Conn lands top economist as commencement speaker

As commencement season approaches, Connecticut institutions have started announcing ceremony speakers for the Class of 2010.

Some of the notable names revealed so far include former President Bill Clinton and economist Jeffrey Sachs. Clinton will speak at Yale's annual Class Day on May 23 at 2 p.m., the day before Yale's commencement ceremony.

Sachs, who will speak at Connecticut College's commencement ceremony on May 23, is the director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development at Columbia University and special adviser to U.N. Secretary Gen. Ban Ki-moon.

Sachs was chosen by a committee of staff and students that began discussing potential speakers a year ago, according to Amy Martin, the college's manager of media relations.

Connecticut College President Leo I. Higdon Jr. said "Jeffrey Sachs is one of the world's foremost economists, and I look forward to hearing his insights at what is a particularly meaningful time in our global economy, and in the lives of our graduating seniors."

Mitchell College has announced Dr. Jeremiah Lowney, founder of the Haitian Health Foundation, as the May 15 commencement speaker. Lowney is a Norwich-based orthodontist who has taught at the University of Connecticut's School of Medicine.

He started the Haitian Health Foundation in 1982 to provide free dental care for residents of Port-au-Prince. Since then, the organization has served about 225,000 patients throughout Haiti.

On May 19, Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, will give the commencement speech at the Coast Guard Academy.