Richard Haass to speak at Santa Fe Commencement

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Richard Haass to speak at Santa Fe Commencement

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 (0 Comments)

St. John’s College is pleased to announce

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, to address the graduating class of 2008, St. John’s College, santa fe

Ninety St John’s College seniors, having completed their senior essays and defended them in oral examinations, are expected to receive their diplomas at the college’s forty-first commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on the Santa Fe campus, Saturday, May 24, 2008. Thirty students will received their Master of Arts in Liberal Arts degrees.

This year’s commencement speaker is Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. His commencement address is entitled: "Great Books for a Global World." The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to helping its members and the public better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the

United States

and other countries.

“We are so pleased to have someone of Richard Haass’ stature and experience speaking to our graduates about great books, great ideas and their link to global issues, and the lives of our graduates,” said Michael P. Peters, president of the St. John’s College Santa Fe campus. Mr. Peters, prior to assuming the presidency at St. John’s, was the executive vice president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Haass has authored or edited ten books on American foreign policy, the most recent of which is The Opportunity: America’s Moment to Alter History’s Course. Prior to serving on the Council on Foreign Relations, Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State and a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Haass has been vice president and director of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. A Rhodes Scholar, Haass holds a BA from Oberlin College and the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University.

Mr. Peters and Ms. Victoria Mora, dean of the Santa Fe campus, will award the undergraduate degrees. Mr. Krishnan Venkatesh, director of the Graduate Institute in Liberal Education, and Mr. Peters will award the masters degrees. Graduating students come from thirty-four states and seven countries. Seven of the master’s candidates and ten of this year’s graduating seniors are New Mexico residents.

Class of 2008, New Mexico Graduating Students of St. John’s College

Students from New Mexico receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree:

Jennifer Anne Chrien (Los Alamos)

Megan Josephine Drolet (Albuquerque)

Consuelo Ursula Garcia (El Rito)

Mace-Edward Martin Gratz (Santa Fe)

John Matthew Griffis (Raton)

John Bruce Leonard (Taos)

Timothy Ray Mitchell (Santa Fe)

Kimberley Eden Leslie Nichols (Albuquerque)

Jericha Lee Phillips (Albuquerque)

J. Michelle Urban (Santa Fe)