Immaculata University celebrates its 101st Commencement on Sunday, May 18, with two ceremonies honoring the 566 graduates from the Class of 2025. Among them, 68 students attained doctoral degrees, 174 obtained master’s degrees, 315 completed bachelor’s degrees, and nine earned associate’s degrees.
Immaculata alumna Theresa Major Payton ’89 will deliver the keynote address at the 10:00 AM undergraduate ceremony and receive the Immaculata Medal, the University’s highest honor. Before her remarks, President Barbara Lettiere ’72 will unveil a plaque marking the official launch of the Major-Payton School of Business.
Alice Travis ’65, a pioneering Television Journalist, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and address graduates from the College of Graduate Studies and Research during the afternoon ceremony.
Eighteen students will also be recognized with academic medals for outstanding achievement in their respective fields of study.
About the Speakers
Payton graduated from Immaculata in 1989 with a double major in Economics and Business, along with certificates in Computers and Business Management. She was the first woman to serve as White House Chief Information Officer, overseeing IT operations for President George W. Bush and 3,000 staff members from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, she held executive roles in banking technology at Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
She is the Founder, President, and CEO of Fortalice Solutions, LLC, a cybersecurity consulting firm. Payton also co-founded Dark Cubed, a cybersecurity product that was later sold to Celerium. Fortalice was named an Inc. Magazine Power Partner and is recognized as one of the most innovative cybersecurity firms in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. In 2020, CISO MAG named Payton Cybersecurity Crusader of the Year.
A Best-Selling Author and Public Speaker, Payton appeared on the 2017 CBS reality show Hunted and frequently contributes to national news programs, including NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, Fox Business, CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, and international outlets.
As a member of Immaculata’s Board of Trustees, she is establishing the Major-Payton School of Business and endowing a fund for the school’s chair.
Travis graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Immaculata University in 1965. Utilizing her education and leadership abilities, she embarked on a pioneering career in television broadcast journalism. She co-hosted prominent news programs in New York and Washington, D.C., including Panorama on WTTG alongside John Willis and Maury Povich, and AM New York on ABC.
Travis broke new ground in 1977 as the first Black woman to host a nationally syndicated television talk show, For You…Black Woman, where she interviewed some of the most famous celebrities of the day, including Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali, Television Journalist Barbara Walters, and Singers Ray Charles, Della Reese, and Sammy Davis Jr. She also interviewed Playwright Arthur Miller, film director Otto Preminger, Senator Edward Brooke, Poet and Writer Maya Angelou, Novelists Toni Morrison and James Baldwin, Artist Salvador Dalí, and Actor Charlton Heston.
The headline for the Oct. 17, 2023, The New York Times article on Travis stated, “She was Oprah before Oprah.”
She transitioned into fashion design and later founded a successful communications consultancy firm. Travis has received numerous accolades, including the Anne E. Gorman Medal in Sociology from Immaculata University and media awards honoring women in media.
Learn more at Immaculata University. Immaculata University is a comprehensive, co-ed institution of higher learning that has emphasized academic success, student outcomes, and faith-based values for more than 100 years.
