LTU Commencement to Feature Internationally Renowned Author, Speaker

SOUTHFIELD—An internationally renowned writer will deliver the Commencement address to nearly 200 graduates and their families at Lawrence Technological University’s 97th Commencement Saturday, Dec. 7.

The event begins at 10 a.m. at the Don Ridler Field House on the LTU campus (building 15 at www.ltu.edu/map).

LTU President Tarek Sobh will provide remarks for the graduates, whose degrees will be conferred by Sobh, LTU Provost Richard Heist, and the deans of LTU’s five colleges. And Kevin Finn, LTU vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement, and LTU alumna Brooke Timlin, a member of the board of the LTU Alumni Association, will welcome the graduates to the distinguished community of more than 35,000 LTU alumni.

A highlight of the event will be the address from Emily Esfahani Smith, a writer in Washington, DC. In her writing, she draws on psychology, philosophy, and literature to write about the human experience—why we are the way we are and how we can find grace and meaning in a world that is full of suffering. Her book The Power of Meaning, an international bestseller, was published by Crown and has been translated into 16 languages. The Wall Street Journal called the book “persuasive,” “elegant,” and “valuable.”

She has also delivered dozens of keynote addresses and workshops at corporations, conferences, non-profit organizations, libraries, and universities around the world. Her 2017 TED talk “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy” has been viewed more than 15 million times.

The former managing editor of The New Criterion, a literary magazine, Smith’s articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Her articles for The Atlantic, “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy” (about Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl) and “Masters of Love” (about romance and marriage) have reached over 30 million readers. In 2019, she was a Poynter Journalism Fellow at Yale University.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Smith grew up in Montreal, Canada. She now lives in Washington DC with her family.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.