May 15, 2003
Warner to Address 2003 Grads
Jean Carnahan, Sheldon Cohen, Madeleine Jacobs, and
Billy Taylor to Receive Honorary Degrees
Governor of Virginia, entrepreneur, and GW graduate Mark R. Warner will
deliver the keynote address to more than 5,400 graduates of the Class
of 2003 and their guests at Commencement on the Ellipse, May 18 at 10
am. More than 20,000 people are expected to attend this year’s
ceremony at the historic park located between the White House and the
Washington Monument.
“Mark Warner is a true GW success story,” says President Stephen
Joel Trachtenberg. “His business acumen, leadership qualities,
and devotion to public service set a proud example for our graduates
and we are honored to have him speak at our Commencement. In fact, each
of this year’s honorary degree recipients is a pathfinder in his
or her own right.”
Also receiving honorary degrees will be former Sen. Jean Carnahan (D–MO);
Sheldon S. Cohen, former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service;
Madeleine Jacobs, editor in chief of Chemical & Engineering News;
and Billy Taylor, renowned jazz pianist, composer, conductor, and lecturer.
In his first two years in office, Mark R. Warner has delivered a balanced
budget, while preserving funds for law enforcement, public education,
and social services. Since taking office, he has announced more than
22,000 new jobs, totaling more than $2.32 billion in private investment
in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Warner grew up in a middle-class family where he learned the value of
hard work, faith, and family, and the importance of a good education.
With the help of student loans and a few part-time jobs, Warner became
the first in his family to graduate from college, earning his BA from
GW in 1977 and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1980. Instead
of practicing law, Warner followed a different passion — business.
In the early 1980s, he started his first successful company and went
on to become the founding partner of Columbia Capital Corporation, a
technology venture capital fund.
Former Senator Jean Carnahan, the first woman from Missouri to serve
in the US Senate, received her BA from GW in 1955. Carnahan served in
the Senate from 2000–02, following one of the most unusual campaigns
in American history. Carnahan’s husband, Mel Carnahan, at the time
the governor of Missouri and the Democratic Senate candidate, was killed
in a plane crash just weeks before the election, along with their eldest
son, Roger. Following her husband’s posthumous victory in the election,
Carnahan agreed to accept an appointment to the seat.
Sheldon S. Cohen, senior counsel with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in
Washington, was appointed commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson. A native Washingtonian, Cohen earned
his BA with special honors from GW in 1950 and received his JD with
highest honors from GW Law School in 1952. Cohen was a member of the
adjunct faculty of the GW Law School for more than 20 years. He became
a member of the University’s Board of Trustees in 1980, serving
as chairman from 2000 to 2001.
Madeleine Jacobs, scientist and journalist, earned her BS with distinction
and special honors in 1968 from GW, where she majored in chemistry.
After a year of graduate school, Jacobs joined the staff of Chemical
& Engineering News and became the magazine’s expert on gender
inequality among scientists. She worked at the Smithsonian Institution
until 1995, and then returned to Chemical & Engineering News, where
she has overseen the magazine’s print and online expansion.
Jazz legend Billy Taylor, a native of North Carolina, moved to New York
City in the 1940s and played with such jazz greats as Charlie Parker,
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Billie Holiday. In
the years since, he has performed primarily with his group, the “Billy
Taylor Trio.” For nearly a decade, Taylor has served The John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as artistic adviser for jazz.
Since the early 1980s, he has been an arts correspondent for CBS’s
“Sunday Morning.”
School Celebration Speakers
•The Elliott School of International Affairs will hear from David
A. Nadler, chair of Mercer Delta Consulting, LLC, a management consulting
firm that works with CEOs and senior executives of major corporations.
Nadler graduated from GW with a BA in international affairs. The Elliott
School will hold its celebration May 16 at 2 pm in the Smith Center.
•Joseph Bordogna, deputy director of the National Science Foundation,
will keynote the School of Engineering and Applied Science celebration
on May 16 at 7 pm in the Smith Center.
•The School of Business and Public Management (SBPM) will welcome
Mary Jo Jacobi, vice president of external affairs for Shell International,
Ltd., and a 1976 MBA graduate, as its school speaker. SBPM’s recognition
celebration is scheduled for May 17 at 8:30 am in the Smith Center.
•Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist (R–TN) is scheduled
to address School of Medicine and Health Sciences graduates at their
May 18 Doctor of Medicine Diploma Ceremony, 2 pm in the Smith Center.
Law School Commencement
United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
will address this year’s Law School graduates May 25 at 1:30 pm
in the Smith Center.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
