Carmen Ortiz '78 to Deliver the 116th Adelphi Commencement Address

Adelphi University will confirm graduates at the associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral levels during its 116th Commencement on Friday, May 18, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, NY.

Carmen Ortiz ’78 will deliver the Commencement address and be recognized with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Carmen Ortiz was confirmed as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts by the U.S. Senate in November 2009. She is the first Hispanic and the first woman to represent Massachusetts as United States Attorney. As the chief federal law enforcement officer of Massachusetts, Ortiz supervises the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in which the federal government has an interest. Her top priorities include terrorism and national security, healthcare fraud, civil rights, and violent and white collar crime reduction. In 2010, she implemented the District’s first civil rights initiative, aimed at reinvigorating enforcement efforts of federal civil rights laws and increasing visibility among affected communities through extensive community outreach efforts.  In addition, Ms. Ortiz serves on Attorney General Eric Holder’s Advisory Committee (AGAC).

Her public service career began as the Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Economic Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Massachusetts) where she also served as Grand Jury Supervisor. Additionally, she has held many other positions including State Prosecutor in Middlesex County, and Program Associate and Training Coordinator at the Harvard Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice. Some of her other noteworthy achievements include Bostonian of the Year, The Boston Globe (2012); Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Network, Pinnacle Award Honoree (2012); ACCESS First One Award (2011); Beth Israel Deaconess, Outstanding Contributions to the Community (2011); and Las Primeras Award for Exemplary Achievement, Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys (2011).

Ms. Ortiz graduated from Adelphi University (B.B.A.) and was awarded her J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1981.

Additionally, writer and novelist Jamaica Kincaid,will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and Leonard Riggio, founder and chairman of Barnes and Noble, Inc., will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Claire Johnson Machosky ’62, co-editor of the New York State Elementary Social Studies Core Curriculum, will receive the Ruth S. Harley Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award at the Commencement ceremony.

For more information and the full day’s program, please contact Adelphi’s Commencement Office at 516.877.4695 or visit adelphi.edu.