2009 Commencement Speakers

In celebration of USD's 60th Anniversary, the 2009 Commenccement speakers are all graduates of USD.

 Steven R. Altman, '86 (J.D.)
 Commencement Speaker, School of Law

 Steven R. Altman is president of QUALCOMM  Incorporated. Most recently, Altman has been  executive vice president of QUALCOMM and  president of QUALCOMM Technology Licensing  (QTL).  He has been a member of QUALCOMM’s  executive committee since 1992.

 Altman joined QUALCOMM in 1989 and is the  chief architect of the Company’s strategy for  leveraging its broad intellectual property portfolio into  a value chain, which has accelerated the growth of CDMA technology. Under Altman’s leadership, the Company has entered into more than 130 domestic and international licensing agreements with many of the world’s largest telecommunications and electronics companies.

Altman began his career with the San Diego law firm of Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich, where he specialized in intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, securities, and general corporate matters. He joined QUALCOMM as corporate counsel with responsibility for licensing and contracts, quickly moving up through the management ranks and becoming vice president and general counsel in 1992.

Altman graduated magna cum laude from Northern Arizona University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice; he received his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1986, graduating cum laude. He serves on the board of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and is a member of the University of California, San Diego Athletics Board. A former board member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), he remains an active supporter of the JDRF and numerous other charitable causes.

 Kevin Freiberg, '87 (Ed.D.)
 Commencement Speaker, Graduate Ceremony

 Dr. Kevin Freiberg is co-author of BOOM! 7  Choices for Blowing the Doors Off
 Business- as-Usual! The choices leaders and their  people must make to create a culture of  commitment and accountability. BOOM! follows  the Freibergs’ international bestseller NUTS! and  its sequel GUTS! He has  appeared on CNBC  and the CBS Morning news for his views on the  critical  links  between gutsy leaders, passionate  employees  and customers. His articles  have been read in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Investor’s  Business Daily.

Recently named one of the top “30 Best Minds on Leadership” by Leadership Excellence Magazine, Dr. Freiberg is among the most influential voices on the speaking circuit today. Dr. Freiberg is the founder and CEO of the San Diego Consulting Group, Inc. and its professional speaking firm, Freibergs.com. Freiberg helps business leaders translate the winning strategies from enduring great companies into their own models of success.  Dr. Freiberg helps business leaders better understand the impact of their choices, attitudes and behaviors on corporate culture and organizational performance. He has challenged corporate leaders all over the world to create unmatched productivity, customer service, and profitability by becoming faithful, devoted, hardworking servants of the people they lead.

Before becoming a full-time speaker, executive coach and consultant, Freiberg taught for eight years at the University of San Diego and San Diego State University. He has a master’s degree in Communication from San Diego State University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of San Diego.

Jim Parsons, '01 (M.F.A.)
Commencement Speaker, Undergraduate  Morning Ceremony

Bringing a winning combination of indelible charm, charisma and comedic timing to his roles, Jim Parsons has quickly established himself as one of Hollywood's breakout stars.
 
He can currently be seen on Season 2 of CBS’s critically acclaimed comedy “The Big Bang Theory” playing the brilliant, yet overly analytical Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D, opposite Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco. TV GUIDE calls Parsons "a marvelous discovery, creating the most hysterical misfit since Monk." The show revolves around two accomplished physicists who understand how the universe works, but have a hard time wrapping their heads around normal interaction with people, especially women.
 
Parsons has appeared on the big screen in Todd Phillips “School for Scoundrel’s opposite Billy Bob Thorton and Jon Heder for The Weinstein Company as well as Chris Terrio’s “Heights” opposite Glenn Close and James Marsden for Merchant/Ivory. He has also created scene stealing roles in several independent films such as Zach Braff’s “Garden State”, Kevin Connolly’s “Gardner of Eden” and Danny Leiner’s “The Great New Wonderful.”
 
His other television credits include a recurring role on Amy Brenneman’s “Judging Amy” for CBS and a guest appearance on Rob Burnett’s “ED” for NBC.
 
Parsons has performed in many stage productions including “The Castle” for the Manhattan Ensemble Theater, “The Countess” for the Globe Theater as well as “The Tempest” and “As You Like It” for the Houston Shakespeare Festival.
 
Parsons has earned a Masters in Fine Arts degree from the Old Globe Theater/University of San Diego and a BA from the University of Houston. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Liam E. McGee, '76 (B.S.)
Commencement Speaker, Undergraduate  Afternoon Ceremony

 A native of County Donegal, Ireland, Liam E.  McGee grew up in Southern California and earned  his bachelor’s degree in Biology from the  University of San Diego in 1976. He went on to  earn a master’s degree in Business  Administration from Pepperdine University, and a  Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law  School.

 Currently, McGee is president of Global   Consumer and Small Business Banking for Bank of America, which serves 55 million consumer and small business households in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe.

His responsibilities include a distribution network of more than 5,700 domestic banking centers, as well as and the nation’s No.1 online banking service and ATM network; credit and debit cards, including the recent merger with industry leader MBNA Corporation creating the No. 1 card services business; deposits; mortgage and home equity lending; insurance products; and a small business banking organization ranked No. 1 in SBA lending nationally and in most major U.S. urban markets.

Active in civic affairs and education, McGee is a member of the National Urban League Board of Trustees and the Arts and Science Council Board of Directors in Charlotte, N.C. He also served recently as chairman of both the University of San Diego Board of Trustees and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and two terms as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

McGee and his family live in Charlotte, N.C.