Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and one of the world’s most-followed Catholics on social media, will deliver the keynote address during Assumption’s 101st Commencement on Sunday, May 13, at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester.
Bishop Barron; John Agresto, Ph.D., the former president of St. John’s College; and Judith Beck Ph.D., co-founder of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, will receive honorary degrees during the ceremony.
Bishop Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic faith, which is now a nationally syndicated series. His website, WordOnFire.org, attracts millions, and Bishop Barron is followed by more than 1.5 million on Facebook. According to Bishop Barron’s YouTube channel, his videos, which have been viewed more than 25 million times, provide “brief and insightful commentaries on faith and culture” that complement his weekly sermons podcasted at WordOnFire.org.
Francis Cardinal George described Bishop Barron as “one of the Church’s best messengers” because of his extensive and effective use of social media to spread the Catholic religion. Bishop Barron has served as a keynote speaker at many conferences and events across the world, including the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków, Poland, and the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which included Pope Francis. He is also a #1 bestselling author on Amazon, having published 15 books, and has written many articles on theology and the spiritual life. Bishop Barron regularly appears on CNN, EWTN, FOX News, and NBC, offering clarity or a Catholic perspective on significant issues.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., is president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, a nonprofit organization based in suburban Philadelphia, which she co-founded with her father, Aaron T. Beck, MD, in 1994. Through the Institute, she has trained thousands of health and mental health professionals, nationally and internationally. Dr. Beck is also a clinical professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania; her online courses have been taken by mental health students and professionals in more than 100 countries. Dr. Beck divides her time between teaching and supervision, administration, clinical work, program development, research, and writing.
For more than 20 years, Assumption has been home to the Aaron T. Beck Institute for Cognitive Studies, working in conjunction with the institution’s clinical counseling psychology program. Each year, the Institute hosts internationally recognized psychologists and psychiatrists during its annual clinical workshop series on cognitive therapy. These workshops aim to educate mental health professionals, Assumption students, and the community at large on cognitive therapy and its efficacy in resolving problems in daily living.
Dr. Beck has written more than 100 articles and essays, and has made hundreds of presentations, nationally and internationally, on a variety of topics related to cognitive behavior therapy. She is the author of the widely adopted textbook Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond, which has been translated into 20 languages.
John Agresto, Ph.D.
John Agresto, Ph.D., is known for his commitment to education and, in particular, the liberal arts. From 1989–2000, Dr. Agresto served as president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, during which he conducted the most successful capital campaign in the college’s 300-year history, tripling its endowment and realizing a number of ambitious construction projects. In addition to his leadership service at St. John’s, Dr. Agresto served as assistant deputy and acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, DC, interim president of the American College of Education, and a Lilly Senior Research Fellow in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College in Indiana.
From 2003–04, Dr. Agresto was senior advisor for higher education and scientific research for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Over the next several years, he would return to Iraq, fulfilling important roles at the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani as provost and dean of faculty and interim chancellor and provost, positions he held from 2007–2010. Though retired, Dr. Agresto currently serves as president of John Agresto & Associates and, in May 2017, he was appointed Santa Fe (NM) County’s new probate judge, a position in which he can further serve his community.
