NEWPORT, R.I. – Jill Biden, Second Lady to the United States, a 30-year educator and longtime community advocate, will present the commencement address and be awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters during Salve Regina University’s 61st commencement on Sunday, May 15.
The commencement will begin at 10 a.m. on the oceanside lawn of McAuley Hall, Ochre Point Avenue.
Biden and her family are close personal friends of Salve Regina University Trustee Nuala Pell and her family. Nuala is the wife of the late Sen. Claiborne Pell, who served 36 years in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Pell’s legacy is honored at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, which was established at Salve Regina University by an Act of Congress in September 1996.
The wife of Vice President Joe Biden, Jill Biden has focused her efforts as Second Lady to highlighting the importance of community colleges, raising awareness about the sacrifices made by military families and bringing attention to women’s health issues – including breast cancer.
She also continues to teach English full-time at a community college not far from the White House.
President Obama has asked Biden to help promote community colleges around the country and she works consistently on this outreach on behalf of the Administration. In October 2010, she hosted the first ever White House Summit on Community Colleges.
As a military mom, she understands first-hand how difficult it can be to have a loved one deployed overseas. She travels regularly to military bases in both the United States and abroad to speak with soldiers and their families, and to raise awareness for the special sacrifices that these Americans make.
Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama last week launched “Joining Forces,” a comprehensive national initiative to mobilize all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned. Biden has issued a national challenge to all Americans to take action and find ways to support and engage our military families in their own communities. Biden asks folks she meets to visit the web site serve.gov and share their stories about how they’re supporting those who serve us every day.
Biden has also been active with a nonprofit organization called Delaware Boots on the Ground, which is dedicated to helping families during times of military deployment by organizing community events to raise awareness and support.
Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Biden taught English at a community college in Delaware, at a public high school and at a psychiatric hospital for adolescents.
In 1993, after four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, Biden started the Biden Breast Health Initiative in Delaware, which in the past 17 years has educated more than 10,000 high school girls about the importance of early detection of breast cancer. For the past two years, she and her husband have served as the Honorary Co-Chairs for the Global Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C.
She also founded Book Buddies in 2007. This is a program encouraging reading among children from low-income families. She has also been involved with a number of Jewish affiliated organizations in aspects of education and writing.
Biden earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, masters degrees in education and reading from West Chester University and Villanova University respectively, and a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware.
The Bidens have three children: Ashley, a social worker; Beau, the Attorney General of the State of Delaware and a captain in the Delaware Army National Guard; and Hunter, a lawyer. They have two daughters-in law, Kathleen and Hallie, and are also the proud grandparents of five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy, Natalie, and Hunter.