Providence, RI - Dr. Alice Bourke Hayes, president emerita of the University of San Diego in California, will deliver the convocation address when Providence College formally embarks upon the new academic year at the annual Academic Convocation on Wednesday, September 15, at 3:00 p.m. on the Slavin Lawn.

The convocation, traditionally held for members of the campus community, includes the introduction of new, full-time faculty members; the formal conferring of tenure; the formal conferring of full, associate, and assistant professorship to appropriate faculty members; and the presentation of the Joseph R. Accinno Faculty Teaching Award. This year's award recipient is Dr. Stephen J. Lynch, professor of English.

Hayes is a retired university president whose career in higher education as both administrator and educator spanned over four decades. She received an honorary degree at Providence College's Eighty-Sixth Commencement Exercises in May 2004.

Hayes plans to talk about academic excellence at a Catholic college or university. She will focus on what it means for a faculty member to serve at an institution of higher education that has a religious affiliation and mission as well as a mission of academic excellence.

Hayes retired last year after serving eight years as president of the University of San Diego. She also served six years as executive vice president, provost, and professor of biology at Saint Louis University, and 27 years at Loyola University of Chicago. At Loyola, she was a researcher and professor, Department of Natural Science chair, dean for the natural sciences, associate academic vice president, and finally, vice president for academic affairs.

Hayes, who has published extensively on science and Catholic higher education, is a member of the National Review Board, which is assisting the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in implementing standards to protect children from sexual abuse. She is a former member of the board of trustees for Catholic Charities.

A native and current resident of Chicago, Ill., Hayes was a National Science Foundation fellow at Northwestern University, where she earned her doctorate in biology after receiving a master's degree in the same field at the University of Illinois. She has received honorary doctorates from Saint Louis University, Loyola University, Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, and Fontbonne College.

She also has earned leadership and service awards from organizations including the San Diego Women Who Mean Business, the International Woman's Council, and the San Diego Press Club. Hayes is a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Hayes leads an active life outside of her academic duties as well, serving as a board or committee member for numerous organizations including The San Diego Opera, The Pulitzer Publishing Company, ConAgra, and Jack-in-the-Box. She is a former member of NASA's Space Biology Program.

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