IRVING, Texas (Feb. 20, 2024) — Humanitarian and University of Dallas alumna Nancy Cain Marcus, MA ’00 PhD ’03, will provide the commencement address at the 65th annual commencement ceremony on May 12, 2024.

A Dallas native, Marcus is a fellow and Life Trustee on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, and a member of the Advisory Council of the George W. Bush Presidential Institute. She previously served as United States Ambassador and Public Delegate to the United Nations.

“I am honored and eager to address the class of 2024 at the University of Dallas, a university which I hold in high esteem for its dedication to the pursuit of wisdom, truth and virtue as the proper ends of education,” Marcus said.

Marcus has also represented Texas to the National Endowment for the Humanities and was appointed to the State of Texas Special Commission on 21st Century Colleges and Universities from 1999 to 2000.

The University of Dallas recognized her as a Distinguished Alumna in 2015.

“Dr. Nancy Cain Marcus has dedicated her life to those ideals the University of Dallas holds in highest regard, orienting her remarkable gifts and energy to the promotion of all that is good, true and beautiful in service to her city, her state and our nation,” said President Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD. “She is an inspiring witness to the fruits of a University of Dallas education.”

Currently, Marcus serves on the boards of the Trinity Park Conservancy in Dallas, the Walton Trust in Toronto and the Worwin UK Foundation. She recently completed a three-year period of service to the board of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, where, with her husband, Sanford Robertson, she contributed to the Burial Ground for Enslaved People at Monticello Project.

The spring graduation ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving.

About the University of Dallas

The University of Dallas is the premier Catholic liberal arts university in the country, known for its rigorous undergraduate Core Curriculum and robust graduate and professional programs in business, ministry, education and the humanities. According to national rankings, the University of Dallas has one of America’s most challenging, comprehensive undergraduate interdisciplinary programs, offered at an excellent value to some of the happiest students in the country. With campuses in Texas and Italy, UD stands apart as a thriving community of learners committed to an education that forms students intellectually, socially and spiritually for a life well-lived. For more information, visit udallas.edu.