Centre College: Director of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to be Founders Day speaker

Director of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to be Founders Day speaker

RELEASED: Dec. 29, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—Dr. Jonathan T. Howe, the Executive Director of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, will deliver the keynote address at Centre College's 2006 Founders Day ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 19. The College will award Dr. Howe an honorary degree during the ceremony. The free event is open to all and will be held at 11 a.m. in Newlin Hall of the Norton Center for the Arts.

Founders Day is an annual celebration commemorating Centre's receiving its charter from the Kentucky Legislature on Jan. 21, 1819.

Based in Jacksonville, Fla., the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations award grants primarily in private higher education, secondary education, graduate theological education, health care and public television.

"It gives me the greatest pleasure to welcome Dr. Howe as our keynote speaker," says Centre president John A. Roush. "Strengthening liberal arts colleges is the focus of the Foundations' higher education program, and the Foundations have long been strong supporters of Centre. We are especially grateful for the Foundations' interest in the quality of the undergraduate experience."

The College has received several generous grants from the Foundations in the past. These grants have supported a variety of programs and projects, including the Norton Center for the Arts, an early renovation of Sutcliffe Hall, library automation, and information technology initiatives. Most recently, Centre received the Foundations' 2002 Award for Excellence "in recognition of the College's exceptional student-centered approach to residential liberal learning, its commitment to teaching and its sustained achievement in transforming students' lives." The award included a $200,000 grant that helped endow the Press Distinguished Lecture Series, which has brought such speakers as Elie Wiesel, Bob Edwards, Al Smith and Arianna Hufffington to Centre's campus.

Prior to joining the Foundations in 1995, Dr. Howe served for a year in Somalia as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He has also served as the Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Affairs.

A 1957 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Dr. Howe retired from the Navy in the rank of Admiral in June 1992. From May 1989 to December 1991, Dr. Howe was simultaneously Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe with headquarters in Naples, Italy, and Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe with headquarters in London, England.

Dr. Howe earned M.A., M.A. L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He is the author of the book Multicrises: Seapower and Global Politics in the Missile Age and numerous articles on foreign policy and national security issues.

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/