Keynote speaker selected for graduation

Adman, philanthropist, and loyal alumnus of Boston College, John M. "Jack" Connors, Jr., BC '63 is slated to deliver the keynote address at Commencement.

Connors, a founding partner and chairman emeritus of the national marketing firm Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc., also served two terms as chairman of the Board of Trustees, and is the longest serving member. He stepped down from the board in 2005.

Hill, Holliday grew from a one room marketing firm founded in 1968 to one of the nation's top 20 advertising firms under his leadership. Among its roster of clients are Bank of America, Verizon Wireless, Dunkin' Donuts, Anheuser-Busch, John Hancock Financial Services, CVS/Pharmacy, Dell, and Liberty Mutual. In 1998, Hill, Holliday was acquired by the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Connors is also an active member of the Catholic church in Boston. In October 2005, Cardinal Sean O'Mally selected Connors to lead a task force charged with developing a plan for improving, governing and financing the diocese's troubled school system. In 2002, Connors spoke out against Cardinal Bernard Law's handling of the sex abuse scandal, encouraging Catholics to withhold contributions to the church. Earlier that year, Law told Connors, then a trusted advisor that there may have been one or two cases of abuse, and when more surfaced Connors believed Law either lied to him or did not know what was going on in his own archdiocese. Connors courageous outspokeness led him to be cast out of Law's inner circle. Law ultimately resigned as

"Given Jack's role as Boston's leading businessman and one of the region's most generous philanthropists, we felt that he would be an ideal role model for our students at commencement," said University spokesman Jack Dunn.

Along with Connors, who will receive an honorary doctorate of business administration degree at the ceremony, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; sports journalist Lesley Visser, BC '75; Jesuit astronomer Rev. George V. Coyne, S.J.; and Boston anti-violence activist Isaura Mendes, will receive degrees. Mulroney was the 18th prime minister of Canada. His government introduced bold new initiatives such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Canada-U.S. Acid Rain Treaty. Historic tax reform, extensive deregulation, and expenditure deregulation also marked his administration's tenure.

Visser was the first woman to be recognized by the Professional Football Hall of Fame as the 2006 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. She was the first woman assigned to the series Monday Night Football as well as the first woman to report from the sidelines of a Super Bowl. She was awarded the Compass Award from the Women's Leadership Exchange for "changing the paradigm of her business."

Coyne received his doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University. In 1978, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II as director of the Vatican Observatory, headquartered in Rome with a research operation at the University of Arizona, and retired as director in 2006. Coyne is also extremely interested in the nexus of science and religion.

Mendes, born in Cape Verde, moved to Boston when she was 15 years of age. In 1995, her oldest son Bobby, was fatally stabbed while trying to break up a fight. While she was initially overwhelmed by grief, Mendes began advocating for peace in 1998, notably by reaching out to support other survivors and organizing community events.

In 2000, she founded the Parents and Children's Walk for Peace. In March 2006, Mendes traveled to England with Matthew, her other son, to meet with young people in trouble with the justice system. Six weeks after returning, Matthew was killed in a drive-by shooting. His death only strengthened her resolve to work for peace. n