CANTON -- St. Lawrence University’s 2014 graduation is set 10 a.m. on May 18 on Creasy Commencement Common, or in Appleton Arena in the event of inclement weather.

Speakers will include honorary degree recipients Grace Potter of the musical act Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Susan A. Talve, founding rabbi of the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, and Donald K. Rose, who chaired the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2013.

Grace Potter

Potter is the front woman for the nationally known Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. She attended St. Lawrence for two years, arriving on campus already having made a demo record and knowing she wanted a career in music. She performed regularly at the Java Barn and formed her band at the university.

Her faculty advisor, she says, told her after her second year that she had “gotten everything you can from this music department for now and from this area.” Discussions with her parents (both St. Lawrence alumni, as are five of her aunts and uncles) and others led to her decision to suspend her education, with every intention of returning to complete her degree.

Despite their popularity, she and her band mates have always remembered St. Lawrence, with Potter often promoting the school in national media interviews. They have returned to campus several times to perform, directing management to discount fees for St. Lawrence performances. She and fellow band member Matt Burr, who founded the Nocturnals with Potter at St. Lawrence and recently married her, have advised the students in the Java Barn and contributed to the renovation of that space. No other Laurentian has achieved such national visibility at such a young age.

Potter will be presented with an honorary bachelor of arts degree.

Susan Talve

Talve is one of the first women in the nation to be ordained a rabbi.

As founding rabbi of the Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis, she leads worship services for the several hundred households that comprise her urban congregation and is actively involved in the teaching of young and adult members.

She also teaches courses on Jewish life and thought in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.

A strong proponent of the principle of tikkun olam (“healing the world”), Talve has led her congregation in promoting inclusivity by developing ongoing relationships with African-American and Muslim congregations and by fostering civil liberties for the LGBT community. She serves on the steering committee of Children of Abraham, a group committed to keeping dialog open between American Jews and Palestinians. Acting upon her passionate beliefs, she has given her time and energy to religious and civic organizations dedicated to reproductive choice, justice, childcare and health care for the inadequately insured. In conjunction with St. Lawrence’s sesquicentennial observances, Talve talked about her experience at the university as an invited co-presenter of the Siegel Lecture in 2006. She said, “I don't think I would ever have found myself on the path to becoming a rabbi had it not been for St. Lawrence.”

Talve will be presented with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Donald K. Rose

After graduating from St. Lawrence with a degree in physics in 1964, “with a few honors here and there,” as Rose modestly says, he earned a doctorate at Stanford University with his thesis focused on microchip superconductivity.

This cutting-edge topic propelled him into a career in science research and the management of Intel during an extensive facilities expansion. He holds six patents and is credited with more than 75 publications and presentations to technology, management, industry and government forums.

Rose is perhaps better known on campus for his dedication to students. After retirement, he returned to St. Lawrence as a volunteer faculty member in physics and mathematics and also established four university fellowships.

Rose’s tenure as board of trustees chairman focused on his partnership with president William L. Fox and the university staff for effective and efficient management practices and for improving student experiences. The board established the Donald K. Rose ’64 physics endowment, a fund whose income will be used at the discretion of the physics department chair to support research and travel for students and faculty members as well as the purchase of laboratory equipment.

Rose will be presented with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.