Date: Dec 13, 2007

HOFSTRA CELEBRATES MIDYEAR COMMENCEMENT 2007

December 20, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.; Honorary Degree Recipients and Guest Speakers Are JetBlue Founder and Chairman David Neeleman and Hofstra Professor Emeritus of Law Eric Schmertz

HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY, HEMPSTEAD, NY: A group of approximately 700 undergraduate, graduate and law students will celebrate Hofstra's midyear commencement on December 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on the North Campus. The event's honorees and guest speakers are David Neeleman, founder and chairman of Jet Blue, and Hofstra Professor Emeritus of Law Eric Schmertz. Mr. Neeleman will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters and Professor Schmertz will receive a Doctor of Laws.
 
David Neeleman is chairman of the board of JetBlue Airways Corporation, a position he has held since 2002. Mr. Neeleman founded JetBlue as chief executive officer in 1998 and served in that role through May 2007.

Under Mr. Neeleman's stewardship, JetBlue grew from the concept of an airline to the major corporation it is today. JetBlue began operations in February 2000 from its base at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Now, little more than seven years later, it is one of the nation's leading discount airlines, serving 54 destinations across the United States and the Caribbean.

Eric J. Schmertz is a distinguished professor emeritus of law and former dean of Hofstra Law School. In 1981 he was named the Edward F. Carlough Chair in Labor Law, occupying the school's first endowed chair. Professor Schmertz is recognized as one of the nation's leading labor-management arbitrators. In a career in public service that has spanned nearly 50 years, he has heard and decided thousands of labor-management disputes.

Commencement Participants:

Due to the seating capacity of the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, seating is limited. Each Midyear Commencement participant will receive four tickets. The ceremony will be simulcast all over campus with seating located in the Physical Fitness Center as well as Student Center Theater at the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center.

For more information on Commencement activities, please call the Office of Campus Operations at (516) 463-4346. In the event of inclement weather please call the weather hotline (516) 463-SNOW for information regarding the status of the ceremony.

Directions to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex

Meadowbrook Parkway to Exit M4 - Route 24 West (Hempstead Turnpike). Heading west on Hempstead Turnpike, pass Nassau Coliseum, and go under the first pedestrian bridge to the first light. Make a right into the main entrance of campus. Go to second stop sign and make a right. The second building on your right-hand side is the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 140 undergraduate and 155 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 23 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence, cutting edge technology, extensive library resources, internships and special educational programs that appeal to their interests and abilities.