CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Timothy P. Shriver, the chairman and chief executive officer of Special Olympics International, will be the speaker at the 139th U. of I. Commencement on May 16.
He will speak at the 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies at Assembly Hall, 1800 S. First St., Champaign.
As chairman and chief executive officer, Shriver serves 3.1 million Special Olympics athletes and their families in 175 countries. He has worked with world leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Hosni Mubarak and Shimon Peres to help transform the Special Olympics into a movement that focuses on respect, acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities from around the world.
In 2007, Shriver worked with Chinese leaders to initiate a Special Olympics Program, highlighted by their hosting the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai.
Shriver was a co-producer of DreamWorks Studios’ 1997 release, “Amistad,” and Disney Studios’ 2000 release, “The Loretta Claiborne Story.” He was the executive producer of “The Ringer,” and also has produced or co-produced shows for the ABC, TNT and NBC networks, and appeared on “The Today Show,” CNN, MTV and Nickelodeon’s “World of Difference.”
Before joining Special Olympics, Shriver was an educator who worked in programs on substance abuse, violence, school dropouts, and teen pregnancy. He created the New Haven Public Schools’ Social Development Project, now considered a leading school-based prevention effort in the United States, and co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, a research organization in the United States in social and emotional learning.
Shriver earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree in religion and religious education from Catholic University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Connecticut.
