By Aislinn Keely

Dennis Walcott, president and CEO of Queens Library and former New York City schools chancellor, is slated to deliver the address at Fordham’s 173rd Commencement. The May 19 address will mark a return to Fordham for Walcott, who graduated from the Graduate School of Social Service. In addition to delivering the keynote speech at the proceedings on May 19, Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university, will also present Walcott with the University’s President’s Medal.

McShane said Walcott’s work with public educational institutions made him a good fit to address the class of 2018.

“Mr. Walcott’s experience with what are arguably two of the city’s most important and diverse educational institutions – public schools and public libraries – makes him a particularly fitting speaker for Fordham’s Commencement,” he said. “He brings to the ceremony not merely expertise and experience, but wisdom and compassion, all of which I believe will serve well the Class of 2018.”

Walcott worked in the Bloomberg administration for 12 years, where he led initiatives focused on serving the city’s students, including the expansion of after-school programs. He assumed the role of deputy mayor in 2002 and later served as chancellor of the city’s public schools from 2011 to 2013. In 2016, he took control of Queens Library.

Before his time under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Walcott served as the president and CEO of the New York Urban League, which helps disadvantaged New Yorkers gain equal opportunities for employment and education.

Walcott began a career of helping New Yorkers in his home borough of Queens, where he taught kindergarten.

Walcott has returned to speak to the Fordham community since his graduation from GSS. He taught in GSS’s Master of Science Nonprofit Leadership program, and also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham during the Class of 2015’s commencement.