United States Ambassador to the Philippines His Excellency Harry K. Thomas, Jr. is the Speaker of the 100th Commencement Exercises of Silliman University.
He addresses this year’s graduating batch of around a thousand on March 24, Sunday, 3PM at the Gymnasium.
The Ambassador assumed his post at the US Embassy in Manila in April 2010. Prior to his assignment in the Philippines, he was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director for Human Resources of the US State Department. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary and as Executive Secretary of the State Department. During his term as Executive Secretary, he led the State Department Task Force that resulted in the safe evacuation of over 15,000 people from Lebanon in the fall of 2006.
A member of the Senior Foreign Service who started his career as a diplomat in 1984, the Ambassador has held diplomatic posts in Bangladesh, India, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Peru. He speaks Spanish, Hindi and Bangla, and is learning Filipino.
The Ambassador obtained his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and pursued further studies at the Columbia University in New York. He holds an honorary doctorate of Philosophy from the Loyola University of Maryland.
Meanwhile, Rev. Jonathan R. Pia, Senior Minister of the Silliman University Church will deliver the sermon during the Baccalaureate Service in the morning of the same day.
