New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Delivers Keynote Address at Hunter College's 188 th Commencement

Several graduates honored for their extraordinary achievements

Date: January 21, 2004
Contact: Deborah Sack (deborah.sack@hunter.cuny.edu)
Phone: (212) 772-4070

NEW YORK, NY - Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General, addressed more than 1,200 graduates at Hunter College's 188 th Commencement on Wednesday, January 21 and received a President's Medal from Hunter President Jennifer J. Raab for his "relentless pursuit of reform."

During the commencement exercises, President Raab also conferred an honorary degree on William J. vanden Heuvel. Vanden Heuvel, a distinguished international lawyer and human rights supporter, served as U.S. Ambassador to the European office of the United Nations. A former special assistant to U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, vanden Heuvel is the Co-Chair of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and the recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Association's Distinguished Service Medal.

Speaking to the graduates about corporate and personal accountability, Spitzer said, "We are at a point in American history when a crisis of lower standards, a crisis of accountability is affecting many institutions. Deviancy has been defined down and the public does not trust the institutions that we all depend on - ranging from charities to government to business."

Many of the students participating in Hunter's 188 th commencement ceremony are first generation Americans as well as the first in their families to matriculate and graduate from college. One of these graduates is Diana Hilaire, a Haitian student who will be reunited with her father after 12 years and whose sister is flying in from Haiti to meet her for the very first time.

Also graduating today is Chiso Nwokafor who came to Hunter from Nigeria in 1998. While attending Hunter, Nwokafor worked to help with the family's medical expenses for his sister who was suffering from sickle cell anemia. Nwokafor was determined to major in science and conduct research to help find a cure for his sister's disease. Nwokafor was admitted to Hunter's Minority Biomedical Research Support program where his work in Professor Akira Kawamura's chemistry lab produced research on proteins that Nwokafor presented at a national biomedical research conference last October. Nwokafor plans to enter a doctoral program next fall, where he will continue to work toward a breakthrough in treatment of sickle cell and other diseases.

Among the 1270 graduates who received their degrees are Valedictorian Ivan Zadunaisky, a triple major in special honors archeology and art history with a 3.98 GPA and Salutatorian Chamion Thomas, a mathematics major with a 3.94 GPA. Hunter awarded degrees to eight hundred twenty nine undergraduates -- 779 within the School of Arts and Sciences; 42 within the School of Health Professions; and 8 within the School of Education.   Four hundred forty one students received graduate degrees -- 48 within the School of Arts and Sciences; 137 within the School of Education; and 158 within the School of Social Work.

About Hunter
With a highly diverse student population of more than 20,000, Hunter is the largest college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the first choice among all CUNY applicants. Founded in 1870, the College offers more than 170 undergraduate and graduate programs. Hunter is noted for its professional schools in education, health sciences, nursing and social work, as well as its excellence in the liberal arts. Heralded as the "Crown Jewel of CUNY" by The Princeton Review, Hunter College has a distinguished reputation for nurturing talented minority scientists and meeting the challenge of providing high-quality science education in the 21st century. The College also oversees the Hunter College Campus Schools serving gifted and talented students, preschool through grade 12. For more information about Hunter College, please visit our Web site at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu.

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