Commencement - Montgomery College, MD

Montgomery College Honorary Degree
for the Associate of Arts in Public Service

Mr. J.W. Marriott Jr.

The younger of the two sons of company founders J. Willard (J.W.) and Alice S. Marriott, J.W. Marriott Jr., is chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc., one of the world's largest lodging companies. His leadership spans more than 50 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global lodging company with more than 3,000 properties in 67 countries and territories.

Mr. Marriott serves as a director of the United States Naval Academy Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Geographic Society, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and the National Business Council. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council. He is chairman of the President’s Export Council, a presidential advisory committee on export trade. Mr. Marriott is a member of the Secure Borders Open Doors Advisory Committee (SBODAC), and a former member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB). In addition, he serves as chairman of the Leadership Council of the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries.

Mr. Richard E. Marriott

Richard E. Marriott is chairman of the Board of Directors of Host Hotels and Resorts, which is among the largest owners of lodging properties in the world. Mr. Marriott also serves as chairman of First Media Corporation, an independent broadcasting firm privately owned by the Marriott family.

Mr. Marriott is chairman of the Boards of Trustees of both the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities. A former president of the National Restaurant Association, Mr. Marriott serves on the Federal City Council, the National Advisory Council of Brigham Young University and the Board of Directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. He is also a trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Washington, D.C. area.

Ms. Teresa Rios Wright

Teresa Rios Wright has enjoyed an accomplished career as a Spanish educator and resource teacher with the Montgomery County Public Schools. She is currently serving as the parent resource teacher in the Division of ESOL and Bilingual Programs in the Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill high school clusters. In this position, she assists immigrant families in achieving educational success for their children.

Ms. Wright has received numerous awards for her selfless efforts on behalf of Hispanic children. She received the Montgomery County Government Hispanic Employees Association Award, Lifetime Membership Award from the Maryland National Parent Teacher Association, Excellence in Minority Achievement Award from the Maryland State Department of Education and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Washington Latino Mental Health Network. She was also lauded by the Montgomery County Collaboration for Children, Youth, and Families for “time well spent for Montgomery’s children.” She is also on the board of advisors for the Universities at Shady Grove, on the board of Identity, Inc., and a graduate of Leadership Montgomery

The fourth honorary degree will go to the Honorable Constance Morella, in appreciation for her commencement address and for her many years of public service.

Montgomery College’s first honorary degree was established in commemoration of the 50th anniversary and was awarded to Milton F. (Sonny) Clogg, Esq., class of 1948, at the 50th Anniversary Convocation on November 20, 1996.

The honorary degree program was established to formally recognize contributors, philanthropists, distinguished friends of the College, and honorary speakers at commencements, convocations, or other appropriate occasions. The Board of Trustees approves each recipient eligible to receive an honorary degree. The degree honors people who have risen to a position of eminence, have acquired a national or international reputation in a selected field, hold a distinguished record of public and community service, or have made a notable donation of time, talent, or a gift to the College.