Commencement Speaker Announced For Mitchell College

NEW LONDON, CT — Georgette Chapman Phillips, the Kevin L. and Lisa A. Clayton Dean of the College of Business and Economics at Lehigh University, will give the Commencement Address at Mitchell College on Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m.

An internationally recognized scholar, Ms. Phillips is a professor in both the Perella Department of Finance in the College of Business and Economics and the Africana Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University, according to a release.

Phillips holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Bryn Mawr College, where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees.

Phillips has garnered many honors and teaching awards, including Ballad Research Scholar at the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center, the Undergraduate Teaching Award, and the Rapaport Award for Highest Teaching Rating in the Undergraduate Core. Her research and teaching is focused on the intersection of law, economics and public policy within the context of the built environment.

She is published in the areas of urban and regional planning, local government law, real estate and housing. Her publications include “Zombie Cities: Population Decline and the Urban Form” and “An Urban Slice of Apple Pie: Rethinking Homeownership in U.S. Cities,” among others.

As Chief Executive Officer of a highly ranked business school, Phillips is responsible for overseeing all academic, financial and programmatic offerings. Her innovative approach has led to a new MBA program, new master’s program for non-business students, overhaul of the financial reporting system and implementation of an Executive Education program.

In her public and community service role, Phillips works with the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps to house homeless families on a temporary basis. In the past, she has co-chaired the Capital Campaign for the Vestry of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and served on the Board of Directors for Commonwealth Youth Choirs/Keystone State Boychoir.

Two students, Cole Sargent from Waterford and Benjamin Akselrod from Pleasantville, N.Y., have been selected to give the student address.

The Commencement ceremony will include the presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Award to Walter “Skip” Moore, Ph.D. `62 and Distinguished Service Awards to Stephen Coan, Ph.D., President and CEO of Mystic Aquarium, and Gino DeMaio, M.S., CEO of Sound Community Services. In addition, the recipients of the Board of Trustees Awards for Academic Achievement and the Faculty Awards for Academic Achievement will be announced during the ceremony.

School officials said 177 graduates will be receiving Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees.

Commencement will be held on the College Green, and approximately 1,000 people are expected to attend. Tent seating is available for ticket-holders. Additional non-ticketed tent seating and lawn seating is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about Commencement or Mitchell College, visit mitchell.edu/commencement.

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