On May 18, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will be Barnard College’s commencement speaker and will receive the Barnard medal of distinction, the college’s highest honor.
In an email to students last week, Barnard president Debora Spar and Barnard dean Avis Hinkson, announced the decision by praising Richards. “Throughout her career, Cecile Richards has advocated for civic engagement and public participation as essential components of law-making and the political process,” the email reads. “Now, as head of Planned Parenthood, she is at the center of the ongoing national dialogue on women’s rights and health. Her extraordinary insight and experience will inspire our graduates, whose own lives and careers will contribute to the future of these critically important issues for women everywhere.”
