Anne Parsons and Jeffrey D. Sachs to speak at commencement ceremonies

Parsons will speak at the morning ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m., for graduates of the University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Business and School of Education. Sachs will speak at the afternoon ceremony, beginning at 3 p.m., for graduates of the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters.

Student Ife Oyedele, alumnus Youssef Mosallam and professor of finance Hei-Wai Lee also will speak during the morning ceremony, while student Dennis Lienhardt, alumna Christy Baas and associate professor of chemistry Krisanu Bandyopadhyay will give remarks during the afternoon ceremony. Additional speakers will include UM-Dearborn Chancellor Daniel Little and Kate Davy, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Anne Parsons
Parsons was named president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) in April 2004. Under her leadership the DSO has achieved record ticket sales and has doubled its donor base.

Her vision of making the organization more accessible has resulted in the launch of two new programs, the first of their kind among American orchestras. The Neighborhood Residency Initiative has established six DSO residencies in metro Detroit communities where suburban fans of all ages enjoy chamber music, senior engagement concerts, music therapy sessions, educational in-school performances, and the initiative’s centerpiece, the Neighborhood Concert Series.  In 2011, she oversaw the inaugural season of “Live From Orchestra Hall,” the DSO’s series of live HD webcasts that engage audiences worldwide through an interactive online interface.

This May, the DSO will take the stage at Carnegie Hall for the first time in 17 years as part of the “Spring for Music” festival, whose mission is to make orchestra music available to everyone.

For more than 30 years, Parsons has served in management positions for a variety of major arts organizations, including the New York City Ballet, the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

In addition to her role at the DSO, Parsons is an active board member for several other Detroit-area cultural organizations.

Parsons received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College and was among the first class of American Symphony Orchestra League Fellows. A native of New York, Parsons now resides in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., with her husband, Donald Dietz, and daughter, Cara.

Jeffrey D. Sachs
One of the world’s leading experts on sustainable economic development, Sachs is director of The Earth Institute as well as Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and professor of health policy and management at Columbia University.

His work on ending poverty, promoting economic growth, fighting hunger and disease, and promoting sustainable environmental practices has taken him to more than 125 countries. Sachs wrote the first-ever comprehensive plan for the transition from central planning to a market democracy. His ideas of transition were successfully adopted throughout the transition economies including Russia, Poland, Slovenia and Estonia. From the mid-1990s, Sachs has been involved with economic reforms in India and China and is deeply engaged in Africa’s escape from poverty.

For more than a quarter century Sachs has advised dozens of heads of state and governments on economic strategy. Currently, he is special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, which seek to reduce extreme poverty and disease while promoting education, gender equality and maternal health.

Sachs has authored three New York Times best sellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008) and The Price of Civilization (2011). His syndicated newspaper column appears in more than 80 countries around the world.

Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent more than 20 years at Harvard University, where he directed the university’s Center for International Development and was the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Master of Arts degree and doctorate from Harvard.

Sachs will be awarded the honorary Doctor of Science degree during the afternoon ceremony.