Knox's 2011 Commencement Ceremony Will Be June 4

Knox College's 2011 Commencement exercises will be Saturday, June 4, on the south lawn of Old Main on the Knox campus.

In case of severe weather, the exercises will be moved to the T. Fleming Fieldhouse.

More than 250 Knox College students will receive bachelor's degrees. The ceremony will include the presentation of honorary degrees, a Commencement address by Majora Carter, and a student address by graduating senior Jordan Lanfair.

Knox will award honorary degrees to Carter, a nationally known eco-entrepreneur and MacArthur "genius" Fellow, and to Kate Maehr, chief executive officer of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. 

MAJORA CARTER

Majora Carter runs her own consulting firm, Majora Carter Group, L.L.C., and hosts The Promised Land, a public radio series that spotlights people who are transforming communities. Carter advises businesses, governments, universities, foundations and other organizations on strategies for climate adaptation, urban micro-agribusiness and leadership development.

She founded Sustainable South Bronx, a nonprofit organization, in 2001 as a way to improve the community where she was born and raised. She has been instrumental in creating riverfront parks, building green roofs and successfully implementing the Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST) program, a pioneering system for green-collar job training and job placement. Her organization spearheaded new policies and legislation that fueled demand for green-collar jobs. She led Sustainable South Bronx until 2008.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selected Carter as a 2005 "genius" Fellow for her foresight and ability to implement effective change into the future. The foundation described her as "a relentless and charismatic urban strategist who seeks to address the disproportionate environmental and public health burdens experienced by residents of the South Bronx. Working in partnership with local government, businesses, and neighborhood organizations, she creates new opportunities for transportation, fitness and recreation, nutrition, and economic development."

Carter has earned numerous additional honors. She has been named as one of Fast Company's "100 Most Creative People in Business" and as one of Essence magazine's "25 Most Influential African-Americans."

She received a bachelor's degree in 1988 from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where she majored in cinema studies, and completed a master of fine arts degree from New York University in 1997.

KATE MAEHR

Since July 2006, Maehr has served as chief executive officer of the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), Chicago's food bank. The organization has been featured in various media outlets, including the New York Times, Business Week, and the NBC Nightly News. GCFD is considered one of the best-run and most efficient charities in the country, in terms of the percentage of donations that go directly toward services.

Before becoming CEO, Maehr was the organization's director of individual giving for three years and its director of development for seven years.

While director of individual giving, Maehr expanded the Food Depository's outreach efforts, and revenues increased by more than 50 percent. While director of development, she spearheaded a four-year, $30 million capital campaign for the Food Depository's new food bank and training center. The 268,000-square-foot facility doubled the food bank's capacity to serve the hungry.

Maehr also is president of Feeding Illinois, the state's coalition of food banks, and co-chair of the Illinois Commission to End Hunger. Maehr served on the Social Services and Healthcare Committee as part of new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's transition. She has been selected for inclusion in the Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40" list, and she has been named a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow.

Before joining the Food Depository, Maehr spent five years as the managing editor of a small, nonprofit literary publishing house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree from Macalester College and a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

JORDAN LANFAIR

Knox College senior Jordan Lanfair, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is double-majoring in elementary education and language, pedagogy, and culture.

While at Knox, Lanfair twice has been awarded a Prospective Educator Scholarship from Phi Delta Kappa, the national honor society for professional educators. He has received the ADE Scholarship, which is given annually to a student who has demonstrated commitment to social diversity, and the Maureen Tanning Nyman Memorial Scholarship, a prestigious award in educational studies. Lanfair also has been president of Allied Blacks for Liberty and Equality (ABLE).

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 48 states and 51 countries. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.