RADNOR, Pa. (April 19, 2018)—John D. Schanz, corporate technology and telecommunications executive, will address bachelor’s degree candidates and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during Cabrini University’s undergraduate Commencement on Sunday, May 20 at 10am.
Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, PhD, founder and Board Chair of the LEAP Academy University Charter School, will address master’s degree candidates and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the University’s graduate Commencement, on Sunday, May 20 at 2:30pm.
This year marks Cabrini’s 58th Commencement exercises.
Finishing his final term as Chair of the Cabrini Board of Trustees, John Schanz is a corporate technology and telecommunications executive who has built high-performance teams that have navigated the industry through profound change. Formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer for Comcast Cable, Schanz has been recognized as a key contributor to the massive scaling and advancement of Internet infrastructure.
Currently, Schanz is a Senior Advisor at BBH Capital Partners, Graham Partners, and TDF Ventures. Schanz is on the Board of Congruex and LiquidSky. He has held senior leadership positions at Comcast, AOL, Transaction Network Services, MediaCenters, Sprint, and GE.
Schanz has also established industry-leading cybersecurity practices, and he has 22 years of domain experience from cybersecurity strategy through talent, culture, cyber Network Operations Center (NOC) operations, and forensic investigations. Cybersecurity leadership has been a critical element of his remit at four leading corporations, with risk management accountabilities, and the protection of customers, employees, and technology infrastructure. This included extensive experiences securing global telecom infrastructure and enterprise company assets and information.
Schanz earned an Electrical Engineering degree at Manhattan College. He is the recipient of the 2013 National Cable & Telecommunications Association Vanguard Award in Science & Technology. In 2012, InfoWorld recognized him with a Technology Leadership Award. The Chairman of the FCC also appointed Schanz to chair the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council.
Schanz has a strong personal commitment to advancing high-quality education. He serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Cabrini University and is also a board member of Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School and Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute.
Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, PhD, is a Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor in the Graduate Department of Public Policy and Administration at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She also directs the Community Leadership Center at the University and is the overseer and Board Chair of the LEAP Academy University Charter School.
Bonilla-Santiago is a noted expert in the fields of community development, migration of women, diversity management, organizational leadership, and public policy. She is considered a pioneer in the application of social capital to improve challenged schools and communities.
In 1993, Bonilla-Santiago and the Rutgers Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership developed the concept of an independently governed, public charter school that could improve education and opportunities for the children and families of Camden, N.J. This concept led to Bonilla-Santiago’s creation of LEAP Academy University Charter School in 1997. The school is founded on the model of engaged scholarship, which has created a system where the entire community, students, parents, and local organizations and businesses have a vested interest in student success.
Bonilla-Santiago is an advocate of merit-based pay for teachers. At LEAP Academy, both teacher tenure and merit pay have been combined in a Professional Development and Performance-Based Compensation program that rewards teachers based on their ability to help students make significant academic gains as well as their willingness and contributions to school-wide success. On February 23, 2011, Santiago appeared on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” to discuss merit pay for teachers. Bonilla-Santiago is also a specialist columnist for the Huffington Post.
In 2017, Bonilla-Santiago received Cabrini’s Ivy Young Willis & Martha Willis Dale Award, which recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions in the field of public affairs.
For more information on Cabrini’s Commencement Ceremonies, visit cabrini.edu/commencement.
About Cabrini University
Founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cabrini University is a Catholic institution that empowers students to become advocates of social change through an Education of the Heart, focusing on academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership development.
Cabrini enrolls approximately 1,650 undergraduates in more than 35 majors, pre-professional programs, concentrations, and minors on its serene 112-acre campus located 30 minutes from Philadelphia. The University also enrolls 800 students in graduate, doctoral, and professional studies programs at its main campus in Radnor, PA, and at five off-campus locations.