Photographer, High-Tech Executive

Honorees At Hartwick’s Graduation

ONEONTA – Hartwick College’s 2017 Commencement speaker will be renowned professional photographer Hilary Duffy, ’91, and Dell Technologies’ Chief Integration Officer Rory Read, ’83, P’09, will be presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree.

The ceremony will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 20, on Elmore Field.

Duffy graduated from Hartwick with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, and began her photography career in news and travel for The Tico Times newspaper while living in Costa Rica. A graduate of the International Center of Photography’s Photojournalism/Documentary Program in 2000, she later assisted the Maine Photo Workshops in Havana. Compelled to share photography with local youth, she developed a photo library and directed the Havana Youth Photo course in 2003.

“Ms. Duffy’s career has been shaped by her passion for justice and global awareness. Her story, which began at Hartwick, is both relevant and inspiring. Her remarks will be the perfect capstone to the highly engaged learning experience of our 2017 graduates,” said Hartwick College President Margaret L. Drugovich.

A recipient of the ICP/Johnson & Johnson Fellowship in 2002, she completed an assignment on non-governmental organizations (NGO) at the U.S.-Mexico border, which led to subsequent foreign assignments on NGOs in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and tsunami-affected regions. She has documented the plight and rehabilitation of street children for Casa Alianza Mexico & Central America. Frequent collaborations have allowed her to pursue her passion as a socially concerned photographer.

Duffy has exhibited in Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, and the U.S. Her images are in a permanent exhibit at Covenant House Headquarters in New York City, and have been selected into the National Geographic Image Collection.

Also at the ceremony, Read will be presented with an honorary degree. He is the chief integration officer of Dell Technologies, responsible for leading the combination of Dell and EMC to create the world’s largest privately-controlled technology company. In this capacity, he oversees the integration of Dell and EMC, sets the strategy, and leads the cross-functional teams that are managing due diligence and integration planning. Read also serves as Chief Operating Officer, Dell EMC. In this role, he leads strategy and planning and drives execution operations for the Dell EMC combined Infrastructure Solutions Group.

Read joined Dell as chief operating officer and president of worldwide commercial sales, with responsibilities that included cross-business unit and country-level operational planning. Previously he served as president and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD); president and COO of Lenovo Group, Ltd.; and he spent 23 years in global leadership roles at IBM.

A former Hartwick College trustee, Read was honored by his alma mater with the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his outstanding professional achievements. He graduated magna cum laude, majoring in information science. He and his wife, Mary Savoy-Read ’84, are the parents of four children, including Alex Read ’09.