Anne Lynam Goddard, president and CEO of the Christian Children’s Fund, will address the graduates on May 16 at the 92nd commencement at Assumption College. Goddard, who graduated from Assumption in 1977, has led the Christian Children’s Fund since 2006. The international child development organization assists more than 10.5 million children and family members in 33 countries.

A former Peace Corps volunteer, Goddard began her career as a social worker, focusing on child neglect and abuse cases. Today, she is a veteran humanitarian worker, who has continued to advocate for and protect children here in the United States and around the world. The college will confer an honorary degree on Goddard in recognition of her lifelong commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children through her more than three decades in social service and international humanitarian work.

Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., the John Carroll Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. Pellegrino, a pioneer in the field of Catholic medical ethics, was director of the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown's Medical Center. The founding editor of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, he is renowned for his discussions of Christian virtue and medical ethics in the treatment of patients, and his focus on humanism and the physician, as well as the philosophical basis of medical treatment.

Rev. James V. Schall, S.J., a professor of government at Georgetown University, will receive an honorary degree. A legendary teacher and highly prolific author, Rev. Schall's defense of classical liberal learning and his engagement with the enduring questions about "what is" have influenced generations of students and readers. The Rev. James V. Schall, S.J., Award for Teaching and Humane Letters was established at Georgetown in 2008 in recognition of "Fr. Schall's commitment to liberal education, the great books, and the philosophical and religious tradition of the West and, above all, the Catholic faith."