Calatrava to give commencement
SMU’s honorary Doctor of Arts degree recipient and Spanish Architect Santiago Calatrava will give the fall 2005 graduation commencement ceremony speech. Calatrava will address more than 2,000 graduates on Saturday, May 14 in the Moody Coliseum at 9:30 a.m.
Calatrava has strong ties to Dallas and SMU. He received SMU’s Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in Arts. He designed the wave sculpture in front of the Meadows museum, and a retrospective presentation of Calatrava’s work was the inaugural special exhibition at the grand opening of the new Meadows Museum. He is also helping to design three signature bridges for the City of Dallas’ Trinity River Corridor Project.
“Calatrava is a master at bringing together art and engineering that creates sculptures that in rich cities and organizations,” Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Public Affairs Patti LaSalle said. “We are fortunate that Santiago was getting an honorary degree, which made him an exceptional choice.”
Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Some of his most prestigious accomplishments include designing the 2004 Summer Games Olympic stadium in Athens, Greece, the airport in Bilbao, Spain, railway stations in Zurich, Switzerland and Lisbon, Portugal, the City of Arts and stations in Zurich, and the transportation hub for the redeveloped World Trade Center site in New York City. Calatrava earned a degree in architecture in Valencia and a Ph.D. in engineering from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
“We are delighted to have a leading international figure with special ties to the university and Dallas as our commencement speaker,” SMU President R. Gerald Turner said. “Calatrava’s architectural designs combine beauty and functionality to enhance the environment in which people carry out their daily lives.
“He is a fine model for our graduates as they seek to define their own roles in an increasingly global society”
President Turner chooses the commencement speaker each year and candidates are normally SMU honorary degree recipients. Charles O. Galvin, law educator and former dean, will receive the Doctor of Laws Degree and Elizabeth M. Lee, leader in education, will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters degree. SMU’s three honorary degree recipients will participate in seminars and discussions featuring their work the day before commencement. After SMU’s university-wide commencement ceremony on May 14 individual schools and departments will present diplomas in separate ceremonies during the afternoon and evening.
