Dr. Aminata Touré and JJ Green to address graduates and receive Honorary Degrees
Vermont Business Magazine Champlain College will celebrate its on-campus undergraduate and Champlain College Online undergraduate and graduate students during its commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13. Honorary doctorates will be awarded to commencement speakers Dr. Aminata Touré, Senegalese politician and human rights activist, and JJ Green, national security correspondent.
The events will celebrate what it means to be Champlain Ready and the importance of being more human in a digital world. Ceremonies will kick off at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction at 10:00 AM for on-campus undergraduate students and 3:00 PM for students receiving undergraduate and master’s degrees through Champlain College Online.
President Alex Hernandez is expected to confer 334 bachelor’s degrees during the on-campus undergraduate ceremony and 133 master’s degrees, 126 bachelor’s degrees, and 19 associate degrees during the afternoon ceremony for Champlain College Online graduates.
"Commencement is a time to celebrate our graduates and recognize all they have accomplished through Champlain’s career-focused curriculum, experiential learning, and internships," said Champlain College President Alex Hernandez. “This year, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Aminata Touré and JJ Green, who will share their stories of determination and compassion, inspiring our students to be ready - ready to make a difference and build a better future.”
Dr. Aminata Touré will speak to the on-campus undergraduate community and receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa. Dr. Touré has held several Senegalese government positions, including Prime Minister (2013-2014), Minister of Justice (2012-2013), President’s Special Envoy for Internal and External Affairs (2015-2019), President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (2019-2020), and was elected to the Senegalese Parliament in 2022.
As a champion of both human rights and women’s rights, Dr. Touré served as the Director of Gender and Human Rights of the United Nations Population Fund in New York from 2009-2012, during which time she worked with Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center and the Vermont-based non-profit, Population Media Center to produce “BREAKAWAY,” a global video game initiative that educates youth, changing their attitudes and behaviors during critical development ages, and supports them in becoming champions for ending gender-based violence.
JJ Green will address the Champlain College Online undergraduate and master’s graduates and receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa. The national security correspondent at WTOP radio reports daily on international security, intelligence, foreign policy, terrorism, and cyber developments. Green provides regular on-air analysis on both radio and TV and hosts the weekly podcast Target USA, which examines threats facing the U.S. He was embedded in war zones with the U.S. military three times and won more than three dozen national, regional, and local journalism awards for his work.
In addition to the honorary degree recipients, student speakers will address their fellow graduates in each of the two ceremonies. Olivia Sommerer, representing on-campus undergraduate students, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science from the Degree Design Lab with concentrations in Communications, Innovation, and Social Justice and is originally from Jupiter, FL. Committed to helping others and our planet, Sommerer plans to make a difference around the world through the Peace Corps and aspires to be a college professor someday, engaging the next generation of change-makers.
Army Veteran and current National Guardsman Denzel Johnson will represent Champlain College Online and is graduating with a Master of Science in Information Security. Johnson hails from Detroit, MI, and previously earned his Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity through Champlain College Online in 2021.
For more information about Champlain College’s 2023 Commencement ceremonies, visit commencement.champlain.edu. In addition to the in-person ceremony, the College will provide an online livestream for both ceremonies on this site.
Honorary Degree Recipient Dr. Aminata Touré to Speak at Commencement
Senegalese politician and human rights activist Dr. Aminata Touré will speak to the Champlain College traditional undergraduate community on Saturday, May 13, 2023 and receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa.
Dr. Touré has held several Senegalese government positions, including Prime Minister (2013-2014), Minister of Justice (2012-2013), President’s Special Envoy for Internal and External Affairs (2015-2019), President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (2019-2020), and was elected to the Senegalese Parliament in 2022.
Senegalese politician and human rights activist Dr. Aminata Touré will receive an honorary degree from Champlain College on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
As a champion of both human rights and women’s rights, Dr. Touré served as the Director of Gender and Human Rights of the United Nations Population Fund in New York from 2009-2012, during which time she worked with Champlain College’s Emergent Media Center and Vermont-based non-profit Population Media Center to produce “BREAKAWAY,” a global video game initiative that educates youth, changing their attitudes and behaviors during critical development ages, and supports them in becoming champions for ending gender-based violence.
