UMass to Award Four Honorary Degrees at Commencement Ceremonies

Jacquelyn C. Campbell

George W. Faison

Michael J. Kittredge

Blenda J. Wilson

The honorary degree recipients are:

Jacquelyn C. Campbell, Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor, and associate dean for the Ph.D. program and research, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University; doctor of science;

George W. Faison, award-winning dancer and choreographer; doctor of fine arts;

Michael J. Kittredge, entrepreneur and founder of Yankee Candle Company; doctor of public service;

Blenda J. Wilson, president and CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation; doctor of public service.

Campbell and Faison will receive their honorary degrees during the Graduate School Commencement Sat. May 25 at 10:30 a.m. in the William D. Mullins Memorial Center. Honorary degrees will be conferred on Kittredge and Wilson during undergraduate ceremonies Sun. May 26 at 10 a.m. in Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES OF HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS

Jacquelyn C. Campbell was appointed Anna D. Wolf Endowed Professor at the School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, in 1993. She was named associate dean for the Ph.D. program and research in 1998. An expert in the field of violence against women, she has conducted extensive research on domestic violence and wife-battering, and is widely published in her field. Campbell has worked with women's shelters and policy-related committees on domestic violence for more than 20 years. She currently serves on the board of directors for the House of Ruth Shelter in Baltimore, Md., and the Family Violence Prevention Fund of San Francisco, Calif., and from 1997-2001 she was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women.

George W. Faison has been a noted American dancer, choreographer, theater director, and educator for the past 30 years. He was the first African-American choreographer to win a Tony Award for his work on "The Wiz," which also won him a Drama Desk Award. He was nominated for another Tony for "Porgy and Bess," at Radio City Music Hall. A former member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, in 1971, Faison started his own dance company, the George Faison Dance Experience, which successfully toured the country for four years. Faison recently founded the not-for-profit American Performing Arts Collaborative (APAC) to develop and present theatrical, educational, and entertainment events. Through APAC, UMass graduate students work as interns, receiving training in technical, administrative, and educational aspects of the performing arts. In turn, Faison and other collaborative staff visit UMass for artistic residencies, during which they conduct workshops and master classes for performing arts students.

Michael J. Kittredge made his first candle in 1969 on his parents' stove in South Hadley, and within 30 years built the Yankee Candle Company into a retail giant. While still in his early twenties, he worked alone to grow his fledgling business, moving his newly named Yankee Candle Company into a former mill building in Holyoke in 1973. Ten years later, Kittredge opened his retail store in Deerfield, and moved candle production from Holyoke. The remainder of the decade saw a series of expansions of both the retail operation and factory, including the opening of satellite stores, and the Bavarian Christmas Village in 1993. In 1996, Kittredge was named "National Entrepreneur of the Year" by USA Today. In 1998, 80 percent of Yankee Candle's equity was purchase by Forstmann Little & Company, and in 1999, the company went public. Kittredge currently remains chairman of the company's board of directors.

Blenda J. Wilson began her service as the first president and chief executive officer of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF) in 1999. Established a year earlier to promote accessibility, quality, and effectiveness in education from preschool through postsecondary levels, especially for under-served populations, NMEF has net assets of approximately $400 million, making it one of the largest foundations in New England, and the largest focused exclusively on education. Wilson was formerly president of California State University, Northridge, from 1992-99, and prior to that, she was chancellor of the University of Michigan Dearborn, from 1988-92. From 1984-88, she was executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, where she served as an officer in the governor's cabinet. A nationally known speaker on higher education policy issues, Wilson is past chair of the American Association of Higher Education, and currently serves on numerous boards.