New York University President John Sexton today bestowed an honorary doctorate on Anne Marie Mulcahy, chair and CEO of Xerox, at NYU’s 174th Commencement Exercises in Washington Square Park. Some 19,000 graduates, faculty, staff, and guests attended the morning ceremony.
The following citation was read in conferring the Doctor of Commercial Science degree, honoris causa, on Anne Marie Mulcahy:
“Anne Marie Mulcahy-chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation, you are the first woman in your company’s history to serve at its helm, beginning as a sales representative in 1976 and rising steadily through the ranks. Becoming CEO in August 2001, of a then declining and dispirited company, you logged 100,000 miles visiting Xerox employees in your first year and ordered a bold restructuring that put your company on an upward trajectory. By July 2002, you had restored the prestige and profitability of Xerox-one of the swiftest and most decisive turnarounds in recent business history. You accomplished this while maintaining an organization-wide focus on innovation, taking not a single dollar out of research and development. You have introduced new products and services that offer customers higher productivity at a lower cost and created a new Xerox with stable management and stronger customer focus. Attentive, decisive, eager to learn, you have driven exceptional results through your profound commitment to understand and meet customers’ needs while developing and nurturing a motivated and proud workforce-all the while listening carefully to these constituencies. A graduate of Marymount College, you are widely admired not only in your own company, but throughout the business world.
“Anne Marie Mulcahy-with integrity of style and consistency of character, you have achieved extraordinary success for your company while serving as a model of corporate leadership. By virtue of the authority vested in me by New York University, I am pleased to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Commercial Science, honoris causa.”