Dr. Touré is committed to making a difference in the world and building a better future for those around her. These themes tie into the Champlain College Class of 2023’s values and goals as they graduate Champlain Ready — ready to make a difference.
From 2014 to 2020, Dr. Touré led several Presidential election observation missions in Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Kenya, and Guyana, on behalf of the Carter Center with then-US Secretary of State, John Kerry. She also held the position of Harvard Kennedy School Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project in the academic year 2018-2019.
Previously, she worked for 24 years in the United Nations, where she championed human rights and women’s rights. She was the Senior Adviser of the United Nations Population Fund in New York from 2003 to 2009, served as Senior Technical adviser in Côte d’Ivoire from 1998 to 2001 and in Burkina Faso from 1996 to 1997. At the early stage of her career, Dr. Touré worked in the private sector and with the Senegalese branch of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Dr. Touré holds a Master’s in Economics and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Aix-Marseille in France and a Ph.D. from the International School of Management in Paris. She has directed more than 30 United Nations publications and authored a book in 2021 highlighting Africa’s contribution to International Penal Law through the Extraordinary Judiciary Chambers that tried Hissein Habré, former President of Chad.
Commencement Speaker JJ Green to Receive Honorary Degree
National Security Correspondent JJ Green will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Champlain College and serve as the commencement speaker to Champlain College Online undergraduate and Master’s students.
Green is a national security correspondent at WTOP radio in Washington, DC and reports daily on international security, intelligence, foreign policy, terrorism, and cyber developments. Green provides regular on-air analysis on both radio and TV and hosts the weekly podcast Target USA, which examines threats facing the U.S.
National Security Correspondent JJ Green will receive an honorary degree from Champlain College on Saturday, May 13, 2023.
He also hosts the weekly broadcast program, The Hunt, and conducts in-depth interviews with experts on ISIS, al-Qaida, the Taliban, and other emerging terror threats. He’s the author of WTOP’s Inside The SCIF newsletter, and is the presenter on Global with JJ Green.
He has been embedded with the US military three times in war zones –in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. He flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds, and received their 9G pin. He’s traveled to more than 50 countries investigating, reporting, and analyzing some of the world’s top international security stories, including the war in Ukraine.
Green has won more than three dozen national, regional, and local journalism awards for his work. He was the recipient of the 2017 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense for his series, Anatomy of a Russian Attack. He also received a National Edward R. Murrow Award in 2009 for his national security reporting aboard a nuclear submarine –Hidden Hunter. Additionally, he won the prestigious Associated Press Douglas S. Freeman award in 2010 for his investigative series, “Dignity Denied,” which explored decades of neglect at America’s hallowed Arlington National Cemetery.
In addition to his radio work, Green has worked at six television networks as a reporter or host including ABC, CNN, BET, C-SPAN, Al Jazeera America, and News Nation.
He graduated from Hampton University, is fluent in Spanish, and speaks working-level French. An avid athlete, he is an accomplished speed skater, a regular runner, a swimmer, cross trainer, and kickboxer. He’s also active in his neighborhood, organizing community walks and helping to promote civic connectivity.
About Champlain College
Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and a broad portfolio of online degrees and certificates through Champlain College Online. The College is known for its distinctive and innovative approach to career-focused education and its “upside-down” curriculum, which help students be: “Ready for Work. Ready for Life. Ready to Make a Difference.” Champlain ranks in multiple categories of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges,” including Best Value Schools, Best Colleges in the North, Best Colleges for Veterans, and Top Performers on Social Mobility. Champlain was also listed among The Princeton Review’s “The Best 388 Colleges” in 2023 and was recognized as a 2022 College of Distinction for its “Engagement, Teaching, Community, and Outcomes.”
Source: Burlington, VT (April 28, 2023) — www.champlain.edu.
