Saint Mary’s College Announces Plans for Spring Commencement
Keynote speaker and honorary degree recipients named
Saint Mary’s President Katie Conboy has announced noted environmentalist, cartographer, and social entrepreneur Molly Burhans will deliver the Commencement address for the Class of 2023. The 176th Commencement will take place at noon on Saturday, May 20 on Le Mans Green.
As the founder and executive director of GoodLands, Burhans leads its work to mobilize large landholders to use their property for environmental and humanitarian good. Burhans was the chief cartographer for the first global data-based maps of the Catholic Church. These maps premiered at the Vatican in 2016. Her work combines faith, environmental stewardship, and technology and has received international acclaim from academic, governmental, and private sector organizations. Burhans is a visiting scholar at Canisius College and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. She earned a BA from Canisius College and an MS in Ecological Design from The Conway School.
“Molly Burhans is a revolutionary, bringing together the fields of cartography, sustainability, and climate study to the Catholic Church. No one before her had cataloged the Church’s immense global landholdings and illustrated how, through this vast property ownership, the Church can help address the environmental crisis,” said President Katie Conboy. “Her story will inspire our graduates and engage the Commencement audience. We are so pleased to confer upon her the degree of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.”
Saint Mary’s will also present an honorary degree to the following:
Gretchen Ann Flicker, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa. Flicker graduated from Saint Mary’s College in 1993 and later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. After a long and successful career at Dimensional Fund Advisors that spanned over two decades, Flicker retired in 2019. Flicker served on the Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees for 11 years. Besides faithfully serving on several committees, she was elected Treasurer and then Vice Chair, ultimately becoming Chair in 2019. Under her collaborative and engaged leadership, Flicker guided the College during a presidential transition, the tumult of a pandemic, and a time of significant social unrest in the United States.
Ida J. Stockman, Ph.D, Honorary Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa. Dr. Stockman is professor emerita in the department of communicative sciences and disorders at Michigan State University. Stockman taught at Jackson State University, Howard
University, and City University of New York. Her career spans four decades of research, teaching, and professional services, with contributions in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders, the interface of human and machine learning and development, and speech and language development. She also made a significant impact by studying typical and atypical development of children who speak African American English. She has more than 200 scholarly contributions, including journal articles, conference presentations, and workshops. Since “retiring” in 2007, Stockman continues to do research, consult, and mentor young professionals in the field. Her work has infused diversity within the curriculum and shaped clinical training and practice. In 2020, the Michigan Speech, Language and Hearing Association renamed one of their esteemed awards the “Dr. Ida J. Stockman Achievement in Diversity and Infusion Award” to honor her vast accomplishments and impact in the field of communication sciences and disorders, diversity and infusion, and the personal and professional lives of many.
President Conboy will also present the President’s Medal to William Schmuhl. The President’s Medal is presented rarely and exclusively to those who have offered exceptional contributions to the life of the College and society. Schmuhl enjoyed a long an
d successful professional career at Heywood Williams USA Inc., ultimately serving as chairman and director before retiring. He has been active in the life of Saint Mary’s for more than 30 years. His connections to the College are multi-faceted: as an adjunct instructor, Schmuhl still teaches in the Business Administration and Economics Department, chairing the department for two years. Schmuhl was a member of the Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees for 10 years, serving terms as Board chair and treasurer. After his retirement from the Board in 2006, he has remained active as Trustee Emeritus for the past 16 years. Schmuhl’s generous spirit and civic responsibility extend beyond Saint Mary’s campus to the greater South Bend community. He has served on several boards, including WNIT, the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michigan, Stanley Clark School, and Discovery Charter School. He earned both a BBA and a JD from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
The Commencement ceremony will be in-person and live-streamed, and without restrictions on the number of guests allowed at the outdoor ceremony. For more information about the 176th Commencement at Saint Mary’s College, visit the 2023 Commencement website.
April 6, 2023
