Commencement Fairleigh Dickinson University

Walter Minor Berwick IV
Doctor of Humane Letters
A 1965 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, you
have led a life most people only dream of — a life of
intrigue, espionage and selfless courage.
Like a John le Carré novel complete with danger,
action and twisting plots, you coolly went about the
business of defending your nation during 25 years with
the Central Intelligence Agency. You served at the
height of the Cold War, often working behind enemy
lines. Operating clandestinely throughout the world,
you gathered information and tracked movements of
key Russians, Cubans and Chinese. You later described
the meaning you found in your work, secure in the
confidence that “you are obtaining information that
no one else can, and that you are helping to provide
policymakers with a clear picture.”
You retired in 1990 with a rank equivalent to an Army
general, moving on to another equally important and
dangerous career — establishing your own international
security company specializing in kidnap and ransom
recoveries. When your country called upon you following
9/11, you quickly returned to government service,
training young officers in espionage and personally
taking on overseas counter-terrorist assignments.
Your lifelong commitment to service was evident at
an early age. After graduating from high school, you
joined the Navy where you excelled as an electronics
technician, achieving the rank of ET2 (Electronics
Technician Second Class) by age 19 — the youngest
sailor to reach that level. Four years later, you enrolled
at FDU and became a top student and athlete. You
also shifted to the Naval Reserve, training in submarines
and at Officer Candidate School during the
summers. Your achievements were many: senior class
president, captain and high scorer of the basketball
team and Rhodes Scholar nominee. Most recently, you
have shared your experiences and insights with the
University’s homeland security academic program.
For your willingness to accept difficult and dangerous
assignments in defense of our nation and the safety of
innocent citizens, and by virtue of the authority vested
in me by the Board of Trustees of Fairleigh Dickinson
University, the faculty concurring, I hereby confer
upon you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters,
honoris causa, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities
thereunto attached, and cause you to be
invested with the hood appropriate to that degree.
4
Malaak Compton-Rock
Doctor of Humane Letters
On your 23rd birthday, you were given a book by
Marian Wright Edelman with a simple message: “Service
is the rent we pay for living.” It is a credo that
would forever change the way you looked at yourself
and the world around you.
Concluding that “I’m not paying my rent,” you left a
demanding job at a high-powered Manhattan public
relations firm to pursue a life of greater meaning and
purpose. You found your true calling when you went
to work for UNICEF — The United Nations Children’s
Fund — to recruit celebrities for fundraising
efforts. It was your “defining moment,” inspiring you
to dedicate your life to the nonprofit world.
After witnessing sweeping changes in welfare laws, you
combined your flair for style with your fundraising talents
to found the nonprofit styleWORKS, providing
makeovers — and newfound confidence — to women
rejoining the work force after living on public assistance.
“I want to give women that final touch, an
appropriate appearance that presents no barriers while
on the job,” you said.
A tireless activist and philanthropist, you recently
founded The Angelrock Project, an e-village promoting
volunteerism and social responsibility, focusing
on issues close to your heart, including youth and
women’s empowerment and education. Believing that
today’s children are tomorrow’s global leaders, you created
Journey for Change, taking at-risk youth from
Brooklyn to South Africa and empowering them
through global service.
Through Champions for Children you have mobilized
prominent figures in entertainment, sports and business
as advocates for the prevention of child abuse. You
have also used your influence and connections to raise
money to fight breast cancer, help AIDS orphans and
provide relief to Hurricane Katrina victims. Above all,
you believe that each of us can — and must — assume
personal responsibility as agents of change and healing.
For your enduring commitment to service and boundless
compassion toward others, and by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of
Fairleigh Dickinson University, the faculty concurring,
I hereby confer upon you the degree of Doctor of
Humane Letters, honoris causa, with all the rights,
privileges and responsibilities thereunto attached, and
cause you to be invested with the hood appropriate to
that degree.