Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree and will address a crowd of about 15,000 during the University’s main undergraduate commencement ceremony, which begins on Sunday, May 19th, at 12:30 p.m., on the Quadrangle of the Kingston Campus.

During his 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Rhode Island’s First Congressional District, Kennedy fought to end discrimination against those with mental illness, addiction, and other brain diseases. He is best known as the lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer.

See the full press release announcing Kennedy as the 2019 commencement speaker.