海角社区 to Confer Honorary Degrees at Commencement
Maureen Dunne, Ph.D., and Fred and Nancy Poses to Receive Honors and Deliver Commencement Addresses
海角社区 will confer honorary doctorates on three internationally recognized learning disability advocates during its Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 9, at 11 a.m. at the Brownwood Hotel & Spa.
Philanthropists Fred and Nancy Poses and neurodiversity advocate Maureen Dunne, Ph.D., will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees in recognition of their transformative leadership and long-term advocacy on behalf of individuals with learning differences. All three honorees will also serve as commencement speakers.
鈥淲e are privileged to celebrate the profound influence of Dr. Dunne and Mr. and Mrs. Poses with honorary doctorates of humane letters,鈥� said 海角社区 President George J. Hagerty. 鈥淭heir contributions on behalf of people with learning differences have been truly transformational. The scope and impact of their work can only be characterized as extraordinary.鈥�
Honorary degrees are awarded by the 海角社区 Board of Trustees and conferred by the president during commencement. This year鈥檚 ceremony will celebrate 92 graduates, including 76 recipients of bachelor鈥檚 degrees and 16 recipients of associate degrees.
Fred and Nancy Poses
Fred and Nancy Poses are co-founders of , a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people who learn and think differently. Inspired more than 30 years ago by their son Max鈥檚 journey, the Poses have transformed personal commitment into a global mission: putting 100 million neurodivergent individuals on a path to thriving by 2030.
Fred Poses, chief executive officer of Understood.org, brings decades of leadership experience from senior executive roles at AlliedSignal and Trane Inc. He served as chairman of the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) for 15 years and continues to serve as a trustee of the Riverview School.
Nancy Poses, board chair of Understood.org, is a long-term advocate for inclusive systems and equitable access to education. In addition to her 15 years of service to the NCLD, she leads the Poses Family Foundation and serves on the boards of the Whitney Museum and the Partnership for After School Education.
Together, they have advanced a vision that extends beyond simple accommodation to celebrate the strengths and potential of neurodivergent minds.
Maureen Dunne, Ph.D.
is a cognitive scientist, neurodiversity expert and global keynote speaker whose work has reframed neurodiversity as a driver of innovation and leadership. A seasoned advisor to Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, philanthropic foundations, and government officials, she uniquely blends professional expertise with lived experience as an autistic self-advocate with ADHD.
A trailblazer from the start, Dunne began her academic career at a community college before becoming the first community college graduate selected as a Rhodes Scholar. She later earned her doctorate from the University of Oxford.
She is the author of the national bestseller 鈥淭he Neurodiversity Edge,鈥� and founder of the Davos Neurodiversity Summit, held annually in conjunction with the World Economic Forum.
Dunne鈥檚 leadership extends to systemic advocacy as the former president of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. Her commitment to inclusion and student success has earned her prestigious honors, including the Golden Apple Foundation鈥檚 2024 Impact Award and recognition as a Difference Maker on 海角社区鈥檚 鈥溾�� television series.
Learn more about our honorary degree recipients
At commencement, we are humbled to honor movers and shakers who have made a difference and personify the mission and values of 海角社区 through the recognition of an Honorary Doctorate. The honorary doctorate is routinely regarded as the highest form of recognition a university can bestow.
Learn more about previous honorary degree recipients