Champion of Women’s Rights Rashida Manjoo and Pioneering Criminologist Ronald V. Clarke to Receive Honorary Degrees and Address the Graduating Class
Led by President Karol V. Mason, who will preside over the ceremonies for the first time, students, alumni, faculty and guests will gather at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, N.Y., for John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s 53rd Commencement exercises. In keeping with the national trend, the 3,700+ graduates in the Class of 2018 – John Jay’s largest graduating class ever – are 58 percent female.
The College will award 3,110 bachelor’s degrees and 607 master’s degrees. The class includes 178 military veterans. Students range in age from 19 to 74, with six pairs of siblings and two sets of twins.
This year, eleven students enrolled in the College’s Accelerate, Complete and Engage (ACE) program as freshmen three years ago will graduate earlier than expected and will enter the fields of law, healthcare, and public service. ACE is a comprehensive program designed to dramatically raise graduation rates and help young people reach their full potential.
This year’s morning ceremony will also feature the first graduate of the Prison to College Pipeline (P2CP) Program.
View snapshots of a few members of the Class of 2018.
Speakers will include the following honorary degree recipients.
Ronald V. Clarke, one of the most important figures in criminal justice research, has helped to transform the study of criminology. His work has reshaped crime prevention strategies worldwide to focus on changing the characteristics of the situations in which crimes occur. Over the past 25 years, this concept has help lead to significant crime reduction in New York City, the United States and other nations. Clarke is a University Professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and the associate director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Stockholm Prize in Criminology. He will be awarded a Doctor of Science degree.
Rashida Manjoo is an international human rights advocate who has worked to establish women’s rights as human rights. As the United Nations Special She Rapporteur on Violence Against Women from 2009 to 2015, she was a trailblazer in the fight for a binding global treaty to recognize extreme domestic violence against women as human rights violations. Manjoo was also an anti-Apartheid activist and women’s liberation campaigner in South Africa. She also served as the former Parliamentary Commissioner of the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) of South Africa. She is currently the co-convenor of the Human Rights Program within the Law Faculty at the University of Cape Town She will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Veronika Lizarv is a Forensic Psychology major from Brooklyn, NY, with a 4.0 GPA. Her twin sister graduated last year with a John Jay degree in Forensic Psychology, and her mother has a master’s degree in Forensic Psychology, so Lizarov actually attributes much of her academic success to her family, as well as her caring professors.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
- Morning Ceremony begins at 10:30 AM
Ronald V. Clarke will address graduates.
- Afternoon Ceremony begins at 3:30 PM
Rashida Manjoo will address graduates.
Arthur Ashe Stadium, 124-02 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, N.Y.
An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York is a Hispanic Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution offering a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. John Jay is home to faculty and research centers at the forefront of researching and advancing criminal and social justice reform. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College engages the theme of justice and explores fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.