University of San Diego 2017 Commencement Speakers Include Local Catholic Bishop and Three Distinguished Alumni

University of San Diego 2017 Commencement Speakers Include Local Catholic Bishop and Three Distinguished Alumni

USD will also honor scientist Walter Munk, PhD with honorary doctorate

SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2017 – The University of San Diego announced today its 2017 Commencement speakers including Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich ’91, JD; San Diego Bishop the Most Reverend Robert McElroy; Peter Kiley ’85, vice president of Affiliate Relations, C-SPAN; and Chris Carr ’86, executive vice president, Starbucks. In addition, upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees, USD will honor acclaimed oceanographer and geophysicist Dr. Walter Munk with a Doctor of Humane Letters.

 

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, is a member of USD School of Law’s Class of 1991. Brnovich will address more than 250 members of the Class of 2017 on Saturday, May 20. Brnovich was inaugurated as Arizona’s Attorney General in 2015.  Previously, he served as director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, and as the state’s Assistant Attorney General.  He has also been a Judge Pro Tem of Maricopa County Superior Court, Deputy Maricopa County Attorney, Command Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army National Guard, and Director of the Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute. 

 

On Saturday, May 27, students celebrating the completion of a USD graduate degree will have their Commencement address delivered by San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy. Since his April 2015 installation as the sixth Bishop of San Diego, Bishop McElroy has spoken to multiple USD audiences on a variety of topics from immigration to civility in the national political dialogue. Bishop McElroy is the vice-president of the California Catholic Conference and serves at the national conference of bishops on the administrative committee, the ecumenical committee, the committee on domestic justice and the committee on international affairs. 

 

On Sunday, May 28, at 9:00 a.m., Peter Kiley ‘85, a longtime executive at C-SPAN, will deliver the College of Arts and Sciences Commencement address. Kiley is currently the Vice President of Affiliate Relations and Communications, a post he has held since 2011. Kiley manages C-SPAN’s relationships with cable and satellite companies, and alternative television providers, as well as directing the network’s communications to media and the public, including social media. In 2014, USD’s College of Arts and Sciences awarded Kiley the Author E. Hughes Career Achievement Award, the highest honor conferred on an alumnus. In 2016, Kiley was named a Cable TV Pioneer, and Cablefax Magazine honored him as one of “Cable’s Top 100 Power Players.” 

 

On Sunday at 2:00 p.m., Chris Carr ‘86, a graduate of USD’s School of Business, will return to Alcalá Park to address approximately 700 graduates of USD’s School of Business and Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. Carr is the Executive Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer for Starbucks. Carr is responsible for enhancing the enterprise-wide functional strategic sourcing supplier relationship capability including the global sourcing processes, sourcing talent management program, and building a uniform approach to suppliers across all categories of spending. Carr is also responsible for shaping Starbucks’ global supplier base into an integrated eco-system. Currently, Carr serves on many national boards including the board of trustees at Howard University and Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI). He also serves on USD’s Emerging Leaders Council. In 2016, Savoy Magazine named Carr one of the 100 Top Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America.

 

Dr. Munk, professor emeritus in the Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, will be honored during the College of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremony on Sunday morning. For more than 70 years, Munk’s career focused on physical oceanography and geophysics leading to the understanding of ocean currents and circulation, tides, wave propagation in solid and fluid bodies, and the rotation of the Earth. He pioneered the use of high-speed computers for analyzing geophysical data. Munk will celebrate his 100 birthday in October.

 

About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states. USD is the youngest, independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In February 2016, USD launched the public phase of Leading Change: The Campaign for USD, which represents the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the university and builds upon the strong philanthropic momentum achieved by USD in recent years. In September, USD introduced Envisioning 2024, a strategic plan that capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and align new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.


About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.

Contact:

Pamela Gray Payton
pgray@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-4681