Sports Author Alexander Wolff, Council on Social Work Education President Ira Colby, will be Springfield College Commencement Speakers
April 30, 2010
View the Undergraduate Commencement photo gallery.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., April 30, 2010 – Alexander Wolff, the award-winning sports writer and author of celebrated books on basketball, and Ira Colby, the president of the Council on Social Work Education and dean of the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, will give commencement addresses at Springfield College’s 2010 ceremonies. Wolff will address undergraduates on Sunday, May 16, at 9:30 a.m., at the MassMutual Center, in downtown Springfield, and Colby will speak to graduate students on Saturday, May 15, at 9:30 a.m., on Naismith Green, on the college campus.
At the commencement ceremonies, Springfield College will present honorary doctor of humanics degrees to Wolff and Colby. Also receiving the honorary degree at the undergraduate ceremony will be Jani Flynn, the first lady of Springfield College. The college has, historically, awarded honorary degrees to a few outstanding individuals who, by their character and accomplishments, personify the college’s guiding philosophy, humanics. Humanics emphasizes the dedication of spirit, mind and body for leadership in service to others.
Wolff, one of the longest-tenured writers at “Sports Illustrated,” has covered basketball at all levels, and has written from the Olympics, soccer’s World Cup, the World Series, every Grand Slam tennis event, and the Tour de France. He is also an award-winning educator, an ethicist, a collaborator on an Emmy-nominated film, and a founder of the Vermont Frost Heaves professional basketball team.
Wolff is the author or co-author of six basketball books. “The Village Voice” described his book, “Raw Recruits,” which was a “New York Times” bestseller that he wrote with Armen Keteyian, “the most important sports book in years.” “Sports Illustrated” named his “Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure” one of the top 100 sports books of all time.
Colby is a distinguished scholar of the National Academies of Practice in Social Work, and a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Alpha honorary societies. He has been a faculty member at Ferrum College, the University of Texas-Arlington, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Houston.
The author of the widely used text, “Introduction to Social Work, the Peoples’ Profession,” Colby has written or co-written 58 publications in his field and has given presentations in the United States and abroad. In his field, he serves on editorial boards of professional journals, and on the boards of national and international organizations.
Flynn has expanded the position of campus first lady into being an ambassador -- a bridge between the community and Springfield College and its students. Since the 1999 inauguration of her husband, Springfield College President Richard B. Flynn, she has traveled throughout the United States and abroad with him, strengthening the College’s relationships. More than fulfilling the traditional roles of her office, she has also played an active role in campus improvement projects, and has been a tireless advocate and supporter of the full range of campus activities involving the students, faculty, staff and visitors. They include academic lectures, athletics events, performances, arts exhibits and displays, student activities, campus committees, trustee events and more. She has also been active in area civic and cultural programs.
At its 2010 commencement, Springfield College will award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and certificates of advanced graduate study.
Undergrad Commencement Photo Gallery
