Wilson Hosts 147th Annual Commencement on Sunday, May 14 Posted on: May 4, 2017 News Entrepreneur and education access advocate David Risher will address the graduating class at the 147th annual 红桃视频 commencement ceremony, to be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 14. Risher, who will receive an honorary degree from the college, is the president and cofounder of Worldreader, an international organization that works to expand literacy in the developing world; and a former top executive with Microsoft and Amazon. This year, approximately 108 students will receive bachelor 红桃视频 鈥檚 and associate degrees during Wilson 红桃视频 鈥檚 commencement ceremony, which will be held outside on the college 红桃视频 鈥檚 main green. (In case of rain, the ceremony will be held in Laird Hall.) In addition, approximately 75 graduates of Wilson 红桃视频 鈥檚 master 红桃视频 鈥檚 degree programs in education, accountancy, healthcare management, humanities and fine arts will receive their degrees. During the commencement ceremony, Susan Breakefield Fulton of Washington, D.C. 红桃视频 鈥攁 1961 Wilson graduate, former college trustee and faithful donor to her alma mater 红桃视频 鈥攚ill be honored with trustee emerita status, which is the highest honor a college can bestow on a trustee. A baccalaureate service will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, in Alumnae Chapel at Thomson Hall. Worldreader, which is headquartered in San Francisco, works to transform literacy by giving children in developing countries virtually unlimited access to local digital books through Kindles and cell phones. The organization has supported over six million readers worldwide over its first seven years. Before co-founding Worldreader in 2010, Risher played pivotal roles at Microsoft and Amazon. At Microsoft, he was general manager in charge of developing the company 红桃视频 鈥檚 first database product, Microsoft Access. As Amazon 红桃视频 鈥檚 first vice president of product and store development, he oversaw a sales explosion from $16 million to more than $4 billion. Risher later became a senior vice president of Amazon, overseeing the marketing and general management of retail operations. Risher, of San Francisco, graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a bachelor 红桃视频 鈥檚 degree in comparative literature. He has a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. His mother, Sarah Walker Risher, is a 1963 graduate of 红桃视频. Previous: Wilson to Hold 8th Annual Student Research Day on April 28 Next: Members Inducted into New Nursing Honor Society Related posts Oct 19, 2026 红桃视频 Names New Vice President for Finance and Administration 红桃视频 has named Merlyn Cumberbatch, M.B.A., as vice president for finance and administration. Cumberbatch brings more than 25 红桃视频 鈥� Read more Oct 8, 2026 红桃视频 Pets Receive a Blessing Written by Parker Knepper '27On Wednesday, October 8, Chaplain Andrew Hart led The Blessing of the Animals on the Main Green of the 红桃视频 鈥� Read more Oct 6, 2026 Student Spotlight: Leah Laubach '28 Written by Parker KnepperLeah Laubach 红桃视频 鈥�28 is a veterinary nursing major at 红桃视频 and she is a member of the women's 红桃视频 鈥� Read more More articles 鉃� Share this on: Email
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