Willamette announces commencement speakers, honorary degree recipients

by Adam Torgerson,

  • Governor Kate Brown
    Governor Kate Brown, CLA speaker
  • Kenneth D. Peterson JD'80, chairman and CEO of Columbia Ventures Corporation
    Kenneth D. Peterson JD'80, College of Law speaker and CEO of Columbia Ventures Corp.
  • Thomas J. Imeson, Willamette MBA speaker and vice president of public affairs for NW Natural
    Thomas J. Imeson, Willamette MBA speaker and vice president of public affairs for NW Natural
  • Marie Watt '90
    Marie Watt '90, Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts recipient
  • Symeon Symeonides
    Symeon Symeonides, Honorary Doctor of Laws recipient

On May 15, 2016, Willamette University will hold three commencement ceremonies as students and their families celebrate graduation from the college’s undergraduate program and from its graduate programs in law and management.

Oregon’s 38th governor, Kate Brown, will deliver the commencement address for Willamette’s College of Liberal Arts, which will award honorary degrees to two esteemed recipients: Marie Watt, acclaimed artist and 1990 alumna, as well as Symeon Symeonides, a prominent legal scholar, law professor and emeritus dean at the College of Law.

Kenneth D. Peterson, Jr., chairman and CEO of Columbia Ventures Corporation, will deliver the address for the College of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1980. Tom Imeson, vice president of public affairs at NW Natural, will deliver the address for the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, which will honor Imeson with the Glenn L. Jackson Leadership Award for “extraordinary entrepreneurial and civic leadership benefiting the State of Oregon.”

More information about the university’s commencement ceremonies, including schedules, speaker biographies and live-streams, visit willamette.edu/events/commencement/index.html.

Willamette University

University Communications

Address
Waller Hall, Fourth Floor
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.

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