Update: On Saturday, June 3, Goodwin College will hold its 18th Commencement on the grounds of the main campus at One Riverside Drive in East Hartford. As of May 16, more than 430 graduates are expected to walk in the annual ceremony that celebrates their earning certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees in a number of degree programs.. That is the largest number of graduates to process in a Goodwin Commencement, with the total expected to increase by the date of the event, according to the College registrar.

Commencement begins at 10 a.m. and will include remarks from Goodwin president Mark Scheinberg, board of trustees chair Dr. Maria Ellis, the 2017 valedictorian, and a student speaker selected by the College community.

This year’s honorary degree recipients include is world-renowned author and journalist Gail Sheehy, and United States District Judge for Connecticut, Alvin W. Thompson.

In her 50 years as a writer, Sheehy has interviewed thousands of women and men and written 17 books. Her earliest revolutionary book, Passages, was named by a Library of Congress survey one of the ten most influential books of our times. Passages remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for more than three years and has been reprinted in 28 languages. In five other books on the passages theme, she revisits the stages of adult life: Understanding Men’s Passages, The Silent Passage; Sex and the Seasoned Women, and Passages in Caregiving.

As a literary journalist, Sheehy was one of the original contributors to New York magazine and has been a contributing editor to Vanity Fair since 1984. She has covered national and world leaders and broken many cultural taboos. She culminated a decade of following Hillary Clinton for Vanity Fair with the biography, Hillary’s Choice, exploring the personal ambitions and vulnerabilities that drive the world’s most public woman. She has written about the character and psychology of national leaders including both Presidents Bush, Robert Kennedy, Barack Obama, Anwar Sadat, and Margaret Thatcher. She is a seven-time recipient of the New York Newswomen’s Club Front Page Award for distinguished journalism and three-time winner or finalist for National Magazine Awards.  In 2013, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Books for a Better Life.

Judge Thompson is a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut. He was appointed by President Clinton in October of 1994 and served as Chief Judge from 2009 to 2013.

He earned his B.A. degree from Princeton University in 1975 and his J.D. degree from Yale Law School in 1978. Upon completing his legal education, he was engaged in private practice with Robinson & Cole in Hartford, where he was elected Managing Partner in 1991 and remained until he was appointed to the Bench.

Judge Thompson is very active in the American Bar Association. His involvement has included serving as Chair of the Section of Business Law and serving on the Scholarship Committee for the ABA Legal Opportunities Scholarship Fund. In his local community, he has been very actively involved for many years in The First Church of Christ in Hartford and numerous other civic and professional organizations, including the Salvation Army.

Members of the media are invited to attend the Goodwin Commencement and are encouraged to contact Rob Muirhead, Media Relations Coordinator, at 860-913-2033 or rmuirhead@goodwin.edu. Early arrival is suggested; parking is expected to be at full capacity. In addition to the lots at One Riverside Drive, additional parking is available at the Connecticut River Academy (9 Riverside Drive), the Riverside Magnet School (29 Willowbrook Road), and the Goodwin College Business and Manufacturing Center (1 Pent Road). Shuttle service will be available. Handicapped parking will be available at One Riverside Drive and between 167 and 195 Riverside Drive; staff will be on hand to direct guests.