From Drew University:
John Leguizamo Will Speak at Drew University Commencement
Rodin Sleuth Mallory Mortillaro C’13, G’15 to Represent Alumni Achievement
Madison, N.J. – The award-winning actor, comedian and activist John Leguizamo will deliver the Commencement Address at Drew University on May 12, 2018.
Leguizamo emigrated from Colombia at the age of four and is active in speaking about racial honesty and rallying against stereotypes in Hollywood and beyond. The ceremony will take place behind Mead Hall, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
After hitting roadblocks, setbacks and stereotypes in Hollywood, Leguizamo decided to write his own scripts and acclaimed one-man shows. His most recent one-man show, which he performed on Broadway, arose from a quest to find the perfect Latino hero for his son who was bullied by his classmates due to his Colombian heritage. He has a profound message about being proud of your culture.
In addition to Leguizamo, Mallory Mortillaro C’13, G’15 will speak in honor of alumnae and alumni achievement in celebration of Drew’s 150th anniversary. Her address will conclude our sesquicentennial year, which began at last year’s ceremony with a speech by the Rev. Dr. William Barber II T’03.
Mortillaro rose to fame for identifying, researching and authenticating an Auguste Rodin sculpture of Napoleon Bonaparte that was previously thought to be missing. The bust was hiding in plain sight in Madison Borough Hall.
There Mallory had been hired, as a student, by the Hartley Dodge Foundation to catalog historical photographs and art. After months of investigating, dead-ends and being turned away by art historians, her persistence unlocked an 80-year-old mystery. Today, Mortillaro is a sixth grade language arts teacher who represents the best of what a Drew education offers.
Also at the ceremony, the Drew Board of Trustees will award honorary degrees to Dr. Steven Gilbert and Dr. Arnold Demain.
Gilbert, who’ll receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, started learning to appreciate liberal arts education from his parents and has never stopped. His mother, Dr. Norma Gilbert—a Drew mathematics professor beloved by many students and colleagues—in 1970 became the first woman to chair the mathematics department.
Gilbert himself recently demonstrated his personal commitment to Drew by spearheading the 2017 Gilbert Challenge, which raised more than $5 million for the University in about seven months, including a $1 million gift from Gilbert himself. This followed other generous gifts he made to Drew in honor of his parents.
Besides a BA in philosophy from Yale, Gilbert has several advanced degrees, including a PhD in German literature from the University of California, Berkeley. Long a student and teacher of languages, translator, investor and gadfly, he puts much of his time and energy these days into writing about politics and preparing the next exhibition of his expressive photography.
Demain, who’ll receive a Bachelor of Arts, honoris causa, is a research fellow at Drew’s Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE). At the age of 90, he’s force to be reckoned with in his service to students and his international connections that continue the momentum for his research. In particular, Demain is known as “one of the world’s leading industrial microbiologists” who is “constantly on the forefront of industrial microbiology and biotechnology.”
Demain served as a professor of industrial microbiology at MIT and was the founder and head of the department of fermentation microbiology at Merck & Co. He has been a RISE fellow since 2001.
For more on Drew’s Commencement, please click here.
About Drew University
Drew University, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts university, includes the College of Liberal Arts, the Drew Theological School and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Drew is located on a beautiful, wooded, 186-acre campus in Madison, New Jersey, a thriving small town close to New York City. It has total enrollment of more than 2,000 students and 145 full-time faculty members, 94 percent of whom hold the terminal degree in their field. The Theological and Caspersen schools offer MA and PhD degrees and the College of Liberal Arts confers BA degrees in more than 30 disciplines.
Drew is dedicated to exceptional faculty mentorship, a commitment to connecting the campus with the community and a focus on experiential learning. Particularly noteworthy opportunities for undergraduates include the Charles A. Dana Research Institute for Scientists Emeriti (RISE), home of 2015 Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine and Drew Fellow William Campbell, the Drew Summer Science Institute (DSSI), the Center for Civic Engagement, New York City Semesters focusing on Wall Street, the United Nations, Contemporary Art, Theatre, Social Entrepreneurship and Communications and Media and several international semester programs. Drew also houses the Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict, the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, an independent professional theater, as well as the United Methodist Archives and History Center and one of the country’s leading concentrations of materials on Willa Cather.
