Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients
Gary Cohen, Play-by-Play Announcer, New York Mets
Keynote Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Gary Cohen, a native of Queens, New York, is entering his 36th season as a New York Mets Play-by-Play announcer and 19th season as the television voice of the Mets on SNY. He also serves as the play-by-play announcer for all regular-season SNY produced telecasts in 2024. In addition to his work with the Mets, Cohen also participates on SNY's sports and entertainment programs and is a contributor to the network's website, SNY.tv.
Cohen has been the radio voice for Seton Hall University since 2003 and served in the same capacity for St. John’s University basketball from 1995-2002. Cohen also called Olympic hockey for CBS Radio (now Westwood One Sports) in 1992, 1994 and 1998.
Inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2023 and the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, Cohen's accolades include receiving the New York Chapter Baseball Writer's Association of America's Willie, Mickey, and the Duke award in 2022. Cohen also earned two distinctions as the New York State Sportscaster of the Year in 2022 and 2012.
Prior to joining SNY, Cohen was a member of the Mets’ WFAN Radio team for 17 years. Cohen is also a graduate of Columbia University, holding a degree in Political Science from Columbia University.
Sister Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican
City State
Honorary Degree Recipient
Sister Raffaella Petrini, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist religious congregation, was appointed as Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State by Pope Francis in November 2021.
A native of Rome, Italy, Sister Petrini holds a degree in political science from the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli (LUISS), a master’s degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of Hartford,and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome.
She has served as an official at the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples since 2005. Since 2022 she is also a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) and the Labor Office of the Holy See (ULSA).
She is a Board member of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, where she is an Associate Professor of Welfare Economics.