SMITHFIELD, RI – Commencement weekend 2021 is off to a strong start with a successful Graduate School ceremony held today at 5 p.m. Graduates and guests gathered on campus to celebrate academic excellence and success. This celebration was especially meaningful for the 2021 graduates who persevered through the formidable challenges of the global pandemic to complete their studies and earn a Bryant Master’s degree.
A recording of the ceremony is available at https://commencement.bryant.edu/home/livestreams/
Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., presided over the Graduate Program's Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2021 this evening – the first of four in-person graduation ceremonies celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021, and his first as Bryant's president.
The evening's ceremony honored 260 graduates as well as two honorary degree recipients: Lisa Bisaccia, former executive vice president and chief human resources officer at CVS Health, and Paari Gopalakrishnan, MD, '09MBA, chief medical officer at Care New England Kent Hospital. Bisaccia delivered the Graduate Commencement address and received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree. Gopalakrishnan received an Honorary Doctor of Letters.
receives a Bryant Honorary Doctor of Letters degree
In her address Bisaccia shared the wisdom gained in her 40-plus years as a top leader at CVS Health.
“Today when I use the terms leader or leadership, I'm referring to your own personal leadership as an individual in an organization; one who takes pride in and feels accountable for your work and by extension that of your team, one who believes in the mission and purpose of what you do and what your organization does, one who derives personal and professional satisfaction through being part of something bigger than you are alone,” she said.
the Commencement address after receiving an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree
Bisaccia challenged the graduates to, “Remember the unlimited potential of your own personal leadership - both to enhance your own impact and to serve as a role model for others.”
A reception with President Gittell and the graduates, guests, faculty, and deans followed the ceremony.
A Commencement program and list of graduates and honorary degree recipients is available here. For more Commencement weekend news and photos, stay tuned to Bryant’s social media channel: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram
