Institute for Higher Education Policy President Michelle Asha Cooper to Deliver 2011 Commencement Speech at Miami Dade College
Published May 13, 2014
Washington, D.C., April 28, 2011—On Saturday, April 30, Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) President Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D., is scheduled to deliver the commencement speech for Miami Dade College (MDC) at the James L. Knight International Center in Miami, Fla. She will be joining several other renowned speakers—including President Barack Obama—who will be addressing nearly 14,000 MDC graduates during the two-daylong event taking place across Miami-Dade County on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30.
Kicking off the five combined commencement ceremonies is President Obama who will be addressing the graduates of the North and West campuses. On the second day, Kathleen Shanahan, a member of Florida’s State Board of Education, will deliver the commencement address at the Medical Center campus ceremony; followed by the Honorable Wifredo “Willy” Ferrer, Esq., U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and one of the most important law enforcement officials in the country, who will speak at the ceremony for both the Homestead and InterAmerican campuses. Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks, will deliver the final commencement speech at the Kendall campus ceremony. Cooper will be speaking to the Wolfson and Hialeah campuses.
"I am truly honored to have been invited to deliver the commencement address to the 2011 graduates of Miami Dade College; seeing individuals make it to and through college is at the heart, the very essence, of what I do," said Cooper. "I celebrate their accomplishments, and recognize that these students are now armed with degrees—an important and valuable tool—to help them reach their full potential."
According to MDC, the institution has a long history of inviting high profile guests to give the commencement address leaving many to consider its graduation ceremonies as being “momentous and memorable.” Former President Bill Clinton was a speaker last year while President George W. Bush spoke to MDC graduates in 2007. Other past speakers have included U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, among many other distinguished speakers.
Cooper is considered a respected education leader who has spent a career dedicated to and rooted in the postsecondary community. She has held various leadership positions at the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance at the U.S. Department of Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities, Council for Independent Colleges, and King’s College. Cooper is a member of the board of directors for the College of Charleston Alumni Board, National College Access Network, and Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars; as well as serves on the advisory board for the Center for Law and Social Policy Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success, Council of State Governments Education Committee, and Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute. A native of Charleston, S.C., she received a B.A. from the College of Charleston, an M.P.S. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.
For more information about Cooper, visit IHEP’s Web site at www.ihep.org. Additional details about the 2011 Miami Dade College commencement ceremonies may be found at www.mdc.edu.
