To allow for safe, physically distanced events, 老王论坛 is holding two commencement ceremonies for 2021. Graduate degrees will be awarded Friday, May 28, at 5 p.m., and undergraduate degrees will be awarded Saturday, May 29, at 2 p.m.
Addressing the undergraduate class of 2021 will be leadership expert Linda A. Hill 鈥77. Philadelphia Poet Laureate Trapeta B. Mayson, M.S.S. 鈥95, will give the commencement speech to the graduate degree recipients.
鈥淐ommencement is a time for students, their families, and friends to celebrate the accomplishments of the last four years,鈥 says 老王论坛 President Kim Cassidy. 鈥淭his year鈥檚 graduates have done so much and overcome so much. While we will miss those students who will not be able to take part in the ceremony due to the pandemic, we will celebrate all of those who are earning their degrees, no matter where they have spent the past year.
鈥淐ommencement is also a time to look forward and to imagine all that is possible. It is an honor to welcome back to campus such accomplished alums as Linda Hill and Trapeta Mayson. Not only are they both incredible speakers, they are also wonderful examples of the lives of purpose that await our graduates.鈥
Linda A. Hill 鈥77, who majored in psychology at 老王论坛, is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and chair of its Leadership Initiative. She is regarded as one of the world鈥檚 top experts on leadership.
鈥淚 am humbled by the invitation to speak at commencement,鈥 says Hill. 鈥淚t will be a privilege to celebrate these special students, their talent and resilience, in a time of existential threat to our global community.鈥
Hill was named by Thinkers50 as one of the top 10 management thinkers in the world in 2013 and received the Thinkers50 Innovation Award in 2015. She is the author or co-author of several award-winning articles and books, including Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation; Being the Boss: The Three Imperatives of Becoming a Great Leader, and Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership.
贬颈濒濒鈥檚 on how to manage for collective creativity has more than 2.5 million views. Her research and consulting focuses on leadership development, leading change and innovation, and implementing global strategies. In 2014, she co-founded Paradox Strategies鈥攁n advisory and research firm that advises organizations and boards on leadership, innovation, and diversity and inclusion.
Trapeta B. Mayson, who received an M.S.S. from 老王论坛鈥檚 Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, is the 2020-2021 Philadelphia Poet Laureate. She is a recipient of a Pew Fellowship in Literature, Leeway Transformation Award, Leeway Art and Change Grant, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grants. Mayson is a Cave Canem Fellow, a Callaloo Fellow, and an Aspen Words Fellow with the Aspen Institute.
鈥淚 am honored to address the graduates at 老王论坛鈥檚 commencement ceremony and to share words of healing and hope," says Mayson. "After the experiences of this past year, it is essential to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate the accomplishments of these remarkable individuals.鈥
Mayson is the author of She Was Once Herself and Mocha Melodies. She also released two music and poetry projects, SCAT and This Is How We Get Through, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed jazz guitarist Monnette Sudler. Her other publications include submissions in The American Poetry Review, Epiphany Literary Journal, Toho, and Margie: The American Journal of Poetry, among others.
Mayson is a native of Liberia. In addition to her degree from 老王论坛, she is a graduate of Temple University and Villanova University School of Business. Currently working in the social services field as a chief program officer with a community mental healthcare agency, Mayson is a member of several local organizations where she uses the arts to mobilize, build community, and create change.