Newswise — Eliot Spitzer, attorney general and gubernatorial candidate of New York State, will deliver the keynote address at Colgate University's 185th commencement exercises Sunday, May 21. During the ceremonies, Colgate will award honorary degrees to Spitzer, baccalaureate speaker Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, professor of ethics and theology for Drew University; Alfred J. and Aminy I. Audi, owners of the L. & J. G. Stickley, Inc. furniture company; and Walter Massey, president of Morehouse College and former director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Spitzer became New York's 63rd attorney general Jan. 1, 1999. Since then, he has spearheaded a broad array of initiatives that have focused on consumer protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights, personal privacy, public safety, and criminal law enforcement.
Nicknamed "Crusader of the Year" by Time magazine in 2002, Spitzer began his career in public service as a clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet and later served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan under Robert Morgenthau from 1986 to 1992. He rose to chief of the Labor Racketeering unit, where he prosecuted organized crime and political corruption cases. He also spent time in private practice with Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, and Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom. In addition, he was a partner at Constantine & Partners.
Spitzer has contributed significant time and energy to community service throughout his life, and, with his wife, Silda Wall, formed the Children for Children Foundation.
He is a 1981 graduate of Princeton University and a 1984 graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Also speaking during Colgate's Commencement 2006 weekend will be Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, professor of ethics and theology at Drew University in Madison, N.J., who will give the baccalaureate sermon.
Born and raised in La Habana, Cuba, Isasi-Diaz lectures extensively in the United States and abroad on the issue of justice. Her main areas of interest and research have been the religious practices and understandings of Latinas in the United States who struggle for liberation.
She received a master of arts degree in medieval history from SUNY Brockport, and masters of divinity and philosophy degrees and a doctorate in theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Stickley furniture company owners Alfred J. and Aminy I. Audi and Morehouse College President Walter Massey, as well as Spitzer and Isasi-Diaz, will receive honorary degrees at Colgate's commencement.
Alfred Audi, president of Stickley, was born in New York City. After graduating from Colgate in 1960, he served three years in the National Guard in New York City's 42nd Infantry Division. Before moving to Syracuse, he was president of E.J. Audi, Inc., his family's business since 1928. When he bought Stickley in 1974, it was an ailing company with 22 employees and annual sales of $270,000. Today, it has over 1,600 employees.
Aminy Audi, president of Stickley, Audi & Co., the retail division of Stickley, is a graduate of New York University. At Stickley, her primary responsibilities include marketing, public relations, and showroom development and display. She also serves on the State University of New York (SUNY) Board of Trustees, and, as co-chair of SUNY's International Studies division, has represented the institution in Turkey, Poland, Mexico, and Russia. She has been a representative to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and to the Women's World Conference in Beijing.
Members of numerous community boards, the Audis have had a lifelong interest in Colgate, the Central New York region, and education in general. Most recently they made the first major pledge to the Syracuse East Area YMCA, which is now a thriving community center. Three years ago, they made it possible for the Fayetteville Library to move into the original Stickley factory in Fayetteville, and now they are working to launch the Stickley Museum in the upper level of the same building. Last year, they helped re-furnish the Colgate Inn.
Massey is the ninth president of Morehouse College, the nation's largest private four-year liberal arts college for men. He has had a varied and distinguished career as a physicist, educator, and director of the prestigious NSF.
Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Miss., Massey attended a predominantly black high school and was such an outstanding student that he graduated at age 16. He earned a bachelor's degree from Morehouse College when he was only 20, and went on to earn his master's and Ph.D. in physics from Washington University in St. Louis.
Massey's work as a researcher has involved the study of quantum liquids and solids, but his interests include the teaching of science and math education, the education of minorities, and the role of science in a democratic society.
Founded in 1819, Colgate University is a highly selective, residential, liberal arts college enrolling nearly 2,750 undergraduates. Situated on a rolling 515-acre campus in central New York State, Colgate University attracts motivated students with diverse backgrounds, interests, and talents.
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