Assumption University announces speakers

BY BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT

Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) founder Curtis Martin will deliver the commencement address during the 106th Assumption University graduation exercises which begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 7, at the DCU Center.
Peter W. Moran, Ph.D., a licensed and practicing clinical psychologist and accomplished academic, will deliver the commencement address for the School of Graduate Studies graduation, which will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, in the university’s Plourde Recreation Center. Dr. Moran is a 1974 graduate of Assumption.
Mr. Martin founded FOCUS in 1998 with two missionaries on one campus. Today, FOCUS has hundreds of missionaries serving tens of thousands of students on campuses throughout the U.S., including Assumption, and Europe. The mission is to find new ways of helping students grow in their faith. Mr. Martin holds a master’s degree in theology and is the author of the best-selling books, “Made for More” and “Making Missionary Disciples.”
In 2004, Mr. Martin and his wife, Michaelann, were awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope St. John Paul II for their outstanding service to the Catholic Church. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Martin as a consultor to the Pontifical Council of the New Evangelization.
Dr. Moran made significant contributions to Assumption as a part-time graduate faculty member in the clinical counseling psychology program from 2005 to 2021, as well as to the city of Worcester and elsewhere.
One of the first practitioners of cognitive behavioral therapy in Worcester County, Dr. Moran has held several leadership positions in community mental health programs and multidisciplinary mental health practices, including the Medical Center of Central Massachusetts and St. Vincent Hospital. He has been a co-founding and senior partner at Boston Road Clinic, Prescott Health Care, and Cornerstone Behavioral Health and has held academic positions at Assumption University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Each will each receive an honorary degree.