Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will keynote Johns Hopkins University’s commencement this spring.
The former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Pulitzer Prize-winning author will address the class of 2022 at the university’s commencement ceremony at Homewood Field on May 22.
Power will also receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the ceremony.
Power, who immigrated from Ireland to the United States at age nine, began her career as a war correspondent, reporting from countries such as Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
She served in the Obama administration for both of President Obama’s terms. From 2009 to 2013, she served on the National Security Council as special assistant to the president and senior director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights. From 2013 to 2017, Power served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
As USAID Administrator, Power leads the agency in promoting progress on issues such as education, women’s empowerment, food insecurity, and global health.
“As a principled critic of American foreign policy turned U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power has demonstrated throughout her distinguished career how to translate the values and insights of a seasoned reporter and scholar into the practice of a diplomat,” Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels said in a statement.
The university last week released a video announcing Power as the 2022 commencement speaker.
“The consummate insider-outsider, she has fused idealism with pragmatism and rigorous investigation with swift action, all in the service of improving lives and defending humanity,” Daniels said, “These capacities have never been more important and we could not be more thrilled to have her address the Class of 2022.”
