Caldwell University to Celebrate 79th Annual Commencement May 23

Lesley Elaine Chung will deliver commencement remarks to students receiving masters and doctoral degrees.

May 5,2021 – Caldwell University will hold its 79th annual commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May, 23, 2021. There will be three separate ceremonies on the athletics fields. The ceremony for master’s and doctoral graduates will be held at 10 a.m. and the undergraduate ceremonies will be held at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. 

Keith Kyewalabye will be the speaker for the two undergraduate commencement ceremonies. Kyewalabye is receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology with a minor in music. A native of Kampala, Uganda, he has accepted a position as a junior specialist at the University of California San Francisco Brain Tumor Research Center. 

Lesley Elaine Chung (pictured above), West Orange High School assistant principal and dean of students, will deliver the graduate ceremony remarks to students receiving their master’s or doctoral degrees. The West Orange resident has completed her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership with a concentration in K-12 Education from Caldwell University.

Chung previously worked as a kindergarten teacher in Newark  and a school counselor at West Orange High School. She holds a B.A. in psychology from Rutgers University, a teaching certificate in early childhood in pre K-3 from Caldwell University, an M.A. in educational psychology with a minor in child/adolescent clinical psychology from Montclair State University, an expeditd M.A. in school administration from the NJEXCEL program, and several other education certificates. Chung, who started her doctoral program while she was four months pregnant with her daughter, says she is incredibly grateful to the three readers for her dissertation and to the Caldwell faculty, especially Dr. Kevin Barnes, dean of the School of Education, “an awesome mentor.” 

The University will present an honorary degree to Ujwala Mulgaonkar, M.D., and posthumously to her husband, Dr. Shamkant Mulgaonkar, for their support of the School of Nursing and Public Health. Ujwala is a retired pediatrician with over 30 years of experience in the medical field. She graduated from Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, India, and completed her residency at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an affiliate of RWJBarnabas Health, in Livingston, New Jersey. While working as a pediatrician, Ujwala remained an affiliated physician with Saint Barnabas Medical Center. She has carried on her late husband’s legacy by providing philanthropic support to Caldwell University’s nursing program, establishing the Shamkant Mulgaonkar Endowed Scholarship Fund and continuing to support the Mulgaonkar Family Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Shamkant Mulgaonkar was one of the preeminent professionals in transplantation in the United States. He was instrumental in the rapid growth of transplantation and championed the development of the Living Donor Transplant Institute at RWJBarnabas Health. Shamkant was a dynamic leader who cared for more than 1,500 kidney transplant recipients. He and his team were largely responsible for the success of the Barnabas Health Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division. Shamkant was a member of the Caldwell University Nursing Advisory Board and served as a guest lecturer on campus for nursing and public health students. 

The commencement ceremonies will be livestreamed for family and friends around the country and the world to enjoy.   

A Commencement Liturgy will be held on the Newman Center Plaza, 4 p.m., Saturday May 22. It is open to all graduating students, their families and friends, faculty and staff of Caldwell University. 

Face coverings and social distancing are required at the graduation ceremonies and Liturgy. 

For further information, go to https://www.caldwell.edu/the-79th-annual-commencement/