Duncan L. Niederauer Named 2013 Commencement Speaker

The Colgate Board of Trustees recently announced Duncan L. Niederauer ’81 will deliver the keynote address at the class of 2013’s Commencement Ceremony.

“After graduating cum laude with a degree in economics and then earning an MBA from Emory University,” President Herbst said in an email sent to students. Niederauer began a prolific career as a leader in the evolution of global markets. He worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. for 22 years, serving as the managing director and co-head of the Equities Division Execution Services franchise. Niederauer joined NYSE Euronext in April 2007 and currently serves on many boards, including the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Operation Hope, the American Ireland Fund and the Partnership for New York City.

Especially notable is Niederauer’s extensive charity work supporting autism awareness, demonstrated through his service as co-chair of Newmark School’s “Destination of Promise” campaign, along with his wife Alison. Through this campaign, Niederauer is supporting the building of a state-of-the-art school in New Jersey for children with autism and similar disabilities.

Niederauer will receive an honorary degree during commencement, along with The Very Reverend Dr. Jane Shaw, who will serve as the baccalaureate speaker. Shaw is currently the dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco and a visiting scholar at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. In addition to writing three books, including her prize-winning  “Octavia, Daughter of God: The Story of a Female Messiah,” she has also previously served as dean of divinity and fellow of New College and University of Oxford, where she taught history and theology for 16 years.

Jeff Fager ’77 P’06, chairman of CBS News and executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Jill Lepore, David Woods Kemper Professor of American history at Harvard University and staff writer for The New Yorker; and Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO, founder, and president of Chobani will be the other honorary degree recipients at the 2013 Commencement.

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