A discussion on “Personal Achievement — Public Lives – Public Responsibility”

Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s 2005 Commencement honorees, the Honorable Paul Volcker, Robert Coonrod, and Joé Juneau, will join President Shirley Ann Jackson in a colloquy on “Personal Achievement — Public Lives — Public Responsibility,” on Friday, May 20, at 4 p.m., in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, 15th Street (at College Avenue), Troy, N.Y.

“Each of our distinguished honorees has a career and a life characterized by personal achievement taking on responsibility for resolving difficult issues that were often played out on a public stage,” said President Jackson, who will moderate the discussion.  “We will discuss the lessons learned from their leadership in addressing complex global challenges while operating in the public arena.”

Colloquy participants will include:

Paul A. Volcker, who was chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 1979 to 1987, after serving for four years as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He worked in the federal government for almost 30 years, serving in office under five presidents — John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. Educated at Princeton, Harvard, and the London School of Economics, he is professor emeritus of international economic policy at Princeton University. Former North American chairman of the Trilateral Commission, he is presiding chairman of a special committee investigating the Oil-for-Food Program of the United Nations. Chairman Volcker’s father, Paul A. Volcker Sr., graduated from Rensselaer in 1911 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering.

Robert T. Coonrod, who was the longest serving president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), serving from 1997 to 2004.  Prior to joining the CPB in 1994, Coonrod worked in the Foreign Service for more than 25 years including as deputy managing editor of the Voice of America, and in the United States Information Agency’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, where he managed global educational exchange programs.  He graduated from LaSalle Institute in Troy, N.Y., Fordham University, and attended Albany Law School (N.Y.). Coonrod currently serves as senior counselor to Policy Impact Strategic Communications Inc., a Washington, D.C., public relations and government affairs firm.

Joé Juneau ’91, who was a former Rensselaer ice hockey standout and aeronautical engineering major, retired in 2004 after 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Juneau started his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1992 and retired with the Montreal Canadiens last year. He led the Canadian National ice hockey team to a silver medal in the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics. Juneau has started a new career as an engineering account executive and vice president for external affairs and educational development with Harfan Technologies, an engineering technology company based in Juneau’s hometown of Pont-Rouge, Que., and in Frederick, Md.  Harfan Technologies develops infrastructure asset management solutions for the private and public sector.

The Colloquy will be held in conjunction with the 199th Commencement, on Saturday, May 21, at 9:30 a.m. at the Harkness Field.  As previously announced, United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) will deliver the 2005 Commencement address, and also will receive an honorary degree.

WMHT-TV will televise the Colloquy in a program scheduled to air June 2 at 9 p.m.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu