48 ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT TH May 25, 2024 4 W 43rd Street, NY, New York
HJ INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dr. Franco Famularo, Chair
Dr. Christine Hempowicz, Vice Chair
Rev. Richard Buessing
Rev. Demian Dunkley
Mr. Steven Jares
Dr. Michael Jenkins
Dr. Markus Karr
Dr. Ki Hoon Kim
Prof. William D. Lay
Dr. Thomas Walsh
PRESIDENT'S CABINET
Dr. Thomas Walsh
Dr. Thomas Ward
Dr. Frank LaGrotteria
Dr. Keisuke Noda
Ms. Ute Delaney
Mr. Steven Boyd
Ms. Sarah Alexander
Ms. Angelika Buczynski
President
Provost
Vice President for Administration
Associate Provost
Senior Associate Dean for Academic
Administration and Registrar
Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Life
Director of Institutional Research
Executive Assistant to the President;
Director of Special Projects
MISSION STATEMENT
HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership provides advanced academic and professional education for current and future leaders of the Unification community and all faiths, that seeks to enhance their relationship with God, their effectiveness in ministry, public leadership, and interreligious peacebuilding. As a home of thought, we strive to foster deeper understanding, contextualization and application of the Unification worldview within a world of diverse faiths.
ABOUT HJI
HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership (HJI) was founded in September 1975 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han. Interreligious encounters have been a central component of the school’s history and vision and in recent years HJI has been committed to interreligious peacebuilding. On February 14, 2023, HJI received approval from the New York State Department of Education to change its name from Unification Theological Seminary to HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership.
HJI prepares its graduate for professional careers in the ministry and in public leadership. HJI serves as the Home of Thought for the teachings of Unificationism. While at HJI, all students master the teachings of Christian tradition and learn about the core underpinnings of the World Religions. HJI confers four accredited graduate degrees: Doctor of Ministry, Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Peace Studies and Master of Arts in Religious Studies.
HJI has stregthened its developments under the leadership of Presidents David S.C. Kim (1975-1994); Theodore Shimmyo (1994-2000); Tyler Hendricks (2000-10); Richard Panzer (2010-15); Hugh Spurgin (2015-19); and Thomas Ward (2019-22). Dr. Thomas Walsh was appointed the seventh HJI President in May 2022.
HJI founders Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han MoonORDER OF CEREMONY
Procession
Mace Bearer
Opening Remarks
Invocation
The National Anthem
Emcee
Special Remarks
Introduction to Amb. Joseph DeTrani
Conferral of Honorary
Doctorate
Commencement Address
Trustees, President, Provost, Faculty, and Graduation Candidates
Dr. Michael Mickler Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies
Dr. Thomas Walsh President, HJI
Dr. Franco Famularo Chair, Board of Trustees
Mr. Raul Joseph
Mr. Steven Boyd Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Life
Rev. Demian Dunkley Chairman and President, Family Federation USA
Dr. Michael Jenkins President, UPF International
Dr. Thomas Walsh
Amb. Joseph DeTrani
Former Special Envoy, Six Party Talks with North Korea
ORDER OF CEREMONY
Presentation of the Master Degree and Certificate Candidates
Presentation of the Doctoral Degree Candidates
Dr. Keisuke Noda Associate Provost
Conferring of Degrees
Congratulatory Remarks
Graduate Responses
Theta Alpha Kappa Inductees
Public Leadership and Distinguished Service Awards
Closing Musical Offering
Benediction
Recessional
Dr. Drissa Kone Chair, Doctor of Ministry Program
Dr. Thomas Walsh
Dr. Thomas Walsh
Mr. John Koester MA in Peace Studies
TBD 2nd Graduate Response TBD
Dr. Thomas Ward Provost
Mr. Steven Boyd Mr. Raul Joseph
Dr. Christine Hempowicz Vice Chair, Board of Trustees
AMB. JOSEPH DETRANI
Former Special Envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea
Ambassador DeTrani is the former Special Envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the U.S. representative to the Korea Energy Development Organization from 2003-2006. He was an Associate Director of National Intelligence and the Mission Manager for North Korea (2006-2010) and the Director of the National Counterproliferation Center and a senior adviser to the Director of National Intelligence (2010-2012).
