John Bridgeland, founder & CEO of Civic Enterprises, will speak to more than 220 graduates during the University’s Spring Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May, 6. The ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m., will be held at the University’s E. Stuart James Grant Athletic & Convocation Center at the North Campus, 707 Mt. Cross Rd. in Danville.
The graduates range in age from 20 to 66, with students from Finland and Sweden and 28 United States veterans. More than 150 graduates completed their degrees through our Graduate and Professional Studies program (GPS), 10 through our Individually Designed Education for Adult Learners Program (IDEAL) and 136 are traditional graduates.
Currently, Bridgeland is also the co-convener of the Grad Nation campaign to reach a 90 percent high school graduation rate by 2020, and co-chair of the Future of Work initiative at The Aspen Institute. He serves as vice chairman of the Service Year Alliance to make a service year a common expectation and opportunity for all 18-28 year olds, and vice chairman of Malaria No More, a non-profit working to end malaria deaths in Africa by the end of 2016.
Previously, Bridgeland served as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, assistant to the President of the United States, and first director of the USA Freedom Corps under President George W. Bush. He was a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Political Reform and is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is the author of Heart of the Nation: Volunteering and America’s Civic Spirit; co-author of Moneyball for Government; and co-author of more than 30 reports on the high school dropout crisis, national service, opportunity and civic engagement. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He has given commencement addresses at the following schools: College of William & Mary, Johns Hopkins University, Hamline University, Ripon College, Westwood College and Saint Anselm College. He lives in McLean, Va., with his wife and three children.
