More than 900 to receive degrees this spring….
TWO NOTED MSUM ALUMS TO SPEAK AT GRADUATION PROGRAM MAY 15
Two MSUM alumni, Richard J. Kasper and Patrick McDonough, will give the commencement addresses at the university’s spring graduation program Friday, May 15 in Nemzek Fieldhouse.
Kasper will speak at the 10 a.m. program to graduates of the College of Social and Natural Sciences and the College Business and Industry; McDonough will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony to graduates of the College of Education and Human Services the College of Arts and Humanities.
The university is expected to award degrees to more than 900 students that day, and about 700 will go through the ceremony.
Kasper is the president and chief operating officer for Global Electric Motorcars, LLC (GEM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chrysler, LLC. Headquartered in Fargo. He was GEM’s executive vice president and chief financial officer until being named to his current position in 2002.
Prior to joining GEM in 1999, Kasper spent 11 years with the Jack Kent Cooke organization, which included responsibilities as the CFO for the Los Angeles Daily News.
Kasper received his undergraduate degree in accounting at MSUM and was named the university’s Business and Industry Alumni of the Year in 2002. He is also a member of the MSUM School of Business Advisory Board.
McDonough, a native of Minnesota’s Iron Range, graduated from MSUM cum laude in English, speech and theatre in 1964. In the 45 years since then, he’s been a university professor and president, a theatrical producer and director, a foundation executive and consultant to troubled colleges and a national speaker on leadership and the arts.
In the mid-90s, McDonough moved to Los Angeles to become the senior California State University System executive in charge of statewide academic planning. Later he returned to graduate teaching at California State University Long Beach where he developed a joint MBA/MFA program for professional theatre managers. The University of Maryland recently honored him with appointment as a Senior Fellow, James McGregor Burns Academy of Leadership. As professor emeritus he still teaches at CSULB and consults with a brand new graduate school in alternative dispute resolution in Pennsylvania.