Starbucks employees get free ASU tuition. Now their CEO will give the commencement speech
Jessica Suerth , The Republic | azcentral.com
Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz will be the official speaker at Arizona State University’s spring 2017 undergraduate commencement, the school announced Monday.
Schultz will address an estimated crowd of 20,000 graduates, plus their guests, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on May 8. He will also be awarded with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
In a statement, ASU President Michael Crow boasted of Schultz’s role as an “energetic advocate for expanding opportunity” following the university’s partnership with the coffee chain to offer its employees free tuition.
“I am personally grateful that our personal partnership — and the partnership between Starbucks and ASU — has made it possible for many thousands to complete their college degrees and pursue a path toward lifelong learning and success,” part of the statement read.
BREAKING: @Starbucks Chairman and CEO to deliver @ASU’s commencement address #ASUgrad #tobeagraduatehttp://ow.ly/dliM309R6Wt
In 2014, Starbucks partnered with the university and created the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, which allows employees who work at least 20 hours a week to pursue a bachelor’s degree through ASU Online by reimbursing them the cost of tuition.
More than 6,500 Starbucks employees have gained admission to the program, and nearly 1,000 are expected to graduate by the end of the year. Schultz and other Starbucks officials have pledged a goal of 25,000 graduates by 2025, according to a university statement.
Previous ASU commencement speakers have included author and researcher John Seely Brown (spring 2015); Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of Education (2014); Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of USA Basketball and past chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2013).
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