Cliff Rucker to Give Commencement Address at Becker College

From Becker College: Cliff Rucker, owner of the Worcester Railers Hockey Club and president of NFS Leasing, will deliver the keynote address at Becker College’s 229th Commencement ceremony, on Saturday, May 6, at 10:00 a.m., at the DCU Center in Worcester.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Rucker represents the entrepreneurial spirit that Becker endeavors to instill in every graduate. Rucker is the founding president of NFS Leasing, a multidisciplinary equipment leasing firm, as well as the founder of NEXL, a provider of IT services. Most recently, Rucker has focused his entrepreneurial skills on transforming Worcester. He has brought professional hockey back to the city with the formation of the Worcester Railers Hockey Club. To support the team, Rucker is building a 100,000 sq. ft. facility that will house the Railers and local teams from all levels – including Becker’s own men’s and women’s ice hockey teams—the Hawks. As part of an ongoing revitalization effort to create social impact in Worcester, the Railers facility will also be home to a restaurant, exercise science workrooms, retail shops, and other venues for civic engagement. Besides business and development, Rucker sits on the boards of many schools and nonprofits.

Alongside Rucker in the 2017 ceremony will be Manny Lopes, CEO and president of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. Lopes has achieved extraordinary and lasting distinction for his innovative management of one of the most impactful health centers in the U.S. that focuses on increasing coverage and services for all Boston residents. For his leadership in the healthcare industry as well as in his local community, Lopes was honored with the NAACP President’s Award in 2015. Lopes will deliver the address at the Becker College Honors Convocation on Friday, May 5, at 3:00 p.m., on the Leicester Campus.

“There are no better examples of innovation and social impact than Cliff Rucker and Manny Lopes. Every day these leaders exhibit skills that our upcoming graduates will need in the future, so I hope the Class of 2017 listens closely to their words,” says Becker College President Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. “Cliff and Manny are continuously transforming their communities, inspiring individuals, and changing lives for the better – something we expect from every Becker graduate.”

In honor of their lasting contributions to Becker and its mission, the college will award Rucker and Lopes honorary doctoral degrees at the Commencement ceremony.

Becker’s Commencement will honor graduates from all undergraduate and graduate degree programs and the Accelerated Studies program. In addition, Becker will give special recognition to 11 teachers and staff of the Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti, who completed Dreams: Educating the Future of Haiti, an educational training program administered through the Yunus Social Business Centre @ Becker College.

At Becker, preparing students appropriately for the future of work means cultivating adaptive learners with Agile Mindsets who can leverage the uniquely human skills of empathy, divergent thinking, an entrepreneurial outlook, and social and emotional intelligence to adapt and thrive in a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. The Agile Mindset is the academic model that serves to future-proof students and is integrated into the Becker college experience, inside and outside of the classroom.

In the coming weeks, the Becker community will focus on celebrating the achievements of graduating students as they prepare to take their places in the world as agile learners. For more information, visit the 2017 Commencement page here.

Founded in1784, Becker College is a future-focused institution with a post-graduate placement rate for employment, further study, or volunteer service programs that averages 89%. Becker serves more than 2,100 students from across the country and around the world. The College offers a wide range of quality degree programs that prepare graduates for the challenges and entrepreneurial opportunities of the 21st century. Like the college on Facebook. Follow the college on Twitter @BeckerCollege.

Image via Becker College