Journalist and author Ray Suarez to deliver Commencement address
Dr. James J. O'Connell, M.D., and Helen Ryan, Ed.D., will receive honorary degrees.
Celebrated broadcast journalist and author Ray Suarez will present the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters as a member of the Class of 2026 at Salve Regina University's 76th Commencement on Sunday, May 17. Salve will also award honorary degrees to Dr. James J. O'Connell, M.D., and Helen Ryan, Ed.D.
Ray Suarez
Suarez has spent decades as a broadcaster, hosting NPR's "Talk of the Nation," "The PBS NewsHour," Al Jazeera America's "Inside Story" news program, NPR's "On Shifting Ground," and since its launch in 2025, the PBS television series "Wisdom Keepers." His journalism has been recognized with two duPont-Columbia Awards, an Overseas Press Club Award, two Webby Awards, the Ruben Salazar Award from UnidosUS and UCLA's Public Policy Leadership Award for his reporting on urban America, among others.
Equally celebrated as a writer, Suarez has authored several books, most recently, "We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century," about the modern era of American immigration. Preceding that were "Truth Has a Power of Its Own: Conversations About a People's History," "Latino Americans: The 500-Year Legacy That Shaped a Nation," "The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America" and "The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration," along with contributions to many other books and publications.
Suarez has been a visiting professor of political science at NYU Shanghai and the John J. McCloy '16 Visiting Professor of American Studies at Amherst College. He is a graduate of New York University and the University of Chicago.
James J. O'Connell, M.D.
O'Connell serves as the president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) and is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In 1985, he began full-time clinical work with homeless individuals as the founding physician of the BHCHP program and established the nation's first medical respite program. Working with the MGH Laboratory of Computer Science, O'Connell designed and implemented the nation's first computerized medical record for a homeless program.
O'Connell served as the national program director of the Homeless Families Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He is the editor of "The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases & Common Problems in Shelters & on the Streets." His articles have appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), American Journal of Public Health and other medical journals. His first book, "Stories from the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor," was published in 2015. His work at BHCHP is the subject of the New York Times bestseller "Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People." Salve will award O'Connell an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Helen Ryan, Ed.D.
After graduating from Salve, Ryan began her nursing career at hospitals in Connecticut and Missouri, and started teaching at the college level, which led to her role as principal of Hilton Head Island High School in South Carolina. She concluded her professional life by working as a community outreach manager alongside her late husband, Don, in their health benefits management company, CareCore National. There, she spearheaded a program that provided employees with paid vacation days to volunteer for local nonprofits.
Ryan was a leading force in establishing the John Paul II Catholic School in 2013, with a mission to educate students of all faiths in a caring, Christ-centered environment. She continues to serve the school and its students as a leadership volunteer. As a former Salve trustee, Ryan is an avid champion of the University, and in 2023 established a foundational endowment to enable the critical transformational work of the Salve Compass program through the Ryan Family Executive Director position. The program is a four-year experience that charts a personalized, values-based path for every undergraduate student, connecting college to a successful, fulfilling career and a well-lived life. Salve will award Ryan an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Salve's undergraduate Commencement will be Sunday, May 17, at 10 a.m. Graduate Commencement will be Thursday, May 14, at 3 p.m. Both will be held on the lawn of McAuley Hall.
Learn more about the events here.
