Special to the Journal
Albany State University will hold its Spring Commencement Exercises on Saturday at the Albany Civic Center. The keynote speaker for the occasion will be Dr. Esther Brimmer, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs. She was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in March 2009 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2009.
The procession will begin at 9:45 a.m. with the ceremony at 10 a.m. Bachelor’s, master’s and education specialist degrees will be presented to more than 350 graduates.
As assistant secretary, Dr. Brimmer leads the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, which advances U.S. interests through international organizations focusing on human rights, peacekeeping, food security, humanitarian relief and climate change. Before her appointment, Dr. Brimmer served as deputy director and director of research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, where she specialized in transatlantic political and security affairs.
Dr. Brimmer previously served in the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning, where she worked on European Union, Western Europe, United Nations and multilateral security issues. She was also a member of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in the spring of 2000. From 1993 to 1995, Dr. Brimmer served as special assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.
In addition to serving as the keynote speaker, Dr. Brimmer will also receive the International Citizen of the Year Award from ASU President Everette J. Freeman.
During Commencement, Freeman will present an honorary doctorate to Lt. Gen. Willie Williams, U.S. Marine Corps Chief of Staff and former Marine Corps Logistics Command Commanding General. During his time as LOGCOM Commanding General, Williams, an Albany State supporter, played a pivotal role in the establishment of ASU’s bachelor’s degree in logistics and supply chain management.
