Howard University Celebrates 137th Opening Convocation on Sept. 24
Merrill Lynch Chair and CEO is Guest Orator

Howard University will hold its 137th Opening Convocation on Friday, Sept. 24, at 11 a.m. in Cramton Auditorium. Annually, this occasion sets the stage for the academic year by allowing one who is making great strides within his/her chosen field to address the campus community. This year’s orator is Stan O’Neal, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., one of the world’s leading personal and institutional financial management and advisory firms with offices in 36 countries and total client assets of approximately $1.4 trillion. O’Neal joined the firm in 1986 as vice president of investment banking, and held a series of increasingly responsible positions before assuming his current role. He was named president and chief operating officer in July 2001, chief executive in December 2002, and elected chairman in April 2003.

Before joining Merrill Lynch, O'Neal was employed at General Motors Corporation in New York and Madrid where he held a number of financial positions, including general assistant treasurer in New York, responsible for mergers, acquisitions and domestic financing activities.

A member of numerous professional and civic boards, O'Neal received the master of business administration with distinction in finance from Harvard University and is a graduate of Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute).

O’Neal joins an extensive list of past convocation orators, which includes: Trustee Earl Graves, CEO of Black Enterprise magazine (2003); the Honorable John Lewis (D-GA), U.S. House of Representatives (2002); Howard University President H. Patrick Swygert (2001); Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (2000); and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader (1999).