Winter Commencement Speaker Announced

BAE Systems President and CEO Mark Ronald will serve as commencement speaker at the Clark School's winter graduation ceremony on December 21 at 10 a.m. in the Cole Student Activities Building.

Ronald serves as COO and a member of the Board of Directors for BAE Systems plc, a $25 billion global aerospace and defense company. BAE Systems Inc. is the company’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, which employs some 45,000 employees in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Israel and South Africa and generates annual sales in excess of $10 billion.

Ronald serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) as well as the Board of Governors of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). He holds the Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), awarded in recognition of the valuable services he has rendered to furthering closer transatlantic cooperation in the U.S.-U.K. defense industries. In 2005, he was honored by the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation with the Semper Fidelis Award for his efforts in support of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Ronald is a graduate of Bucknell University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He received his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York. He has received the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from both institutions.

The Clark School's Staff Service Award and the E. Robert Kent Teaching Award for Junior Faculty will be announced at the Clark School ceremony. The university ceremony will take place on December 20 at 7 p.m. in the Comcast Center. United Way CEO Brian Gallagher will serve as commencement speaker at that ceremony.

Published November 28, 2006