On Sunday, May 18 at the 63rd commencement ceremonies, Geoffrey Canada, an entrepreneur and social advocate, will deliver an address to the graduating class of 2014 and receive an honorary degree along with four other recipients.

Canada is the president and chief executive officer of the Harlem Children's Zone, an organization dedicated to assisting the struggling families of Harlem. He has been with the organization since 1990 and, in his time there, it has grown from offering a part-time community center to serving more than 10,000 children and 7,400 adults. The organization works to create a safer neighborhood through educational, social and medical services and covers more than 100 blocks.

U.S. News and World Report named Canada one of "America's Best Leaders," and the New York Times Magazine called the organization, "one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time." Due to Brandeis' dedication to equality and social justice University President Frederick Lawrence said in a press release that "[i]t is fitting to honor the work of Geoffrey Canada, whose life work has focused on making this a reality for thousands of children from Harlem's most challenging neighborhoods."

In addition to Canada, Brandeis will honor four other recipients with honorary degrees at the commencement ceremony in May. Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times; Ayaan Hirsi, Somali-born scholar and women's rights activist; Eric Lander, the founding director and president at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard; and Malcolm L. Sherman, a business leader and philanthropist who served on the Brandeis University Board of Trustees for the past 33 years, 6 of them as chair, before stepping down last year.

All members of the Brandeis community are able to nominate candidates to receive honorary degrees, and a committee made up of trustees, faculty and staff compile a list from the pool of candidates. The list is then submitted to the University President and Board of Trustees for final selection and approval, according to the Office of Communications.
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