Veritas Medal conferred upon Father Smith

[Click here to read commencement address by Tom Brokaw.]

Degrees were conferred on 1,267 individuals and the Veritas Medal was bestowed on College President Rev. Philip A. Smith, O.P. during the College’s Eighty-Seventh Commencement Exercises on May 15 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence.

Diplomas were awarded to 899 students in the undergraduate day school, 273 students in the Graduate Studies Program, 90 students in the School of Continuing Education, and to five distinguished guests, who received honorary degrees.

The honorary degree recipients included two alumni: the Very Rev. D. Dominic Izzo, O.P. ’88, prior provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph and chair of the Corporation of Providence College, and Doris Ann Burke ’87 & ’92G, basketball analyst and game reporter for ESPN and the Madison Square Garden Network.

Other honorary degrees were conferred upon the commencement speaker, Tom Brokaw, longtime NBC News broadcast journalist and former anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News; Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, president of Brown University in Providence; and former Ambassador Robert E. White, president of the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C.

Father Smith, whose 11-year term as president ends on June 30, became the 14th recipient of the Veritas Medal since its inception in 1960. The highest honor that the College can bestow on an individual, the medal is awarded to persons who demonstrate extraordinary dedication to the principles and goals of the College. Father Izzo presented the Veritas Medal and accompanying citation to Father Smith. To read the citation, click here.

David J. Syner, C.P.A. ’71, president of the Providence College Alumni Association, was one of five individuals to bring formal greetings to the Class of 2005 at the beginning of the exercises. Also extending greetings were Father Smith, Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri; Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline; and George L. Catrambone ’05 of Wall, N.J., senior class president.

Syner informed class members that they are joining the ranks of more than 44,000 PC alumni. He said that alumni association members are confident that graduates of the Class of 2005 will make their own “significant contributions to society. We hope you become the greatest generation of Providence College graduates,” he said.