Raphael Bostic named chief marshal
The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) announced that Raphael W. Bostic ’87 has been chosen by his classmates to serve as chief marshal for Commencement 2012 as the University concludes its yearlong 375th anniversary celebration. A longstanding Harvard tradition, the chief marshal is elected each year from the ranks of the 25th reunion class. He or she greets classes as they process into Harvard Yard, designates “marshal’s aids” to help with Commencement duties as part of the HAA’s Committee for the Happy Observance of Commencement (“the Happy Committee”), and presides over the Chief Marshal’s Spread, one of the most anticipated culinary events of the festivities. “It is incredibly humbling to be selected,” said Bostic, assistant secretary for policy development and research for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a professor at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Policy, Planning, and Development. “The role has an incredible legacy,...