GLOBAL LEADERSHIP GALA

J. Michael Pearson Named as the School’s 2004 Global Citizen

J. Michael Pearson was named the School’s 2004 Global Citizen. A founding member of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy Board of Overseers, Mr. Pearson has served on numerous civic boards. He is the Director of McKinsey & Company’s New Jersey office, where he leads the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical products practice.

A native of Canada, Mr. Pearson earned an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia’s Colgate-Darden Graduate School of Business. He received a B.S.E. in Material Science and a B.S. in Mathematics from Duke University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude.

To read more about the 2004 Global Leadership Gala, click here.

School Named in Honor of John C. Whitehead in 2002

The John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy had its official naming on December 17, 2002 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The School was named in honor of Mr. Whitehead, a distinguished statesman who served as deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan and was the co-chairman of Goldman Sachs. Currently Mr. Whitehead is the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. U.S. Senator Jon Corzine served as the Honorary Chairman of the event, which drew more than 500 guests from the worlds of diplomacy, business, government, and academia and raised over $3.1 million to support the School’s academic programs. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger were among the guests.

On naming the School of Diplomacy for John C. Whitehead, University President, Monsignor Robert Sheeran, said, "We pay tribute to the personal and professional achievements of a great man, and we likewise give witness to our own dedication to the values that Mr. Whitehead has so faithfully represented. I can think of no better model for our students than this true statesman who has served both the public and private sectors with honor and integrity."

To read more about the 2002 Gala to Celebrate the Naming of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy, click here.

Dr. David Ebsworth Named as the School’s 2001 Global Citizen

David Ebsworth, head of the world-wide Pharmaceutical Business Group of Bayer, was named the School’s 2001 Global Citizen at the annual Global Leadership Gala. The event was attended by leaders in business, diplomacy, and civil society throughout the New York-New Jersey area. Ambassador Clay Constantinou, Dean of the School of Diplomacy, said that Dr. Ebsworth was honored for "being a person whose roots are in so many different parts of the world." He is more than just a high-powered business man, according to Constantinou, and has been a "knight in shining armor" to the School and its students.

Born in Kaduna, Nigeria, to British parents in 1954, David Ebsworth also lived in Singapore, Germany, England and Canada prior to coming to the United States. He earned both a B.S. and a doctorate in International Labor Relations, from the University of Surrey, in England. Dr. Ebsworth joined Bayer AG Pharmaceutical Business Group in 1990 and was later named Executive Vice President. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for the University of New Haven, the Board of Directors of Inroads/Fairfield-Westchester Counties, Inc., and on the Corporate Advisory Council of the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO), in Washington, D.C.

To read more about the School’s 2001 Global Leadership Gala, click here.

Fred Hassan Named as the School’s 2000 Global Citizen

Fred Hassan, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pharmacia Corporation, was named the 2000 Global Citizen at the School’s annual Global Leadership Gala. Mr. Hassan was recognized as an internationally respected business leader with a broad vision and a commitment to helping others. On the naming of Mr. Hassan to this honor, Dean Clay Constantinou said, "Through his philosophy of doing well in business while also doing good, Fred Hassan leads Pharmacia Corporation with ethics and integrity. His personal background, education, career and philosophy embody the concept of the global citizen for which the Global Citizen Award was established."

Mr. Hassan received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the University of London and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Mr. Hassan is the past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and is the immediate past chairman of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of Avon Products, Inc.

To read more about the School’s 2000 Global Leadership Gala, click here.

Raymond M. Pocino Named Global Citizen at the School’s Inaugural Gala in 1999

At the School of Diplomacy’s Inaugural Gala in 1999, Raymond M. Pocino was honored as the School’s first Global Citizen. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Mr. Pocino is Vice President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA). Mr. Pocino directs and oversees activities that affect the working lives of some 40,000 laborers in the Northeastern region of the United States. Long recognized for his expertise on transportation and economic development issues, Mr. Pocino serves on the Board of the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey.

On naming him the School’s first Global Citizen, University President Monsignor Robert Sheeran said that Mr. Pocino had "forged an outstanding record of achievement in labor-management issues and in his community at large."