Tom Wolf, governor of Pennsylvania, will deliver the Commencement Address on Saturday, May 7 for members of F&M’s graduating class.
By Steven Viera || Senior Editor
Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania, will deliver the Commencement Address on Saturday, May 7. In recognition of his achievements, Wolf will receive an honorary degree from the College at Commencement, as will Frances Wolf ’96, his wife and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees; Rick Gray, mayor of Lancaster, and his wife, Gail; and Nilaja Sun ’96, an acclaimed playwright and actress.
“It’s certainly an honor to know that my wife and I will share degrees from such a prestigious institution as F&M,” Wolf said, according to this article on F&M’s news website. “Frances and I believe that a liberal arts education is something as important today as it’s ever been.”
Wolf, a Democrat, unseated Tom Corbett, a Republican and the incumbent of the state, in November 2014; at the time, he had never before run for elected office. Wolf has fought for greater environmental protections in the state and become embroiled in a months-long political battle to pass a budget for the state during his tenure.
Prior to assuming Pennsylvania’s highest office, Wolf spent two years in a small village in India as a member of the Peace Corps before earning degrees from Dartmouth College, the University of London, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For 25 years, along with two cousins, he managed the Wolf Organization, his family’s lumber distribution and building company. A native of York County, Wolf still lives in the home where he grew up.
His wife, who holds degress from the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, F&M, and Bryn Mawr, joined F&M’s Board of Trustees in 2004 and is now a vice-chair.
Other recipients of honorary degrees include Gray, mayor of Lancaster since 2005 after a long career as a public servant, his wife, Gail, and Sun, an Obie Award-winning playwright and author of “No Child…” who has appeared in acting roles in film and television productions.
Stay tuned for continuing coverage of this story in The College Reporter.
Senior Steven Viera is the Senior Editor. His email is sviera@fandm.edu.