Calif. Jesuit among grad speakers

By Andrea Barrack

Santa Clara expects about 12,000 people to attend the undergraduate ceremony for this year's senior class of 1,200.

The graduation will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Buck Shaw Stadium, the traditional location for the event.

Commencement speaker Gregory Boyle, S.J., of San Jose will receive the honorary Doctor of Faith and Justice degree.

Boyle, who attended Gonzaga University and Loyola Marymount University, is the creator of Homeboy Industries and Jobs for a Future in Los Angeles.

He began Homeboy Industries in 1988, basing the organization in Los Angeles housing projects with the highest concentration of gang activity in the area.

Homeboy serves at-risk youth and gang members by assisting them with job preparations, counseling, community service, case management services and even tattoo removal.

Boyle was also the pastor of the Dolores Mission, the poorest parish in the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese, from 1986-1992.

Other awards will go to NFL Hall of Fame member Ronnie Lott and and Sr. Barbara Flannery, of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet.

Lott, the former 49ers star and USC graduate, will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service for his contributions to community service.

Over the past 15 years, Lott has founded three organizations to aid youth and minorities in the Bay Area: All Stars Helping Kids, All Stars Technology Room at UCSF Children's Hospital, and Olympius Capital, a minoritycontrolled firm committed to enhancing diversity in the financial services industry.

Sr. Flannery will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Religious Education. Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland since 1994, Sr. Flannery helped develop the Ministry for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse and the "No More Secrets" campaign, urging abuse victims to break their silence.

Last week, Larry Sonsini, a legendary Silicon Valley lawyer and member of the Santa Clara Board of Trustees, spoke at the Santa Clara University Law School Commencement celebration.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Sonsini has received several distinguishing awards and in 1999 was selected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he serves on the University of California President's Board on Science and Innovation and is a member of the American Law Institute.

Donald Polden, dean of the Santa Clara's law school, said that he is "regarded as one of the most influential lawyers in the country and will inspire our graduates to engage in community and professional service throughout their careers, as he has done."

û Contact reporter Andrea Barrack at (408) 554-4546 or abarrack@scu.edu.