World renowned cybersecurity expert Dr. Herbert Hugh Thompson will deliver the Commencement Address at the University of The Bahamas’ historic Spring 2017 Commencement, the first since the institution’s charter on 10^th November 2016.

A University of The Bahamas alumnus, Dr. Thompson is the Chief Technology Officer at Symantec Inc., an international cybersecurity solutions provider billed as the world’s largest security software company with more than 12,000 employees.

UB’s inaugural commencement will be held on Thursday, 25^th May 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium under the theme Dawn of a New Era: The Power of Perseverance.

Before joining Symantec, Dr. Thompson was the Chief Technology Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Blue Coat Systems Inc. He has also served as Chairman of the RSA Conference Program Committee for the past eight years. During his time at RSA Conference, he helped drive attendance at the conference to over 45,000 security professionals.

Dr. Thompson has co-authored books on cybersecurity including, How to Break Software Security: Effective Techniques for Security Testing (with Dr. James Whittaker, published by Addison-Wesley, 2003), and The Software Vulnerability Guide (with Scott Chase, published by Charles River 2005). He has also co-authored a bestselling business book on human potential and achievement called The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success published by Penguin (2013 hardback, 2014 audiobook, 2014 paperback and several foreign language editions including Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Romanian).

SC Magazine has named Dr. Thompson one of the “Top 5 Most Influential Thinkers in IT Security” and the Financial Times calls him “one of the world’s foremost cryptology and internet security experts.”

For several years, he was an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University in New York.

Dr. Thompson has spent years creating methodologies and tools that helped some of the world’s largest companies build demonstrably more secure systems. He has delivered talks/keynotes at key conferences and Fortune 500 corporations, written industry-defining books and articles on software security, and has interacted with the press extensively. He has been interviewed by top news organizations including BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, ABC, Fox News, CBS Evening News, MSNBC, HBO, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Associated Press, and the Washington Post.

Hundreds of graduands are expected to form the first Commencement Class of UB, an event that will go down in the annals of history

The following is the official Spring 2017 Commencement activities schedule-

New Providence

Teachers Commissioning Ceremony

Tuesday, 23^rd May 2017, 10:00 a.m.

Kendal G. L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

Nurses Pinning Ceremony

Tuesday, 23^rd May 2017, 3:00 p.m.

Kendal G. L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, 24^th May 2017, 10:00 a.m.

Kendal G. L. Isaacs National Gymnasium

Baccalaureate

Wednesday, 24^th May 2017, 7:00 p.m.

Holy Family Catholic Church, Robinson Road

Commencement

Thursday, 25^th May 2017, 7:00 p.m.

Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium

Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre

Grand Bahama

Teachers Commissioning Ceremony

Wednesday, 31^st May 2017, 10:00 a.m.

Northern Bahamas Campus, Courtyard

Baccalaureate

Wednesday, 31^st May 2017, 6:30 p.m.

Church of Ascension, Arden Forest Road

Commencement

Thursday, 1^st June 2017, 6:30 p.m.