New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Receives an Honorary Degree at UMass Boston’s 39th Commencement
One of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s 2007 commencement exercises, held on campus Friday, June 1 at 10:00 a.m.
Kraft, founder of the Kraft Group and chairman and CEO of the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, received the honor for his business and philanthropic accomplishments. Over the past three decades, Kraft and his family have been one of New England's most giving families, donating millions of dollars in support to local charities and civic initiatives.
Fellow honoree and 2007 Chancellor’s Medal recipient Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick delivered the keynote address. Clementina (Tina) Chéry, the founder and president of the Boston-based Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, received a 2007 Chancellor’s Medal. Henri Termeer, president and CEO of Cambridge-based Genzyme Corp., received an honorary degree.
More than 2,600 diplomas and graduate certificates were conferred by UMass Boston Chancellor Michael F. Collins, MD, and UMass President Jack M. Wilson at UMass Boston’s 39th commencement.
A Brookline native and former Columbia University football player, Kraft is best known for his hand at preventing the Patriots from leaving New England when he purchased the franchise in 1994. Thirteen years later, the Patriots have been transformed from worst to first, having won more Super Bowls, conference championships and overall games than any other NFL team since 1994.
Kraft, a lifelong fan whose allegiance to the team dates back their days as the Boston Patriots in the early 1960s, continued his transformation of the franchise by opening Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in 2002. The $325 million, privately-financed sports venue led to Kraft being recognized as Sports Executive of the Year by Sports Business Journal and Sports Industrialist of the Year by the Sports Business Daily.
On the business side, Kraft began his career at the Rand-Whitney Group, Inc. of Worcester, which he later acquired. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of paper commodities that now does business in 82 countries around the world. In 1998, he founded the Kraft Group to serve as the holding company for the family's varied business interests, which also includes the New England Revolution soccer team.
For the last 30 years, Kraft and his family have been one of New England's most generous families, supporting local charities and civic initiatives. The Kraft family’s philanthropic efforts have been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and the title of Boston's most powerful family by Boston magazine. Kraft himself serves on the board of directors for Viacom and is on the executive committee of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he established the Robert K. Kraft Family Blood Donor Center.
Kraft earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and an MBA at the Harvard Business School.
Citation for Commencement 2007
Robert Kraft
Brookline native, entrepreneur, family devotee, New England Patriots owner, and philanthropist, the University of Massachusetts Boston welcomes you, Robert Kraft, on this our commencement day.
Yours is a history of exceeding all expectations. After attending local public schools, you entered Columbia University on an academic scholarship. Upon graduation, you received a fellowship to Harvard Business School where you earned a master's degree in Business Administration.
In 1972, you founded International Forest Products, a trader of paper commodities that now does business in eighty-two countries around the world. In 1998, you founded the Kraft Group to serve as the holding company for your family's many successful and diverse business interests.
When you purchased the woeful New England Patriots, in 1994, you made a promise to bring a state-of-the-art facility to New England along with a Super Bowl. You delivered. And delivered again. And again!
Though perhaps difficult for some football fans to imagine, there is indeed greater joy to be had at the hands of the Kraft family, the kind that cannot be measured by common statistics. You and your wife, Myra, have donated tens of millions of dollars to a variety of philanthropic ventures that span four continents and include education, children's and women's issues, health care, youth sports, and American and Israeli causes. The number of people and organizations that have benefited from your altruism, not to mention your legendary business savvy, cannot be contained in any stadium.
You once said that you aim to live according to the driving forces of family, faith, philanthropy, and football.
That all may know of our respect and esteem for your commitment to these ideals, the University of Massachusetts Boston confers upon you the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.