Alfred Curtis gets honoree degree
Staten Island Advance - June 6, 2004
Medgar Evers College rewarded local community
activist Alfred B. Curtis with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
degree yesterday in recognition of his accomplishments, community
service, and aid to the CUNY system.
Curtis, who is running for the North Shore/Brooklyn
State Senate seat, accepted the degree during the 33rd commencement
ceremony, which was held in the college amphitheater at the Bedford
Avenue campus in Brooklyn.
“I have had many titles conferred upon me in my
lifetime ... but the new title of doctor, wow, that gives new
meaning and substance to the totality of Alfred B. Curtis Jr., and
if the drums were rolling, I would dance triumphantly up here
today,” he said during his commencement speech.
Curtis was born in Liberia, Africa, and graduated
from a high school in queens. He attained his bachelor’s degree in
economics and business from the College of Staten Island and
completed his graduate studies at Wagner College.
Curtis is a former president of Chemical Bank,
former head of the U.N. Development Corp. and New York City’s
one-time Youth Service Commissioner. He currently works for
Wellington Associates, a New Jersey-based consulting firm.
During his address Curtis told the graduates, “You
have earned your degrees, so treasure it. Do not just hang it on
your wall. Let your actions speak for themselves.”
At the end of his speech Curtis presented the school
with a check from the Richmond County Savings Bank Foundation, of
which he is a board member, to be used for student scholarships.
by Heather Campo
Reprinted here with permission from the
|
