December 2011 Commencement Speakers
9:00 a.m.
Honorary Degree Recipient and Commencement Speaker
General Stéphane Abrial
Gen. Stéphane Abrial, French Air Force, assumed duties as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (ACT) in September 2009. As such, he is one of the most senior and influential leaders in NATO, an alliance whose role is to safeguard the freedom and security of its 28 member nations by both political and military means. In addition, NATO works with 22 partner countries in a multilateral forum for dialogue on political and security-related issues.
Abrial is the first European to be appointed permanently as head of a NATO strategic command. He directs a staff of more than 1,200 personnel who develop the conceptual framework for future joint international operations, and who also conduct research, experimentation and technological development in support of future NATO requirements. In addition, Abrial directs several NATO bodies in Europe, including the NATO Undersea Research Center in Italy and the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Center in Portugal. He also oversees the programs of various NATO schools or national centers of excellence.
After an exchange program with the U.S. Air Force Academy, Abrial graduated from the French Air Force Academy in 1975. He has extensive experience both as a fighter pilot and operational commander, together with a wide-ranging background in international operations and strategies.
On an operational level, Abrial served with the German Luftwaffe from 1981-84, and with the Greek Air Force in 1988. He took part in the liberation of Kuwait in 1990-91 as commander of the French Air Force's 5th Fighter Wing during Operation Desert Storm. He also was the commander of the French National Air Defense and Air Operations Command. He logged more than 4,200 flying hours and flew 82 combat missions.
A 1992 graduate of the U.S. Air War College and 2000 graduate of the French Institute for Advanced Studies in National Defense, Abrial acquired broad experience in political-military matters, starting with his service from 1996-99 within the NATO International Military Staff in Brussels. In 2002, he became the deputy chief of the personal military staff to the French president, followed by assignment as defense advisor to the French prime minister. He was assigned as chief of staff of the French Air Force, the senior-ranking officer, from 2006-09. He is frequently interviewed by international media on NATO topics and is a widely sought speaker worldwide on international geopolitical issues.
During Abrial's tenure in Norfolk, Old Dominion University and ACT have strengthened their formal relationship, which has included co-hosting academic symposia. The university is considered ACT's primary academic partner. Student exercises led by ACT, which focus on international crisis management, are providing future generations of geopolitical leaders unique educational opportunities. The establishment of a NATO Fusion Center on the ODU campus also provides numerous international studies internship opportunities in real-world operations.
Abrial's decorations and awards include: Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour; Officer of the National Order of Merit; War Cross for overseas operations with star; Aeronautical Services Medal; and Legion of Merit (U.S.), grade of Commander.
2:00 p.m.
Commencement Speaker
Patricia J. Williams, J.D.
Patricia J. Williams is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School. She began her career practicing law as a consumer advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, and as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles. Upon leaving practice, she served on faculties of the University of Wisconsin School of Law, Harvard University Women's Studies Program, and CUNY Law School at Queen's College. Since 1991, she has been a professor of Law at Columbia University School of Law.
As a parallel career, Professor Williams has pursued journalism. Her column, "Diary of a Mad Law Professor," appears monthly in The Nation Magazine. She has authored articles for scholarly journals, popular magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, USA Today, Harvard Law Review, Tikkun, Ms. Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, The London Observer and The Guardian.
She is the recipient of Honorary Doctorates from Northeastern University School of Law, John Jay College of the City University of New York, the College of Wooster, Smith College, and Old Dominion University. She has received numerous awards including from the National Organization for Women, the American Educational Studies Association and from her alma maters--an Outstanding Alumna Award from Latin School in Boston, an Alumnae Achievement Award from Wellesley College and a Graduate Society Medal from Harvard.
Her book, The Alchemy of Race and Rights was named one of the twenty-five best books of 1991 by the Voice Literary Supplement; one of the "feminist classics of the last twenty years" that "literally changed women's lives" by Ms. Magazine; and one of the ten best non-fiction books of the decade by Amazon.com. Other books include The Rooster's Egg (Harvard Press, 1995), Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1998), and Open House: On Family, Food, Piano Lessons, and The Search for a Room of My Own (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2004).
She has been a keynote speaker at conferences hosted by such diverse entities as the Berkshire Women's History Conference, the South African Human Rights Commission, the International Council on Human Rights, the International Law and Society Association and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Professor Williams has appeared on a variety of radio and television shows, including Charlie Rose (PBS), All Things Considered (NPR), Fresh Air with Terri Gross (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), the Bill Moyers Show and the Today Show (NBC). She has served as a guest news commentator for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and for Pacifica Radio. In 1997 she delivered the annual Reith Lectures for the BBC, Radio Four. She has appeared in a number of documentary films, including "That Rush!" which she wrote and narrated. Directed by British film-maker Isaac Julien, this short study of American talk show hosts was featured as part of an installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London.
She has held fellowships at the School of Criticism and Theory at Dartmouth College, the Humanities Research Institute of the University of California at Irvine, the Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and in 2000 was named a MacArthur fellow. At present, she serves on the Boards of Wellesley College and the Andy Warhol Foundation.