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Jacquelyn Barrett, Sheriff of
Georgia's Fulton County and the first African American female elected to
the office of sheriff in the country, will receive an honorary degree and
present the Commencement address at Beaver College's final graduation
ceremony on Friday, May 18 at 10:15 a.m. The school becomes Arcadia
University on July 16, 2001.
Barrett, a member of Beaver's
Class of 1972, has been sheriff in the county, which includes Atlanta,
since 1992 and is currently serving her third term. As "High
Sheriff", she manages one of the largest county jail operations in
the state and commands a staff of over 1,000 sworn officers and civilians
with a budget of over $80 million. Barrett has received the Martin Luther
King, Jr. "Drum Major for Justice" Award and has been inducted
in Atlanta's YWCA Academy of Women. She has served as president of the
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and was
awarded the Trumpet Award from Turner Broadcasting System.
More than 650 Beaver College
students, both undergraduates and graduates, will receive diplomas at the
morning ceremony on the College's soccer/lacrosse field. In addition to
Barrett, special honorary degrees will be presented to Lowell Thomas, Jr.,
a former chair of Beaver's Board of Trustees who helped launch the College
in its decade of tremendous growth, and Rev. Robert Johnson-Smith, Pastor
Emeritus of Salem Baptist Church in Jenkintown and former chairperson of
the Pennsylvania State Human Relations Commission.
Beaver College is a
coeducational, comprehensive college in suburban Philadelphia offering
undergraduate and graduate study to more than 2,700 students annually. The
Beaver College Center for Education Abroad, one of the largest
campus-based international study programs in the United States, serves an
additional 3,000 students each year from nearly 300 American colleges and
universities. US News and World Reports ranked Beaver among the top 20
Northern Regional College and Universities and Barron's has named the
College "best buy" for the past five years. And Beaver's
graduates take pride in the College, with some 40 percent of undergraduate
alumni donating to their alma mater, a percentage comparable to many Ivy
League institutions.
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