Tierney to speak at SSC graduation

SALEM – Salem native and seven-term Massachusetts Congressman John F. Tierney will deliver the commencement address at Salem State College’s 199th commencement May 16.A 1973 graduate of the college, Tierney will oversee the awarding of 1,400 degrees during the graduation program, which begins at 10 a.m. in the O’Keefe Center Field House on Canal Street.”Fighting for a vibrant middle class and working to create opportunity for all,” Tierney is chair of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and also holds a speaker-appointed seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.Along with the 1,400 undergraduate degrees, the college will also hand out a number of honorary degrees to local residents including Red Sox legend and Swampscott resident Johnny Pesky and President of the Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives Association Angela A. Orlando Sanfilippo.Non-fiction writer, educator and activist Johnathan Kozol will address approximately 350 masters degree candidates at SSC’s continuing education commencement on Thursday May 14.Lynn’s Ford K-8 Principal and 1960 graduate Claire Crane will receive an honorary graduate degree from the school at the graduate commencement in honor of her 40-plus years as an innovative community educator.