December commencement
Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. (Photo: Chicago Council on Global Affairs)
Ivo H. Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines, will speak at commencement ceremonies Dec. 10.
Two ceremonies will take place at the UIC Pavilion to recognize students who graduate after summer and fall semesters.
Daalder will speak at the Graduate College commencement, which begins at 9 a.m. Munoz will offer remarks to students in Applied Health Sciences; Architecture, Design and the Arts; Urban Planning and Public Affairs; Business Administration; Education; Engineering; Liberal Arts and Sciences and Nursing at a 2p.m. ceremony for undergraduates.
More than 1,200 undergraduate and 933 graduate students will receive degrees in December.
Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley will receive an honorary degree during the Graduate College ceremony. Daley was the 54th mayor of Chicago, serving from 1989 to 2011.
Daalder was a U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013, when he joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Before NATO, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution. In 1998, he was an associate professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and a director of research. From 1995 to 1997, he was the director for European affairs of the National Security Council.
Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines.
Daalder is also a widely published author. He frequently contributes to the opinion pages of high-profile media outlets, and he’s a regular commentator on international affairs on television and radio. One of his most recent books, America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, won the 2003 Lionel Gelber Prize, awarded to the best English language and nonfiction books on foreign policy. He is also a member of the Chancellor’s leadership board.
Munoz has a long track record of success, too. After taking over as chief executive officer in 2015, he led the turnaround of Chicago-based United Airlines.
Before becoming chief executive officer for the carrier, he was a chief financial officer, chief of strategy and director at the CSX Corporation, a transportation company. During his time there, the firm transformed itself into an industry leader in customer focus, reliability and financial performance. CSX was named one of Investors’ Most Honored Companies for excellent financial purposes by Institutional Investor, a global finance magazine.
Munoz has also worked with some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands, including AT&T, Coca-Cola Enterprises and PepsiCo. He has twice been named one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business magazine.
