Troy, N.Y. - World-renowned neurosurgeon Benjamin S. Carson will be the featured speaker at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's 197th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Harkness Field on campus followed by a festive celebration picnic held on the '86 Field.

Carson, who will be awarded an honorary doctorate of science, has been director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins since 1984. He walked into the world spotlight in 1987 when he led a medical team that successfully separated West German conjoined twins who were joined at the cranium, the first time this kind of surgery was performed. Both children survived.

Ten years later in 1997, Carson led a team of South African doctors in the first successful separation of twins at the top of the head, establishing a technique that has since saved the lives of hundreds of hopelessly ill children. At 33, Benjamin Carson became youngest ever chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the U.S. The techniques he developed have saved the lives of hundreds of children.

"Dr. Carson is a brilliant, gifted surgeon who has received many honors and has continued to pioneer new surgical techniques to improve the lives of patients, especially children," said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. "He is an extraordinary role model and an inspirational speaker with a message of hope in the human mind and spirit."

Born into poverty, Carson knows what it takes to beat the odds. His father abandoned the family when he was 8, but his mother encouraged him to learn, and he was transformed from a fifth-grade "dummy" to a top scholar.

Carson is the author of three best-selling books, Gifted Hands, Think Big, and The Big Picture. All three incorporate his belief that discipline and exhibiting good character are at the core of true success. He earned a scholarship to Yale University, then graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School.

Rensselaer will also bestow honorary degrees on Nobel Prize winners Robert Solow and Richard Smalley, philanthropist Morris "Marty" Silverman, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

Rensselaer's Honorary Degree Recipients:

Robert Solow
Robert Solow, professor emeritus in economics at MIT, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Solow, who has taught at MIT since 1949, earned the 1987 Nobel Prize in Economics for demonstrating the critical importance of technological advances to economic growth. He is the 1999 recipient of the National Medal of Science. Solow, who has written numerous books, served on President John F. Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors in the early 1960s, and was president of the American Economic Association in 1979.

Richard Smalley
Richard Smalley, Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice University, will receive an honorary doctorate of science. Smalley shares the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with two other scientists for the discovery of carbon atoms bound in the form of a ball, commonly known as "Buckeyballs." He developed an important experimental technique he used in his prize-winning research while he was a research associate at the University of Chicago.

Donna Shalala
Donna Shalala will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Shalala is the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services who served in the Clinton Administration from 1993-2001--a record tenure for the post. At the end of her service, The Washington Post described her as "one of the most successful government managers of modern times." Shalala, now president of the University of Miami, has a long line of accomplishments. In 1988, when she was named chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she became the first woman to head a Big Ten school.

Morris "Marty" Silverman
Marty Silverman, a well-known local philanthropist who has helped transform the Capital Region into a pace-setter in law, science, medicine, and education, will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. Silverman has poured millions of dollars into improving numerous local communities. Among his many contributions, he created the Renaissance Corporation of Albany, and established the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. Last year, Silverman gave a gift of $7 million to Rensselaer to accelerate biotechnology research in the Capital Region.

Joseph Bruno
This fall, at its Honors Convocation, Rensselaer also will confer an honorary doctorate in laws on New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. A biotechnology visionary, Bruno has worked tirelessly to bring the economic benefits of technological innovation to the state. His work led to, among other major programs and initiatives, the creation of the Gen*NY*sis (Generating Employment through New York Science) program to ensure that the state maintains its position as a premier location for life sciences research and technology development. Last year, he secured $22.5 million in Gen*NY*sis funds for Rensselaer.

Contact: Jodi Ackerman
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A