Rutgers to Award Honorary Degrees to Board of Governors Chair Ralph Izzo, Ecologist and Former NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and Smithsonian Museum Director Lonnie Bunch III at Commencement

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The leader of one of the nation’s most respected public utilities; a distinguished ecologist and authority in the interactions between the environment and human well-being; and a preeminent American museum director and curator will receive honorary degrees at Rutgers’ 247th anniversary commencement ceremonies in May.

Ralph Izzo, chairman and chief executive officer of the Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and outgoing chair of Rutgers’ Board of Governors following a three-year term as chair (Doctor of Humane Letters) and Jane Lubchenco, world-renowned environmental expert and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and former NOAA administrator (Doctor of Science), will be honored during university commencement Sunday, May 19.

Lonnie Bunch III, founding director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture scheduled to open in 2015, will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at university commencement and he will also deliver the keynote address at the joint Rutgers-Newark College of Arts and Sciences and University College convocation on May 22 in Newark.

The announcement was made at today’s Board of Governors meeting in Newark. University commencement is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. at High Point Solutions Stadium on the Busch Campus and will be the first presided over by President Robert L. Barchi, whose tenure at Rutgers officially began in September 2012.

Izzo has held executive positions within the PSEG family of companies since 1992, including as president and chief operating officer of Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G). He is well known as a leader within the utility industry, where he has drawn attention to such issues as global climate change and the urgent need to develop cleaner, more sustainable energy.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine appointed Izzo to the Rutgers governing board as a Public Governor in 2009, and he became chair the following year. During his term, Izzo guided the university through a period of challenging economic times while also helping Rutgers achieve historic milestones. Among his accomplishments, Izzo provided oversight of the presidential search committee that resulted in President Barchi’s appointment in April 2012. Under his leadership, the Board of Governors approved the integration of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey into Rutgers, and also the university’s entry into the Big Ten.

During his tenure, Rutgers undertook the redevelopment of the Livingston Campus, including installation of a 32-acre solar canopy energy facility, as well as other redevelopment projects at Rutgers’ campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden.

Izzo earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and doctorate from Columbia University and an MBA from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management (now Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick). He was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2009 and has received numerous national fellowships and awards. He serves on the executive committee of the Edison Electric Institute and on the board of directors of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators, among others.

Lubchenco is a distinguished ecologist and one of the world’s foremost authorities in oceans, climate change and interactions between the environment and humankind. She was nominated by President Obama to her Commerce Department and NOAA positions in December 2008 and was confirmed by the Senate three months later.

Under her leadership, NOAA advanced several key policy initiatives, including coastal and ocean restoration and fishery sustainability. She also led efforts to protect the Arctic, secure the nation’s weather and environmental satellites, improve prediction of high-impact weather and water forecasts, and promote climate science and information sharing.

Lubchenco began her academic career as a professor at Harvard in 1975, and in 1977, continued at Oregon State University, where she was the Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology until her NOAA appointment. In April 2013, she will become the Mimi and Peter Haas Distinguished Visitor at Stanford University. Upon leaving her Stanford position in June, she will resume her professorship at Oregon State.

One of the most highly cited ecologists in the world, eight of Lubchenco’s publications are recognized as “Science Citation Classics.” A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society, Lubchenco has received numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Award and the Heinz Award for the Environment. She was named 2010 Newsmaker of the Year by the scientific journal Nature.

Lubchenco has been instrumental in cultivating and supporting the next generation of scientists and innovators, and has created scholarship opportunities for young, aspiring scientists, including women and minorities. She earned her doctoral degree in ecology from Harvard, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and a master’s from the University of Washington.

In a distinguished career of more than 35 years as a museum director, curator, author and historian, Bunch has brought history to the public and engaged people from all walks of life through his award-winning and landmark exhibits and prolific writings. Appointed to his position in 2005, Bunch is overseeing the museum’s design on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, as well as fundraising, collections development and creation of high-profile traveling exhibitions and public events. He is committed to establishing an institution that celebrates the richness and depth of the African-American experience.

Bunch held several curatorial positions at the Smithsonian in the past, including at the National Museum of American History, where he led a curatorial team that developed a major permanent exhibition, “American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.” He was co-author of the exhibition’s companion book by the same name.

Prior to 2005, Bunch was president of the Chicago Historical Society and initiated an unprecedented capital campaign and produced the highly praised exhibition “Teen Chicago.” He also served as curator of history for the California Afro-American Museum in Los Angeles.

A prolific and widely published author, Bunch has written on such topics as the black military experience, the American presidency, and the impact of funding and politics on American museums. As an education specialist at the National Air and Space Museum, he developed multicultural instructional programs and wrote the history of African Americans in aviation. His most recent book, Call the Lost Dream Back: Essays on Race, History and Museums, was published in 2010.

Bunch received graduate and undergraduate degrees from American University, where he also taught. The New Jersey native, who grew up near the city of Newark, also has taught at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and The George Washington University. An honored lecturer who has presented at Rutgers-Newark’s Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience, he has been named one of the 100 most influential museum professionals in the 20th century by the American Association of Museums. Black Entertainment Television bestowed a 2011 Honors award on Bunch for outstanding service to American education.