MEDIA ADVISORY: Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno To Speak at NJIT Commencement

NEWARK, May 14 2010

WHAT: NJIT 2010 Commencement Ceremony during which upwards of 2,200 honorary doctoral degrees and earned doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees will be conferred on the Class of 2010.

WHO: NJ Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno will be the keynote speaker and the recipient of an honorary doctor of humane letters. Ralph Izzo, PhD, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of the Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc., Newark, will receive an honorary doctor of science. Leon Smith, MD, an unsung New Jersey hero who’s almost single-handedly beaten back AIDS, leprosy and other infectious diseases in this region, will receive an honorary doctor of science. Smith discovered in 1979 the state’s first AIDs cases and established with St. Michael’s Hospital, Newark, the state’s first AIDs clinic. The clinic eventually grew to treat 50 patients daily. “That was before we had good therapy,” said Smith. “Today the drugs are so good, it’s easier to treat AIDS than diabetes.”

WHEN: Monday, May 17, 2010 at 9 a.m. – noon.

WHERE: Prudential Center

HOW: Call Sheryl Weinstein, 973-650-6489 to arrange for parking and admission.

Tagged: commencement, graduation, kim guadagno, lt. governor, leon smith, st. michael's

NJIT, New Jersey's science and technology university, enrolls more than 9,558 students pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 120 programs. The university consists of six colleges: Newark College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, College of Science and Liberal Arts, School of Management, College of Computing Sciences and Albert Dorman Honors College. U.S. News & World Report's 2011 Annual Guide to America's Best Colleges ranked NJIT in the top tier of national research universities. NJIT is internationally recognized for being at the edge in knowledge in architecture, applied mathematics, wireless communications and networking, solar physics, advanced engineered particulate materials, nanotechnology, neural engineering and e-learning. Many courses and certificate programs, as well as graduate degrees, are available online through the Office of Continuing Professional Education.