Dean's Speech for Honorary Doctorate Event
I wrote the following speech for the Dean’s remarks at the 2023 Honorary Doctorate ceremony, an exclusive event with high-level guests such as SDSU’s president and other impactful donors. Through researching the awardee’s online presence, I created a speech that was then approved by the awardee and her company and also converted into a LinkedIn post.
DEAN’S REMARKS
Good afternoon and welcome, everyone! My name is Eugene Olevsky and I serve the College of Engineering as Dean and Distinguished Faculty. On behalf of the entire SDSU community, we are delighted to celebrate our 2023 honorary doctorate recipient: Peggy Johnson.
In 1963, SDSU's first honorary doctorate was awarded to then-president John F. Kennedy. Today, it is our privilege to have Peggy join this elite group of honorary doctorate recipients.
Named one of the world’s most powerful female engineers, Peggy is an outstanding leader in technology and business. Her decorated career and her current work in extending access to augmented reality through Magic Leap makes her an inspiration to all female engineers at SDSU and beyond.
Funny enough, Peggy originally entered SDSU as a business major, but was soon convinced by two female College of Engineering staff members to major in engineering instead – and luckily, she is able to use both disciplines in her incredible career. In true SDSU form, she quickly flourished as an electrical engineering major, took advantage of internships through SDSU and researching under aerospace engineer Fred Harris, and even met her spouse, fellow electrical engineer Eric Johnson, on SDSU’s campus.
We admire and are proud of Peggy due to her changemaking both as an engineer and as an industry executive. Prior to her current role as Chief Executive Officer of Magic Leap, Peggy served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft, where she also managed Microsoft’s relationship with the venture capital community and oversaw strategic investments through the company’s corporate venture fund, M12, to drive innovation and collaboration across the industry. Peggy also spent 24 years at Qualcomm, where she held various leadership positions across engineering, sales, marketing, and business development.
Throughout her career, she has remained a champion for women and underrepresented groups. For example, while at Microsoft, Peggy coordinated a partnership with Backstage Capital to invest in female, LGBTQIA+, and person of color founders.
Last year, we were honored to have Peggy at one of President de la Torre’s Presidential Talks. It was enriching to watch the event live, where multiple current female engineering students were able to learn more about her inspiring journey then ask her for advice and inspiration as they begin their own journeys as engineering professionals.
On behalf of the College of Engineering, congratulations and thank you, Peggy. You make SDSU and the world a better place.
It is now my pleasure to welcome SDSU President Adela de la Torre to the podium for remarks.
