William (Bro) AdamsCC alumnus William “Bro” Adams, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will address the Class of 2015 at this year’s Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 18. Adams, the former president of Bucknell University and Colby College, is nationally known as a strong advocate for the humanities and the liberal arts and has a long history of leadership in higher education.

Adams graduated from Colorado College magna cum laude with a philosophy degree in 1972, but his time on campus was interrupted by three years of service in the Army, including a year in Vietnam. It was partly that experience, he says, that motivated him to study and teach in the humanities.

CC also will award honorary degrees to three individuals at the ceremony:

  • Bruce McCaw ’68, who attended Colorado College for two years and is an accomplished businessman and generous philanthropist
  • Paul Morin, director of the Antarctic Geospatial Information Center at the University of Minnesota
  • Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs since 2002

Baccalaureate will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17, and the Commencement ceremony will be at 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 18; live streams of both ceremonies will be available.