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Katherine Craven, who chairs the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), will be the guest speaker at Quincy College’s 66th Commencement exercises on Friday, May 17, at Veterans Memorial Stadium. BESE provides leadership, oversight, funding, support, and accountability for the state’s approximately 400 school districts that educate close to 1 million public school children each year and also oversees programs that annually serve 20,000 Massachusetts adult learners. Education is both vocation and avocation for Craven, who serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of Babson College and also is a member of Quincy College’s volunteer Board of Governors. She began her career as a budget director and policy advisor to the Massachusetts House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means and later was named Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the newly created Massachusetts School Building Authority, where she won plaudits for her effective management and leadership. Her state government experience also includes serving as First Deputy Treasurer of the Commonwealth, Executive Director of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, and as the university’s Assistant Vice President for Capital Finance. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Harvard University. “I’ve been fortunate to see first-hand Katherine Craven’s passionate advocacy for education and her belief in its power to transform lives,” said Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, President of Quincy College. “We’re truly privileged that she has accepted our invitation to serve as this year’s Commencement speaker and we look forward to an address that will draw on her personal and professional experiences to inspire our graduates.”
Katherine Craven, who chairs the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), will be the guest speaker at Quincy College’s 66th Commencement exercises on Friday, May 17, at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
BESE provides leadership, oversight, funding, support, and accountability for the state’s approximately 400 school districts that educate close to 1 million public school children each year and also oversees programs that annually serve 20,000 Massachusetts adult learners.
Education is both vocation and avocation for Craven, who serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of Babson College and also is a member of Quincy College’s volunteer Board of Governors. She began her career as a budget director and policy advisor to the Massachusetts House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means and later was named Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the newly created Massachusetts School Building Authority, where she won plaudits for her effective management and leadership. Her state government experience also includes serving as First Deputy Treasurer of the Commonwealth, Executive Director of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, and as the university’s Assistant Vice President for Capital Finance. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Harvard University.
“I’ve been fortunate to see first-hand Katherine Craven’s passionate advocacy for education and her belief in its power to transform lives,” said Dr. Richard DeCristofaro, President of Quincy College. “We’re truly privileged that she has accepted our invitation to serve as this year’s Commencement speaker and we look forward to an address that will draw on her personal and professional experiences to inspire our graduates.”