Judge Judith Kaye Delivers Keynote Address At Touro College
Judge Judith Kaye, former Chief Judge of the State of New York, will be the keynote speaker at the Touro College Division of Graduate Studies commencement ceremonies to be held on June 4 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.
Currently Of Counsel to the prestigious New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Judge Kaye served in the New York State Judiciary for more than 25 years, appointed in 1983 by Governor Mario Cuomo as Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, and then in 1993 as Chief Judge of the State of New York. She is the first woman to be appointed to either position. During her tenure, she gained a national reputation for both her groundbreaking decisions and her innovative reforms of the state’s court system. She is a graduate of New York University School of Law (cum laude) and Barnard College.
Judge Kaye will address over 2,000 candidates from six of Touro’s graduate schools that are part of the Division of Graduate Studies: business, Jewish Studies, education, psychology, social work, and technology.
Other highlights of commencement season include the inaugural commencement of the Touro College of Pharmacy in Harlem at the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM). Sixty-three Doctor of Pharmacy candidates will receive their degrees. Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D., president of the NYAM and Professor of Public Service, Health Policy and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service will give the commencement address. Dr. Boufford formerly served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the U.S. representative to the World Health Organization. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan and received her M.D. with distinction from the University of Michigan medical school.
Also in Harlem the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM), will hold its second commencement, presenting candidates for 131 doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees at the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Addressing the graduates will be Dr. Martin Levine, DO, president of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and a faculty member at TouroCOM. Civil rights activist Dr. Hazel N. Dukes, former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAAACP) and currently president of the NAACP New York State Conference, will receive an honorary doctorate, following an introduction from the Rev. Al Sharpton, civil rights activist and television and radio talk show host.
On June 10, also at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, approximately 700 baccalaureate and associate degree candidates will be presented at the 38th annual commencement of eight of Touro’s schools dedicated to enhancing the Jewish heritage: Lander College of Arts and Sciences – Flatbush; Lander College for Men (LCM) in Queens; Lander College for Women – The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School (LCW) in Manhattan; the School for Lifelong Education in Brooklyn; Machon L’Parnasa-Institute for Professional Studies, also in Brooklyn; Touro College Los Angeles and Touro College South in Miami.
By the end of the 2012 commencement season, the Touro College and University System is expected to have awarded approximately 6,000 doctor of philosophy, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of pharmacy, juris doctor, master’s, baccalaureate and associate degrees to students from its 32 schools and colleges located in the U.S. and around the world. #
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