Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter to Deliver 2023 Commencement Address

High Point University is pleased to announce that renowned philanthropist, accomplished woman entrepreneur, and former U.S. Ambassador to Finland, the Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, will deliver the Commencement address on Saturday, May 6.

Ambassador McElveen-Hunter is the first woman to chair the American Red Cross. She is also the President and CEO of Pace Communications, the largest independently owned custom content agency in the nation, serving Fortune 500 and leading companies including Wells Fargo, Four Seasons Hotels, Verizon and hundreds of others.

She has dedicated her life to service, leading the American Red Cross as the first woman Chairman of the Board of Governors in 2004. In 2007, she co-founded The Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders, which has grown to nearly 1,000 members in nearly 100 chapters across the country and invested more than $122 million in the American Red Cross mission.

Regarded as one of the nation’s most successful female entrepreneurs, she always finds time to give back. As U.S. Ambassador to Finland from 2001-2003, McElveen-Hunter organized the Helsinki Women Business Leaders’ Summit, in which female CEOs from the United States, the Baltic region and Russia created a business model to be replicated in other parts of the world. It was during this time that she was awarded one of Finland’s highest honors, The Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion.

McElveen-Hunter has served on several other boards including the International Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity and HPU’s National Board of Advisors, which is comprised of Fortune 500 CEOs, thought leaders and distinguished visionaries who have positively impacted the country and world. She has also served on the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts, the National Museum for Women in the Arts, Macedonian Ministry, Inc., and others.

Numerous awards have been bestowed upon her throughout her life, including the Horatio Alger Award, the George H. W. Bush Points of Light Tribute Award, Appeal of Conscience Public Service, Ellis Island Medal of Honor and more. In 2004, she received the United Way’s National Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award for her leadership and service and for raising almost a billion dollars for the Alexis d’Toqueville Society to aid families and children across the U.S.

HPU is committed to honoring and celebrating the accomplishments of the Class of 2023 during this special weekend. We commend their extraordinary success! Details about the Commencement ceremony and other events can be found on the Commencement website.