Manhattan College Announces 2015 Commencement Speakers

Eileen Murray ’80, co-chief executive officer and a member of the management committee at Bridgewater Associates, LP, and David J. O’Brien, professor emeritus at the College of the Holy Cross and one of the foremost Catholic historians of the last 40 years, will deliver keynote addresses at Manhattan College’s two commencement ceremonies on May 16 and May 17. Both Murray and O’Brien will also be recipients of honorary doctoral degrees.

Murray will speak on Saturday, May 16 at 3 p.m., at the College’s Spring Commencement. This graduation awards master’s degrees to students graduating from the Schools of Business and Engineering; bachelor’s and master’s degrees to students from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies; and master’s degrees and professional diplomas to students from the School of Education and Health.

On Sunday, May 17 at 1 p.m., O’Brien will address the undergraduates receiving degrees in arts, business, education and health, engineering and science.

Members of the media who would like to cover the commencement ceremonies should contact Pete McHugh, director of communications at Manhattan College, at (718) 862-7232 or email peter.mchugh@manhattan.edu.

Eileen Murray '80

Murray has more than two decades of Wall Street experience, as a former executive and management committee member at Morgan Stanley. She was also a management and executive board member of Credit Suisse and a president of Duff Capital Advisors.

Murray was named one of Hedge Fund Journal’s 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds in 2013. U.S. Banker named her as one of the 25 Most Powerful Non-Bank Women in Banking in 2008. Murray is currently a member of the Board of the YMCA of Greater New York, the Business Council for International Understanding, and Inwood House, an organization in New York City that provides a wide range of services to improve life-long outcomes for thousands of youth from vulnerable communities, including K-12 students, pregnant and parenting teens and their children.

Read more about Eileen Murray '80

David J. O'Brien

America magazine describes O’Brien as “one of the foremost American Catholic historians and social analysts of the past four decades.” A faculty member at Holy Cross since 1969, O’Brien is the founding director of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross.

One of the first American historians to specialize in American Catholic history, O’Brien has written or edited seven books and produced many scholarly articles. A frequent lecturer, he has received numerous accolades for his work, including the Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Distinguished Contribution to Catholic Higher Education from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

Read more about David J. O'Brien