University of Iowa Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Wallace Loh, will present the 2010 Commencement address at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant. The Commencement ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, on the campus lawn.
Loh, born in China and raised in Peru, immigrated to Iowa as a young adult in 1961. He attended Iowa Wesleyan before graduating from Grinnell College. He received a master’s degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. He received a J.D. from Yale University.
Loh has held appointments as Professor Law at the University of Washington, Vanderbilt University, Emory University, University of Houston, University of Texas-Austin, Cornell University, Beijing University (China) and the University of Colorado-Boulder. His teaching and scholarly publications are in the areas of criminal justice and law and social science. He worked in law firms in New York and San Francisco and in the American Bar Foundation in Chicago.
Loh started in academic administration as Dean of the University of Washington Law School for five years, the first Asian-American appointed to a law deanship. Voted by students as the Outstanding Professor of the Year, he also received the Trailblazer Award from the National Asian-Pacific American Bar Association and the diversity award from the Hispanic Bar Association. He was elected President of the Association of American Law Schools and served on its executive committee for four years.
He served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculties at the University of Colorado-Boulder before being named chief policy advisor and member of the cabinet for Washington Governor Gary Locke. From 1998-2008 he served as Dean and Professor of Public Service at Seattle University.
Loh returned to Iowa in 2008, accepting his current position at the University of Iowa.
Iowa Wesleyan College will award Loh an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Also being honored during Commencement ceremonies will be Helen Howe of Muscatine, Iowa. Howe, a 1981 graduate of Iowa Wesleyan, will receive an honorary Doctor of Philanthropy degree. She is being recognized for her involvement in and generous support of numerous organizations, including the Wesley United Methodist Church, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, Muscatine Welfare Association, Muscatine Community College Foundation, Iowa State University and Iowa Wesleyan College.
Other Commencement weekend activities include:
Friday, May 7
4-5 p.m. - 50-year Class Reception at the home of President and Mrs. Jay Simmons for the Iowa Wesleyan Class of 1960
5-5:30 p.m. – Extended Learning Reception in the Espy/McCurdy Room of the Howe Student Activity Center
6 p.m. – Reception in the Atrium of the Howe Student Activity Center
6:30 p.m. – All-Alumni Banquet and After-Glow Reception in the Student Union Social Hall. The 2010 Alumni Awards will be given.
7 p.m. – Nursing pinning ceremony in the Chapel Auditorium
Saturday, May 8
8:30 a.m. – All-Alumni Reunion Breakfast in the Social Hall
9 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Senior Art Exhibit on display in the P.E.O. Building Art Gallery
10:30 a.m. – Baccalaureate Service at the Iowa Wesleyan College Chapel
11:30 – 1 p.m. – Graduation Lunch Buffet in the Student Union Dining Hall
For more information on Iowa Wesleyan College Commencement activities, con
