Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, will replace first lady Laura Bush as the principal speaker at the graduation ceremony Saturday (July 14) for the UniversitysAlliancefor Catholic Education (ACE) program.
The death Wednesday of Lady Bird Johnson has caused a change in plans for Mrs. Bush, who will attend the funeral Saturday for the former first lady.
The ACE ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in the Leighton Concert Hall of theDeBartoloCenterfor the Performing Arts. Master of education degrees will be conferred on 84 graduates who have received instruction on campus the past two summers and served during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years in Catholic schools nationwide. They will join more than 700 ACE alumni, the majority of whom remain in education as either teachers or administrators.
Now 90 years old, Father Hesburgh was Notre Dames president from 1952 to 1987. He is the recipient of a record 150 honorary degrees and was awarded both the presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, the nations two highest civilian honors.
In addition to the conferral of degrees at the ACE ceremony, Thomas E. Larkin Jr. and his wife, Margaret, ofLos Angeleswill be honored with the Notre Dame Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Education. A graduate of Notre Dame and member of its Board of Trustees, Larkin is vice chair of The TCW Group Inc., Trust Company of the West (TCW), TCW Asset Management Co., and TCW Investment Management Co. He has served the Archdiocese of Los Angeles as a member of its investment committee and education foundation.
Founded in 1994 by Rev. Timothy R. Scully, C.S.C., and Rev. Sean McGraw, C.S.C., the ACE program provides college graduates an opportunity to earn master of education degrees while serving as teachers in understaffed Catholic schools nationwide. In exchange for a modest stipend and a tuition-free graduate program, the ACE participants make a two-year commitment to teach in these schools.
More than 85 recent college graduates from a wide variety of educational disciplines enter ACE each year. They take courses and participate in teacher training projects at Notre Dame during their two summers in the program and are assigned to full-time teaching positions at schools in more than 30 cities and 14 states during the academic year. After two years, the students graduate with a masters degree, and about 75 percent elect to remain in education.
Five local schools -MarianHigh School,St. Josephs High School,St. JosephSchool, St. Bavo School and St. Vincent de Paul School – are served by ACE teachers.
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