Ambassador DeTrani was a member of the Senior Executive Service at the Central Intelligence Agency; Director of East Asia Operations, Director of European Operations, Director of the Office of Technical Services, Director of Public Affairs and Director of the Crime and Narcotics Center He was an officer in the U S Air Force and a recipient of the Commandant’s Award and a Distinguished Military Graduate from New York University
Ambassador DeTrani was president of Intelligence and National Security Alliance and president of the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security He’s a professor at Missouri State University’s Graduate Department of Defense and Strategic Studies and on the Advisory Boards of Sandia National Laboratories and the National Security Agency He is a moderator for the Washington Brief, a national security webinar, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on North Korea and a fellow at the Institute of Corean American Studies He received numerous government awards and awards from foreign partners Ambassador DeTrani has published and spoken publicly about North Korea, China, East Asia, the Middle East, international crime and narcotics trafficking and nuclear nonproliferation
Candidates for Graduation
Master of Arts in Religious Studies Degree
Bruna Allen
Primitivo Alvarez
Athanasius Francis Catalan
Mark Lincoln
Master of Religious Education Degree
David Rosenblum
Jim Dougherty
Linda Zochol
Master of Arts in Peace Studies Degree
Ek Nath Dhakal
John Koester
Mélanie Komagata
Marlies Ladstaetter
Avo Martinson
Brayan Rueda Solano
Samat Zinullin
Master of Divinity Degree
Eduardo Busque
Certificate in Unification Leadership
Christina Miyake
Doctor of Ministry Degree
Oommen Abraham
Prasad Abraham
Silvana Colmenares
Alice Fleisher
Edred McNair
Marivir Montebon Auxilio
Nabiyah Yehuda Harbin
THETA ALPHA KAPPA INDUCTEES
NEED NEW LIST
New Student Members
Oomen Abraham
Kenneth Alexander
Katarina Connery
Mika Deshotel
Robert Duffy
Dale Hoffman
Muriel Iturralde
Alhassan Kamagtey
Mark Lincoln
Radomir Stantchev
Graduating Inductees
Mari Curry
Evelyn Gasatan
Sungmi Holdhus
Kaeleigh Moffitt
Natascha Phillips
Roland Platt
Bruce Sutchar
Faculty and Honorary Recipients
Frank LaGrotteria
Steven Jares
Drissa Kone
FACULTY
Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Ministry
Michael L Mickler
Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies
Keisuke Noda Professor of Philosophy
Steven Boyd Lecturer in Management
Ronald Brown
Adjunct Associate Professor of World Religions
Demetrius Carolina
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry
Charles Chesnavage
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religious Education
Andrew Compton
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry
Mari Curry
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry
Thomas G. Walsh Professor of Religion and Peace
Thomas J. Ward Professor of Peace and Development Studies
Andrew Wilson Professor of Scriptural Studies
ADJUNCT FACULTY
Jacob David
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry and Homiletics
Demian Dunkley Lecturer in Ministry
Frank Kaufmann
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Interfaith Ministry
William Lay
Adjunct Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Human Security
Christina Miyake Lecturer in Korean Language
Claude Perrottet
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Philosophy
FACULTY EMERITI
Tyler O. Hendricks Professor of Ministry, Emeritus
Joseph McMahon
Professor of Education and Philosophy, Emeritus
Luonne Abram Rouse Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ministry
William Selig Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry
Jennifer Tanabe Adjunct Assistant Professor of Educational Assessment
Basil Ugorji Adjunst Associate Professor
Robert Wagner Lecturer in Information Literacy
Lynn Walsh Lecturer in Family Counseling
Theodore T. Shimmyo Professor of Theology, Emeritus
Kathy Winings Professor of Religious Education and Ministry, Emerita
Sarah Alexander
Angelika Buczynski
Steven Boyd
Henry Christopher
Thomas Delaney
Ute Delaney
Mika Deshotel
Miyoung Eaton
Drissa Kone
Frank LaGrotteria
Karen Mathew
Keisuke Noda
Emiljun Rapada
Kenneth Sohn
Robert Wagner
Frank Zochol
Thomas Walsh
Thomas Ward
STAFF
Director, Office of Institutional Research
Executive Assistant to the President, and Director of Special Projects
Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Life
Chief Administrator of Financial Aid, SEVIS, and Admissions Records
Assistant Registrar
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Registrar
Associate Dean of Student Life
Administrative Assistant to the Vice President
Director of Doctor of Ministry Program
Vice President for Administration
Administrative Assistant; Faculty Secretary
Associate Provost
Bursar
Director of Information Technology
Library Director
Director of Finances
President
Provost