Retiring Long Island University President David J. Steinberg, Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) CEO Bruce Ratner and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be honored Thursday, May 16, during the 2013 Commencement ceremony for LIU Brooklyn, LIU Pharmacy and LIU Hudson in the Barclays Center.
Dr. Steinberg will receive an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy during the 9:30 a.m. ceremony and serve as the commencement speaker — addressing an audience that will include nearly 2,500 graduates. Dr. Steinberg is retiring this summer after 27 years of visionary leadership that enriched so many lives. During his tenure as chief executive, LIU has grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive private universities in the United States.
At commencement, Dr. Steinberg will confer 851 undergraduate degrees, 51 advanced certificates, 974 master’s degrees and 46 doctoral degrees to LIU Brooklyn students; 151 Master of Science degrees, 165 Pharm.D. degrees and three Ph.D. degrees to LIU Pharmacy students and 41 advanced certificates and 150 master’s degrees to LIU Hudson graduates during a commencement ceremony at which 24-year-old William Curran of Staten Island will be recognized as valedictorian of the Class of 2013.
Mr. Curran, a double major in childhood urban education and psychology at LIU Brooklyn, is the first in his family to earn a college degree. And what makes the honor even more remarkable for Curran is that he dropped out of high school seven years ago.
“My education has prepared me for the next phase of my life by providing me with the credentials to begin my career as a school teacher and further my education in the field of psychology,” Mr. Curran said. “However, LIU has taught me something far more valuable — how to truly empathize with and help other people.“
LIU's 2013 Commencement will be streamed live via the following link:
http://www.liu.edu/About/Commencement/Webcast
