Campus Invited to Colloquy Hosted by President Jackson

	Donna Shalala		Marty Silverman
	Richard Smalley		Robert Solow
	Photo Credits: Shalala, courtesy of University of Miami; Silverman, Mark McCarty; Smalley, courtesy of Smalley Research Group; Solow, Donna Coveney (MIT)

Members of the Rensselaer campus are invited to a colloquy with four of this year’s Commencement honorands. The colloquy will take place in the Great Room of the Heffner Alumni House Friday, May 16, at 5 p.m. A reception will immediately follow.

The colloquy will include two Nobel laureates, a former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and a well-loved local philanthropist. The notable foursome will discuss the present and future of science, education, and other related subjects. The distinguished guests will also answer questions from the audience.

Below are brief descriptions of the world-altering contributions of this year’s honorands. For more detailed information, go to Six American Trailblazers feature.

The Honorable Donna Shalala
Shalala is the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who served in the Clinton Administration from 1993-2001 — a record tenure for the post. During her tenure, she expanded the Head Start educational program for preschool children, expanded AIDS research, sought universal immunizations for children, and reformed welfare. At the end of her service, The Washington Post described her as "one of the most successful government managers of modern times." She is now president of the University of Miami.

Morris “Marty” Silverman
Marty Silverman, Troy native and well-known local philanthropist, has helped transform the Capital Region into a pace-setter in law, science, medicine, and education. Through the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation, formed in 1984 and named after him and his late wife, the Manhattan resident has donated millions of dollars to stimulate and improve a variety of research and education initiatives. His generosity also has benefited senior citizens, abused and neglected youngsters, and veterans.

Robert Solow
Robert Solow is a world leading economist who received the Nobel Prize in 1987 for his seminal contributions to the theory of capital and economic growth. Solow emphasized the importance of research and technological innovation in improving economic productivity. His work altered history as national governments came to realize that they must harness technology as an engine of growth.

Richard Smalley
Richard Smalley, the Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, is one of three recipients of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of carbon atoms bound in the form of a ball, commonly known as fullerenes or “buckeyballs.” He developed an important experimental technique he used in his prize-winning research while he was a research associate at the University of Chicago.