Former Sen. Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond to Deliver Webster University’s Commencement Address on May 7

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 25, 2011 — Former Sen. Christopher ‘Kit’ Bond will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Webster University’s 2011 commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 7 at the Muny in Forest Park. In addition, Webster alum Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin (BA ’63) and Regent’s College Chief Executive Aldwyn Cooper will receive honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees at this year’s commencement.

Bond, who served four terms in the U.S. Senate, is a sixth-generation Missourian who grew up in Mexico, Mo. He graduated cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he graduated first in his class.

Bond was elected Mo. State Auditor in 1970 and just two years later, at age 33, became the 47th Governor of Missouri and the state’s youngest. Bond was elected to a second term as Governor in 1980 and considers expanding the Parents as Teachers program statewide among his proudest accomplishments.

As a U.S. Senator from 1986 to 2010, Bond built a reputation as a statesman who fought for a strong U.S. military, improved care for veterans and men and women in uniform, and, in his role of Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, reformed the nation’s intelligence community.

Bond is an expert on Southeast Asia and recently co-authored The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam. The book outlines the smart-power strategy that he believes America must use to inspire the people in Southeast Asia, home to the world’s largest Muslin population, to reject Islamic extremism. Using a smart-power strategy instead of military force, Bond says, gives America the best and perhaps last chance to defeat radical ideologies that too often result in terrorism.

Dwyer-Dobbin, a 1963 graduate of Webster University, worked in daytime television programming for more than 30 years.  As the Executive in Charge of Production for Procter & Gamble from 1996 to 2005, Dwyer-Dobbin oversaw the soap operas As the World Turns, Guiding Light and Another World. She had responsibility for budget and salary issues, casting decisions, publicity and storylines.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Dwyer-Dobbin served in a variety of senior-level positions in daytime programming at ABC and the Lifetime Cable Network. Prior to that, she directed children’s programs at the NBC and ABC networks. After earning her undergraduate degree from Webster, Dwyer-Dobbin served as chair of the Speech & Drama Department at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis from 1963 to 1965. She earned her master’s degree in theater in 1967 from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Dwyer-Dobbin received numerous honors during her career, including a Good Housekeeping Magazine Award and a TV Critics Circle Award, both for children’s programming, and an ACE Award – a cable TV “Emmy” – for best magazine show. At Webster, Dwyer-Dobbin has been a longtime active volunteer. In 2000 she endowed the Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin Scholarship, which is awarded to an outstanding fourth-year stage management student. She also served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2010, and is former chair of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts Advisory Board. In 2001, Dwyer-Dobbin was the recipient of Webster’s Distinguished Alumna Award.

Aldwyn Cooper is Chief Executive and Principal of Regent’s College in London, which is home to seven schools, including two Webster University schools: Regent’s American College London (for undergraduate courses) and Webster Graduate School (for postgraduate courses). Prior to his appointment at Regent’s in 2007, Cooper served as Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Glamorgan.

Cooper has worked in developing, producing, marketing and supporting interactive technology-based learning systems for 30 years. He is a cognitive psychologist by training, concentrating on models of learning and memory. Cooper studied artificial intelligence and statistics at Stanford and Berkeley universities and founded the successful distance learning company at Henley, The Management College. He also spent a decade as Managing Director of Workhouse Ltd., an independent media company that concentrated on educational programming. Cooper has worked as a consultant advising public and private sector organizations on strategies for introducing effective e-commerce, electronic communications and e-learning systems. As part of his current duties at Regent’s, Cooper is a board member of Global University Alliance and chairman of Enterprise College Wales, one of the largest e-learning projects being developed in Europe. 

With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University (www.webster.edu) is a worldwide institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. Founded in 1915, Webster offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, and a global network of campuses. Its 20,000-plus student population represents almost 150 nationalities.

Since opening its first campus overseas in Geneva in 1978, Webster has become a recognized leader and innovator in global education, with an international presence that now includes campuses in London; Vienna; Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, China; and Bangkok and Cha-am, Thailand. Webster also has educational partnerships with universities in Mexico and Japan.

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