Franklin Pierce University Announces 2023 Honorary Degree Recipients and Honorable Walter R. Peterson Citizen Leader Award
Apr 4, 2023
Steven V. Camerino, Dr. Tia Brown McNair, and JerriAnne Boggis (pictured left to right) to be celebrated at University’s 58th Commencement Exercises
Franklin Pierce is pleased to announce it will be awarding two honorary doctorate degrees and the Honorable Walter R. Peterson Citizen Leader Award as part of the University’s 58th Commencement exercises on Saturday, May 13.
This year’s honorary degree recipients are prominent attorney and business executive Steven V. Camerino and leading diversity, equity, and inclusion scholar Dr. Tia Brown McNair. In addition, writer, educator, and community activist JerriAnne Boggis will receive the Honorable Walter R. Peterson Citizen Leader Award, named for New Hampshire’s distinguished 72nd governor and the second president of Franklin Pierce University.
“Through this year’s honorary degree and Peterson Award recipients, we celebrate distinguished leaders in their respective fields,” said President Kim Mooney ’83. “Their work on the key issues of our time speaks to our commitment to educating agents of change who live as conscientious, engaged citizens.”
Mr. Camerino served on the Franklin Pierce University Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2022, holding the position of Board Chair from 2016 to 2019. As the Chief Executive Officer of McLane Middleton, he is responsible for overseeing the operational, financial marketing, and human resource functions of the firm, and works closely with the firm's management team on day-to-day operations and strategic planning. Camerino previously served as President/CEO of New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC), a consumer-owned electric utility that provides service in 118 communities throughout New Hampshire. Prior to joining NHEC, Camerino was a shareholder and director with McLane Middleton for more than 30 years, where he was Managing Director of the firm’s Concord office and chaired the firm’s Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Practice Group. Beyond Franklin Pierce, Camerino has been involved in a leadership role in numerous non-profit organizations over the years, including serving for many years as President of New Hampshire Legal Assistance and Legal Advice and Referral Center, both of which serve low income clients. In 1999, he received the New Hampshire Bar Association’s L. Jonathan Ross Award for Legal Services to the Poor and has been listed for many years in The Best Lawyers in America and in Super Lawyers in the energy and public utilities field.
“A top legal mind in energy and utility management, Steve Camerino’s professional accomplishments are complemented by his commitment to ensuring that the organizations he has worked for are engaged in and support the communities where they do business, including ensuring that underserved members of those communities have access to vital legal services,” shared President Mooney. “As former Chair and member of the Franklin Pierce Board of Trustees, his efforts on behalf of our institution have set us on a path for long-term success.”
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is one of the nation’s top higher education diversity, equity, and inclusion scholars. She is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives. She is the co-author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016). In March 2020, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education named McNair one of thirty-five outstanding women who have tackled some of higher education’s toughest challenges and made a positive difference in their communities.
“Dr. McNair is a dynamic and engaging leader at the intersection of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and student success,” noted President Mooney. “She is at the forefront of critical conversations across higher education institutions and beyond.”
JerriAnne Boggis is Executive Director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, an organization that preserves, celebrates, and honors African-American history in the state. She is a writer, educator, and community activist who works to correct the historical record on the racial complexity and richness of New Hampshire’s diverse past. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2022 Social Innovation Leader Award in the non-profit sector by the Entrepreneurs Fund of New Hampshire, the Ona Judge Award by the Human Rights Society in 2021, and named as one of the ten most influential women of the century in New Hampshire by the Seacoast Press in 2020.
“Ms. Boggis is a champion for recognizing the Black experience in the Granite State,” said President Mooney. “Her dedication to honoring the full history of our state and celebrating its diversity is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Walter Peterson.”
The honorary degree and Peterson Award recipients will join families and friends in celebrating Franklin Pierce University’s Class of 2023 at their commencement on the Rindge Campus.
For more information about Franklin Pierce University’s 2023 Commencement Exercises, please click here.
