moved forward on its plan to modernize the air traffic control system. 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. Garvey’s numerous awards include the National Air Transportation Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Council of Public-Private Partnerships Leadership Award, and the Woman of the Year Award from both the Women’s Transportation Seminar and Women in Politics. She earned a master’s degree in English instruction at Mount Holyoke in 1969 and later taught English and history at South Hadley High School.

Nancy Woodward Hendrie ’54, Doctor of Science
In 1994, after working as a pediatrician in Concord and Carlisle for more than twenty-six years, Dr. Nancy W. Hendrie left private practice and began working 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 thirty-four of the poorest families of Thom village, including 107 children, and set up an English teaching program for more than 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 that recognizes practitioners who have made significant contributions to patients and their 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. 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 adviser 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.