Sergey Bermeniev

Elie Wiesel was selected to be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Commencement ceremony. He will also be awarded an honorary degree.

Elie Wiesel: Commencement speaker and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel is the Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University. He is best known for his book titled “Night,” which is a personal account of his own Holocaust experience. He has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the Medal of Liberty, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Humanities Medal.

John H. Biggs: Biggs is a former vice chancellor for administration and finance at Washington University. He was the CEO at TIAA-CREF from 1993 to 2002. During his time at the University, Biggs’ contributions included the University’s Tuition Stabilization program, which enables parents to prepay tuition in order to hold it at a steady rate for all four years. He is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees.

Shirley Ann Jackson: Jackson is the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society, Jackson serves on the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution. In 2007, she was selected by the National Science Board to receive the Vannevar Bush Award for “a lifetime of achievements in scientific research, education, and senior statesman-like contributions to public policy.”

Griffin P. Rodgers: Rodgers is the director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institute of Health. He is well recognized for contributing to the development of the first effective treatment for sickle cell anemia. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Scroll of Merit Award from the American College of Physicians, the Arthur S. Flemming Award and the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award.

George W. Von Mallinckrodt: Mallinckrodt is the president and former director of Schroders plc, an asset management firm. He is an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire because of his contributions to banking and finance. He was also awarded the Officer’s Cross and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for helping to enhance Anglo-German relations.