Franklin Pierce Announces Honorary Degree Recipients and Peterson Award Winner
Apr 27, 2015
Franklin Pierce University announced that three honorary degrees will be awarded at its 50th commencement ceremony, along with the Honorable Walter R. Peterson Citizen Leader Award: Juan Williams of Fox News; Stanley B. Fry, chairman and CEO of FlashPoint Technology, Inc.; and Yvonne S. Boice, philanthropist and Florida businesswoman will receive honorary degrees. Former New Hampshire state senator, Bob Odell, will receive the Peterson Award.
Juan Williams is a top political analyst for Fox Television and a regular panelist for Fox News Sunday. He is a former award-winning Washington Post columnist, White House correspondent, and NPR senior news correspondent. He is the author of the bestselling books “Eyes on the Prize—America’s Civil Rights Years”and “Muzzled—The Assault on Honest Debate.” Williams is also the author of “Enough—The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America—and What We Can Do About It,”whichcreated a national furor by igniting debate over black leadership in the U.S. He is also the recipient of the Fitzwater Medallion for Leadership in Public Communications presented by the University’s Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications.
Stanley B. Fry is a high-tech executive and chairman and CEO of FlashPoint Technology, Inc., a company he founded in 1996. Fry was director of research and development at Wang Laboratories in the early 80s and went on to be an acknowledged imaging technology expert in the electronic industry. Throughout his career, Fry has helped shape concepts and designs of dozens of hardware and software imaging products. A pioneer and renowned expert in optical character and imaging scanning technology, Fry holds multiple patents and developed the first commercially available scanner. His companies hold nearly 1,400 patents on imaging devices, mobile computing, image storage, media sharing, mobile communications, and video processing. A New Hampshire resident, Fry is very active in the Monadnock region and, along with his business partner Cy Gregg, helped revitalize Depot Square in downtown Peterborough.
Yvonne S. Boice is a Florida businesswoman and philanthropist, who is well known for her work in championing the arts, culture, education, and women’s rights initiatives. Boice is currently the chair for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Endowment of the Humanities, the chair for the STEAM Initiative at Palm Beach Stage College, and the chair emeritus for the Palm Beach International Film Festival. She devotes significant time to causes and initiatives close to her heart, including the Palm Beach State College Foundation Board, Lynn University Board, Palm Beach International Film Festival, Boca Raton Historical Society, Boca Raton Centre for the Arts, World Trade Center, and YMCA of South Palm Beach County.
Bob Odell is a former business leader, national political campaign activist, and New Hampshire state senator. Odell founded and served as chairman of Odell, Simms & Lynch, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm for political and national not-for-profit organizations. The former executive director of the National Republican Finance Committee and national finance director for the Gerald Ford presidential campaign in 1975-76, Odell also served as a consultant to many state and presidential political campaigns before being elected to the legislature in his home state. After serving one term in the state legislature, Odell then served six two-year terms in the state senate. He served on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which he chaired for three terms. He was appointed chair by both Republican and Democrat Senate presidents. A native of Nashua, N.H., Odell grew up in Milford, N.H., and today resides in New London.
The Honorable Walter R. Peterson award, named after the former New Hampshire governor, who also served as the second president of Franklin Pierce University, is presented annually at the University’s Commencement exercises. The Peterson Citizen Leader Award honors an individual who demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to public service, selfless contributions to higher education, a sense of humor and high moral character—all characteristics of the award’s namesake.
Mr.Williams, Mr. Fry, and Ms. Boice will receive their honorary degrees, and Mr. Odell the Peterson Award, at Franklin Pierce University’s 50th Commencement ceremony, which will be held on May 16, 2015 at the University’s campus in Rindge, NH.
