Garibaldi to address graduates at Commencement

Dr. Antoine M. Garibaldi, president of the University of Detroit Mercy, will address Pitt-Bradford graduates during commencement exercises April 29.

Commencement will be held at 2 p.m. in the KOA Arena in the Richard E. and Ruth McDowell Sport and Fitness Center.

Garibaldi, who attended high school and college with Pitt-Bradford President Dr. Livingston Alexander, was chosen to address the graduates at what will be Alexander's last commencement ceremony as president. Alexander is retiring at the end of June. Garibaldi also was one of the speakers when Alexander was inaugurated as Pitt-Bradford's president in 2003.

“I'm thrilled that Dr. Garibaldi is returning to our campus, this time to share with our graduates time-tested strategies for dealing with the very complex world they're about to confront,” Alexander said. “No one is better positioned to address our graduates on achieving success than my good friend, Dr. Garibaldi, who himself has been successful throughout his career in higher education.”

Garibaldi has been president at Detroit Mercy for seven years. During that time, enrollment has increased to more than 5,100 students, national and regional rankings have risen, the endowment has doubled, and more than 80 percent of a $100 million campaign has been raised.

Prior to his successful tenure at Detroit Mercy, Garibaldi was president of Gannon University for nine and a half years.

A tenured professor of educational psychology, Garibaldi has held several administrative positions in higher education. He was the first provost and chief academic officer at Howard University, and served as vice president for academic affairs, dean of arts and sciences, and chairman of education at Xavier University.

Garibaldi is a nationally recognized leader in higher education. From 1977 to 1982, he was an Educational Policy Fellow and Research Associate at the National Institute of Education in the former Office of Education. During that time, he was also a staff member of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which produced the landmark report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform.

He serves on many education-related boards as well as several community organizations in Detroit, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Invest Detroit, New Detroit Inc., Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, Detroit Police Chief's Citizens Advisory Board, and Brother Rice High School. In 2015, he was selected among Crain's Detroit Business “100 Most Connected People in Detroit.”

A noted scholar, Garibaldi has written 11 books and more than 85 research articles and chapters and has been recognized as a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association.

He has received four honorary doctorates and numerous other awards, including the Howard University Alumni Award for Distinguished Postgraduate Achievement in the field of education, the Papal honor of Knight of St. Gregory the Great, the National Service Award from the International Salute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Michigan Chronicle's 2013 Men of Excellence Award.

Garibaldi is a native of New Orleans. He received a bachelor's degree from Howard University and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota.