Rhodes scholar and former NFL player Myron Rolle will be the keynote speaker at Monmouth University’s winter Commencement ceremony on Friday, January 16, 2015, at 1 p.m. at the Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC). During the ceremony, an honorary degree in public service will be awarded to Rolle. Monmouth University will award approximately 600 undergraduate and graduate degrees. More than 400 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony.
Rolle, a former safety with the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers, entered the National Football League (NFL) as a sixth round draft pick after taking a year to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. Rolle is one of only three people to have received a Rhodes scholarship and an NFL contract. He is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and serves on the Board of Trustees at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Now a second-year medical student at Florida State University College of Medicine, Rolle is the founder of “Our Way to Health,” an educational childhood anti-obesity program for Native Americans that began with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and later expanded into Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools in New Mexico and Arizona. In conjunction with the Florida Department of Children and Family Services, Rolle runs a week-long Wellness and Leadership Academy for children in foster care. Rolle is also the co-founder of the Emerging Scholars Project-a program to help underrepresented college students become viable candidates for national fellowship opportunities.
As an undergraduate student, Rolle earned Associated Press 3rd team All-American honors as well as Football Writers Association America 2nd team All-ACC and CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition. He received his B.A. degree in exercise science from Florida State University, an M.A. degree in public administration from Florida State University, and an M.S. degree in medical anthropology from Oxford University.
“We are delighted to welcome Myron Rolle as our commencement speaker,” said Monmouth University President Paul R. Brown. “He is an outstanding scholar-athlete, whose philanthropic achievements in the area of public health are inspirational, especially for a person his age.”
“As a medical student, a Rhodes scholar, a former professional athlete, and a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Mr. Rolle has incredibly unique insights to share with the members of our graduating class,” Brown said.
For more information and to live stream the event on Friday, January 16, please visit the Commencement website.