Four to Receive Honorary Degrees from University

The University of Scranton will bestow honorary degrees upon: Rev. Otto Hentz, S.J., associate professor of theology, Georgetown University; Lawrence R. Lynch '81, assurance partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP; Susan M. St. Ledger ’86, president of worldwide field operations for Splunk; and Nicole Young ’00, Emmy Award-winning producer for 60 Minutes. The University will confer the honorary degrees at a virtual ceremony on May 31 with other members of the class of 2020. The formal presentation of the honorary degree citations will occur at the October ceremony. St. Ledger will also serve as the principal speaker at the 2020 commencement on Sunday, Oct. 25.

“We are proud to be able to honor such an accomplished group of individuals who have exemplified Jesuit values throughout their careers. They are remarkable role models for – and will make fine additions to – our Class of 2020,” said Rev. Scott. R. Pilarz, S.J., president.

Fr. Hentz has been a professor at Georgetown University for more than 50 years. A gifted and dedicated teacher, Georgetown University named him a Wall Street Alliance Honoree in 2015.

In 1955, Fr. Hentz entered the Society of Jesus, and later taught philosophy at Georgetown from 1962-1965. He was ordained as a priest in 1968. He earned a doctoral degree in theology from the University of Chicago. He returned to Georgetown in 1972 as a member of the Department of Theology and has served as an associate professor at Georgetown since 1978, teaching courses on the Catholic Church in the modern world, Christianity and Jesus Christ, and systematic theology.

Fr. Hentz has served two terms as a member of The University of Scranton’s board of trustees.

A certified public accountant, Lynch served as a member of the University’s board of trustees for three consecutive terms (2009-2018) and as board chair from 2014 to 2018. He serves as president of the Scranton Club of Philadelphia and as a member of the Kania School of Management’s Accounting Department Professional Council and the President’s Business Council. Previously, he was a member of the Alumni Society’s Board of Governors.

Lynch has supported many University initiatives, which include fundraisers as well as the recruitment of students. His guidance, care and love for the University was evident as he led the Board of Trustees through the 2016-2017 presidential search and transition. With his wife, Keli, they established the Joseph F. Lynch Memorial Scholarship in honor of his father, to provide need-based aid to students at Scranton.

Lynch previously has served as a trustee of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, chairman of the board of trustees for the Marymount International School in Paris, as a board member of the French American Chamber of Commerce’s Philadelphia Chapter, the International Insurance Foundation, Friends of Saint Joseph’s Passionist Church of Paris, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Catholic Social Services.

St. Ledger oversees global sales, customer success and marketing at Splunk. She has more than 25 years of senior leadership in high-growth technology companies, including more than 11 years at Salesforce and more than 12 years at Sun Microsystems. She is a passionate learner and anchors her leadership principles in what she calls a high-growth mindset, which is required to transform and accelerate business. She has demonstrated expertise in identifying market opportunity and business transformation needs for SaaS environments.

St. Ledger started her career in several technical jobs, including her first role out of college as a software engineer at the National Security Agency. In November 2019, St. Ledger became the first independent board member of HashiCorp, the leader in multi-cloud infrastructure automation software.

St. Ledger earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science, magna cum laude, from the University in 1986.

During her distinguished career, Young has been honored with 16 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, three Alfred I. DuPont- Columbia Awards, four Writer’s Guild Awards, two Gerald Loeb Awards, two Sigma Delta Chi Awards, four National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Salute to Excellence Awards, a George Foster Peabody Award, a George Polk Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and a Wilbur Award to name a few.

Young’s most recent 60 Minutes assignments include breaking news coverage on the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump; reporting on Syria from the front lines on the refugee crisis, the use of chemical weapons and The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as “The White Helmets” and Ethiopia’s Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela. Some of Young’s most critical stories, however, are those focusing on job loss, poverty, homelessness and especially child hunger in the United States.

In addition to producing pieces for 60 Minutes, Young played an essential role as a senior producer at the CBS Evening News for six years where she broke major stories for the nightly broadcast.

Young arrived at CBS News as an intern at the age of 19 and has worked for CBS in Washington, DC, London and New York. She joined 60 Minutes in 2004 as Scott Pelley’s assistant and became his producer a few years later. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The University of Scranton and her master’s degree from City, University of London.

The University’s commencement ceremony will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, on Sunday, Oct. 25, at noon.