Presidential Medal recipient, Hispanic leader to speak at USF winter commencement
Hispanic leader Juan Andrade, Jr., a recipient of the Presidential Medal, will be the speaker at the University of St. Francis winter commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Jan. 15.
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The University of St. Francis will graduate more
than 330 students with bachelor's and master's
degrees. Students will come from 34 states to
attend the graduation ceremonies. Commencement
will be at 11:30 a.m. in the university's Recreation
Center.
Andrade is a Presidential Medal recipient, honored
by President Bill Clinton for "the performance
of exemplary deeds of service for the nation"
in promoting civic participation and leadership
development. He has been recognized three times
as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in
America, and been inducted into the "Society
of Life Models" by OMNI Youth Services for
the impact of his work in promoting education
and leadership development for high school and
college students.
He has worked in the democratization of Mexico,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Paraguay,
Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and Haiti.
Andrade is president of the United States Hispanic
Leadership Institute, which has trained more than
200,000 present and future leaders, registered
over 2 million new voters and published 425 studies
on Hispanic demographics since 1982. USHLI sponsors
the largest Latino leadership conference in the
nation.
Presently on leave as a weekly columnist for the
Chicago Sun-Times, Andrade was also a political
commentator on ABC-7 television for six years
in Chicago, the only Latino commentator in the
nation appearing on English language radio or
television.
Andrade has earned five college degrees, including
a doctorate from Northern Illinois University,
and a post-doctorate M.A. from Loyola University
Chicago. He has also received three honorary degrees.
The University of St. Francis. At 500 Wilcox St.
in Joliet, serves some 4,300 students nationwide.
The university offers more than 60 areas of undergraduate
study in arts and sciences. Business, education,
nursing and allied health and social work. Ten
graduate programs in business, education, health
care and nursing.