Le Moyne selects commencement speaker, honorary-degree recipients for May ceremonies

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Le Moyne College has selected author, professor, and disability-rights activist Stephen Kuusisto to address students at the school’s undergraduate commencement in May

Kuusisto — a Syracuse University professor and director of interdisciplinary programs and outreach at Syracuse’s Burton Blatt Institute — will speak at Le Moyne’s graduation ceremony, which is set for May 21 at 9:30 a.m. in the Expo Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Geddes.

Le Moyne has also selected four individuals to receive honorary degrees during a special 12 p.m. ceremony on its campus a day earlier on May 20.

They include Leslie Shaw, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a “pioneer” in therapeutic drug monitoring, as described by Le Moyne College. Shaw earned his undergraduate degree from Le Moyne in 1962.

The recipients will also include Zacharia Mohamed, a 2016 graduate of Le Moyne,  who is currently enrolled in medical school at Upstate Medical University. As a young boy, Mohamed escaped a civil war in his native Somalia, Le Moyne said.

In addition, the recipients include Jack Podsiadlo, S.J., whose 40-plus year career built the Nativity Network of Schools into a national network dedicated to providing educational opportunities for underserved youth.

Le Moyne will also award an honorary degree to Joyce Suslovic, a history teacher at Henninger High School in Syracuse and an “outspoken proponent” of social activism and equality, the school noted.