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830 Receive Degrees
at Curry College Commencement

By Pat Desmond
Times Staff
5/20/10
Curry College, a place with a Disneyland campus, according to class orator Sasha Almeida-Beers, graduated 699 undergraduates and 131 graduate students during a ceremony May 16 that was marked with pomp, circumstance and sunshine.The graduates came from 21 states and two countries.

James Sullivan, who has been chair of the board of trustees for the past eight years, quoted President Grover Cleveland in his quick message to the class, saying persistence is the key to success, not talent, not genius. It was his last address to a graduating class as he is stepping down from the role of chair. He will remain on the board.

Anthony Campo, Curry class of 1979 and a Milton resident, takes the chairman’s role June 1.

Campo presented Suzin Bartley, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund and a Milton resident, as she received her honorary Doctor of Public Administration degree. Her organization’s mission is to prevent child abuse by strengthening families. CTF funds more than 100 community based organizations statewide.

Sullivan presented Rick Daniels, GateHouse Media New England CEO, as he received his honorary degree Doctor of Business Administration.

Daniels, who runs both the Patriot Ledger and Brockton Enterprise, shared a few of his thoughts about leadership and innovation with the graduates. His commencement address was interrupted at the beginning as calls of “We need a paramedic” rang out from the gowned graduates. A young woman had fainted and was quickly assisted by crews on site as the proceeding stopped.

Ken Quigley, college president, told the audience she was all right but that he did not plan to mortify her by announcing her name. He did carry her diploma to her as she was carried on a gurney to a waiting ambulance.

“If anybody else tries that, I’ll know it’s just to avoid my speech,” Daniels said with a smile as he resumed.

“My experiences lead me to believe that exceptional leaders, the kind of leaders this institution has trained you to be, lead with:

• Passion;
• Deep knowledge and expertise;
• Humility and humor;
• The intellectual curiosity and courage to lead in disruptive and uncertain times;
• A properly functioning moral compass;
• The tenacity and resilience to overcome the power of ‘you can’t.’”

He expanded upon the theme, explaining that his passion is to sustain good journalism – “the kind of journalism that makes some difference in people’s lives, the kind of journalism that empowers them to be more engaged members of their communities.”

He said the most difficult decisions they will make are what to change and what to preserve.

“My industry, the news media, has gone through – and continues to go through – almost unfathomable changes,” Daniels said.

“I believe the degree and rapidity of these digitally driven changes are quite typical of what you will

experience as leaders. At the same time, we have

also seen hugely positive innovations in media, including the ability to gather and distribute news from

around the block, and around the world, with almost equal facility.

“Additionally, the work of journalism has been improved by knowledgeable and empowered ‘citizens’ who inform, interact with, and frankly keep journalists on our toes via blogs, YouTube and tweets.” He said that if the blogosphere were to replace journalism, it would work out about as well as if medicine were practiced by people reading “Surgery for Dummies.”

The following Milton residents were among the 830 graduates: Shannon Alsem-Cashman, Yrag Daphnis, Ralph Desanges, Donna Marie Flaherty, Gina Graham-Benjamin, Alyssa Keyes, Robertine Mathieu, Darcee McDonald, Beth Mershon, Chinyere Nwanekezi, Liam Roper, Jarrett Sousa, Ellen Stephenson and Lynne Travers.

(Photos from the ceremony will run in a future issue.)