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President's Medal Recipients:Commencement Speaker Michael R. Bloomberg,
born in Medford, Massachusetts, attended Johns Hopkins University, where he parked cars and took out loans to finance his education. After graduation, he earned an MBA from Harvard and in the summer of 1966, he was hired by Salomon Brothers to work on Wall Street. He left in 1981 after another company acquired Salomon, but used his stake from the Salomon sale to start his own company, an endeavor that would revolutionize the way that Wall Street does business. Bloomberg created a financial information computer that would collect and analyze different combinations of past and present securities data and deliver it immediately to the user. Bloomberg LP now has more than 165,000 subscribers worldwide. In 1990 Bloomberg LP entered the media business, launching a news service, and then radio, television, Internet, and publishing operations. The company employs more than 8,000 people — including 2,500 in New York City — in more than 100 offices worldwide. As the company enjoyed tremendous growth, Bloomberg dedicated more of his time and energy to philanthropy and civic affairs. His desire to improve education, advance medical research and increase access to the arts, has motivated much of his philanthropy.
Cady Huffman is winner of the 2001 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her portrayal of "Ulla" in the Broadway hit, The Producers. Huffman, who was born and raised in
Santa Barbara, California, started acting at the age of six, took ballet lessons at seven and classical voice training at nine. Her first professional gig was at the age of 10 doing cartoon voices
(singing and speaking) for the educational cartoon, "Snippets." She steadily continued her studies, and at 18 she became a full-time professional actress. Some of her other theatrical credits include
the title role in Blake Edwards' original musical play, Big Rosemary: Gemini and Italian-American Reconciliation with the English Speaking Theater Company in Rome, Italy; As you Like It and
Cymbeline at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London; and L'il Abner with the City Center "Encores!" series. Huffman recently co-produced and starred in the independent feature,
Sunday on the Rocks. Honorary Degree Recipients: Hattie Bessent, director of the ethnic/racial minority fellowship programs at the American Nurses Association, will receive an honorary doctor
of science degree. Described by many as a visionary, she has influenced the lives and careers of hundreds of minority nurses in the United States and abroad and is one of the most influential
African-American nurses in the nation. Bessent has developed a cadre of highly qualified specialists and researchers in mental health and the behavioral sciences who are particularly dedicated to
working with ethnic/racial minority populations and communities. A highly respected leader in the fields of psychiatric nursing and educational psychology, Bessent has lectured on the cultural aspects
of the delivery of mental health services, and conducted longitudinal studies of the mental health development of young children. She has also participated in numerous conferences addressing the
delivery of mental health services to minority parents and the relationship between nursing and minority cultures. Rhea Perlman, actor, writer, producer and Hunter alumna, will receive an honorary
doctor of fine arts degree. Perlman was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Hunter College in 1968 with a BA in theater. She lives in California with her husband, the actor, director and
producer, Danny DeVito. They have three children. Perlman received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Carla on Cheers
in 1984-86 and 1989. She appeared in that hit comedy from 1983-1992. She has also starred in the TV series Taxi, Pearl and Kate Brasher. Her movies include Class
Act, There Goes the Neighborhood, Sunset Park, Carpool, Canadian Bacon and Matilda. Prior to winning acclaim for her roles on television, Perlman acted in more than a dozen off-Broadway
plays, experimental theater and improvisational groups. She is involved in a variety of children's charities, including the Children's Defense Fund and the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. On May 28,
Perlman returned to New York City to take over Valerie Harper's role in the Broadway play, Tales of the Allergist's Wife. Hunter College, founded in 1870, has long enjoyed a national
reputation for excellence in liberal arts and sciences and professional education. Hunter's main campus, located on 68th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side, consists of the School of Arts and
Sciences and School of Education. The college also includes a school of Social Work on East 79th Street as well as the Schools of the Health Professions (Nursing and Health Sciences) located at the
Brookdale Health Science Center on East 25th Street; an MFA building and art gallery on the West Side; and the Hunter College Campus Schools serving gifted and talented students, preschool through grade
12. For more Hunter news, please visit www.hunter.cuny.edu/news. Return To Top |
