Philanthropist, Investment Firm Chief David Rubenstein to Deliver Fall Commencement Keynote, Dec. 17
November 21, 2018
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
NOTE: A LIVE WEBCAST of this event will begin shortly before the start of the procession at 1 p.m. EST. Click on this LINK to view the webcast.
Baltimore native and Washington, D.C. based philanthropist and investor David M. Rubenstein will provide a keynote address for the University of Baltimore’s Fall 2018 Commencement, set for Monday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. in the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, adjacent to the UB campus. Rubenstein will speak to graduate and undergraduate classes from the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, as well as families, friends and other invited guests. He will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University.
Rubenstein is a co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, among the world’s largest and most successful investment firms. He co-founded the firm in 1987. Since then, Carlyle has grown to manage $212 billion from 31 offices around the world. Rubenstein also serves as chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
A leader in the area of patriotic philanthropy, Rubenstein has made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the African-American History and Culture Museum. Working with the federal government, Rubenstein has provided long-term loans of his rare copies of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment, the first map of the United States (the Abel Buell map), and the first book printed in the U.S. (the Bay Psalm Book).
"David Rubenstein demonstrates that public philanthropy and private wealth management can live together comfortably to serve as a great resource for society," said UB President Kurt L. Schmoke. "I have known David since we were in high school at Baltimore City College. He is someone who understands the importance of creating and sustaining community. In that respect, he shares many values with the University of Baltimore, and I know he understands and appreciates the civic and educational work we do here at UB. We're really looking forward to having him speak at Commencement, and to present him with an honorary degree."
Rubenstein is a fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a trustee of the National Gallery of Art, the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; and president of the Economic Club of Washington. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Business Council, the Harvard Global Advisory Council, the Madison Council of the Library of Congress, the Board of Dean's Advisors of the Business School at Harvard, the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, and the Board of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community. He also has served as chairman of Board of Trustees at Duke University and co-chair of the Board of the Brookings Institution.
Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge, a significant donor to all of the above-mentioned non-profit organizations, and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, MoMA's David Rockefeller Award, and many other philanthropic honors.
Following his graduation from Baltimore City College, Rubenstein attended Duke, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1970 and attained Phi Beta Kappa membership. He then enrolled in the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated in 1973 having served as an editor of The Law Review. For three years after that, Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. From 1975-76, he served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. From 1977-1981, during the Carter administration, Rubenstein served as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. After his White House service and before co-founding Carlyle, Rubenstein practiced law in Washington with Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman).
Further details about the University of Baltimore's Fall 2018 Commencement will be announced in the coming weeks.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.