Dr. Julianne Mamana Boyd ’66, co-founder and artistic director of Barrington Stage Company (BSC) in Pittsfield, Mass., and Dr. Samuel Cameron, mental health manager with the American Red Cross and Professor Emeritus at Arcadia University, will receive honorary doctoral degrees and address graduates at Arcadia University’s 2017 Commencement. Dr. Cameron will address students at the Graduate Commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 18, while Dr. Boyd will address students at the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 19.

“Arcadia University is proud to have two leaders in their respective fields address graduates at this year’s Commencement ceremonies,” said Dr. Nicolette DeVille Christensen, president of Arcadia University. “With Dr. Julianne Boyd as a graduate of Beaver College, and Dr. Samuel Cameron as a long-standing member of the University community as a faculty member and leader on campus, this year’s graduating students will hear from two outstanding leaders of how the academic environment at Arcadia nurtures and enriches our communities.”
 

Dr. Julianne Mamana Boyd ’66

A leader in regional theater, Dr. Boyd opened BSC in 1995, after working as artistic director for the Berkshire Theatre Festival for two years. She shot to stardom in 1978 after conceptualizing and directing the Tony Award-nominated revue, Eubie!, based on the music of Eubie Blake. Dr. Boyd also directed the award-winning Off-Broadway musical revue, “A…My Name Is Alice,” and its sequel “A…My Name Is Still Alice.”

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts and English from Beaver College, Dr. Boyd became a driving force in theater focused on social and community issues, directing Mississippi’s first racially integrated play, The Crucible, in 1968. Since then, she has taken on issues such as feminism, racial conflict, immigration, and politics in the programs she directs. Through BSC, Dr. Boyd oversees the Playwright Mentoring Project, an intensive six-month after school program that helps at-risk youth build their self-image by creating original performances based on their own stories. In 2007, the program received the national Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Additionally, Dr. Boyd served as President of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers from 1992 to 1998, and she was selected as the adviser on the arts for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s transition team in 2007.
 

Dr. Samuel Cameron

Dr. Cameron has been a member of the Arcadia community since 1964, serving as an assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, clinical psychologist to Beaver College, and director of the Master of Arts in Counseling program. He also served as a long-time chair of the Admissions Committee and frequent chair of the Curriculum Committee at Beaver College. Dr. Cameron was an integral member in the development of the University’s Master’s in Counseling Psychology program.

Dr. Cameron is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and, from 1993 to 1994, served as president of the American Psychological Association’s Society for the Teaching of Psychology. He chaired the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Psychology in the Secondary School and directed 10 National Science Foundation Summer Institutes on the Teaching of Psychology in the High School. Dr. Cameron was part of the group that developed the Advanced Placement Psychology Exam and served as The College Board’s Chief Faculty Consultant for AP Psychology and chair of its Test Development Committee for AP Psychology.

In 1993, his accomplishments within the Arcadia community earned him the prestigious CASE Professor of the Year award. Dr. Cameron also co-edited the 2003 book, “A 150-Year History of Beaver College and Arcadia University.” After his retirement in 2003, Dr. Cameron was named Professor Emeritus. Today, he volunteers as the University’s faculty archivist.

Upon his retirement from Beaver College, Dr. Cameron has been an invaluable resource for the American Red Cross. Beginning with hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Dr. Cameron has served on 26 national deployments as a Red Cross Mental Health Volunteer. His most recent deployment was to South Carolina for Hurricane Matthew. Over the past decade, Dr. Cameron has been appointed to the role of mental health manager, overseeing teams of counselors at disaster locations. For his work, Dr. Cameron has been recognized by the American Red Cross as Southeast Pennsylvania Region Volunteer of the Year on several occasions, and also received national recognition from the White House with the President’s Call to Service award.

For more information on Arcadia’s Commencement, visit www.arcadia.edu/commencement.