Select a name below to view citation:

Arn Chorn-Pond '92
Sister Dolores Crowley, RSM
Brother Lawrence Goyette, F.S.C. '72
Gordon S. Wood

  Arn Chorn-Pond

Arn Chorn-Pond, born into a family of performing artists, you survived Cambodia's Killing Fields by using the gift imparted by a master musician who counseled you to learn well. You have devoted your life to preserving and teaching the music that saved your life.

You relentlessly searched for your nation's master musicians, finding them one by one, often silenced by fear and forgotten by society. You have reclaimed with them an irreplaceable heritage in the performing arts that otherwise would have been lost to Cambodia and the world forever.

Once a child displaced by war and witness to unspeakable violence, you have become a respected advocate for peace and healing. The passion of your adoptive father, Peter Pond, finds continuing expression in your own steadfast commitment to human rights.

Internationally acclaimed for your work in the arts and for peace, you have inspired hope and determination among people dedicated to rebuilding their society and culture. As your alma mater, we are honored to recognize the transforming power of your life.

For these reasons, Father Chairman and Father President, the Corporation of Providence College presents Arn Chorn-Pond as one deemed worthy to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanitarian Service and requests you to confer upon him this degree together with all its rights and privileges

Sister Dolores Crowley, RSM

Sister Dolores Crowley, for fifty years as a Sister of Mercy you have served the poor and homeless with simplicity and humility. For twenty of those years, Rhode Islanders were blessed by your leadership at McAuley Corporation, where you ensured that vital ministries providing food, shelter, clothing, education, and guidance for disadvantaged individuals developed and flourished.

Your particular passion to assist single parents and their children led you to champion the establishment of McAuley Village. This innovative transitional housing community--long recognized as a national model of excellence--provides the comprehensive help families need to realize economic independence and thrive. Most importantly, it offers women and children who have lived in fear and despair a secure environment where they are free to imagine and achieve a new life filled with purpose and hope.

You have been tireless in your service, ever faithful to the call of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, to meet the needs of the times. We honor your love for the Church and the sisters who have shared your journey, and we are inspired by the respect and compassion you bestow on every person.

For these reasons, Father Chairman and Father President, the Corporation of Providence College presents Sister Dolores Crowley as one deemed worthy to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service and requests you to confer upon her this degree together with all its rights and privileges.

Brother Lawrence Goyette, F.S.C.

Brother Lawrence Goyette, like the founder of your order, St. John Baptist de La Salle, you have dedicated your life to creating educational opportunities for young men in disadvantaged circumstances. Alike in faith and charism, you also have been led imperceptibly by God to revolutionize LaSallian education.

Choosing to see possibility in every challenge, you established The San Miguel School of Providence in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. You offer boys who once lived with little hope and few dreams, the opportunity to learn and thrive as "Miguel Men."

Your creation of a positive, nurturing school that serves poor students from all backgrounds has earned the admiration and support of the Rhode Island community and launched the Miguel School movement. In less than fifteen years, through a national network of nearly twenty schools, countless students have become living miracles.

With great humility and inexhaustible spirit, you spend yourself daily in this work. With profound admiration, we honor you as one of Providence College's own who truly embodies our mission of serving and transforming society.

For these reasons, Father Chairman and Father President, the Corporation of Providence College presents Brother Lawrence Goyette as one deemed worthy to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Education and requests you to confer upon him this degree together with all its rights and privileges.

Gordon S. Wood

Gordon S. Wood, Cicero tells us "history is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life…." Your lifelong quest has been to understand our young nation.  Throughout your distinguished career as a professor and author, you have inspired countless students and readers to better appreciate how our colonial heritage still guides us today.

Born in Concord, Massachusetts, you have illuminated the distinctiveness of our American Revolution so convincingly that your work is viewed as the gold standard of colonial history. You are a historian's historian; you are also a favorite among justices of the Supreme Court, at least one Hollywood screenwriter, and, most importantly, everyday readers. You have earned many deserved honors, including a Pulitzer Prize. You have revitalized our ideas about our Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and others, and in doing so, you have nourished our ability to keep our founding principles alive.

As a scholar who has held influential academic positions, you have upheld and strengthened the highest ideals of a professor. Your life of writing has remained entirely compatible with your widely-known devotion to your students. You have passed on your unparalleled knowledge -- as well as your infectious enthusiasm -- for American history. And like George Washington's leadership, on which you have written so eloquently, your own lasting achievement is marked by an essential humility.  

For these reasons, Father Chairman and Father President, the corporation of Providence College presents Gordon Wood as one deemed worthy to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws and requests you to confer upon him this degree together with all its rights and privileges.

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