April 22, 2024
Ursuline College is pleased to announce Sonia Winner as its 2024 Commencement speaker. Winner, president and CEO of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History since 2018, has spearheaded a complete reimagining of the Museum’s campus and exhibits in a way that highlights the interconnectedness of all life on Earth. This pioneering reinvention will serve as a new model for natural history museums globally.
“Ms. Winner is a very accomplished role model for our graduates,” states Ursuline College President Sister Christine De Vinne, PhD, OSU. “We are grateful that she, as a woman and nationally recognized community leader, will share her advice and encouragement with our newly minted alumnae and alumni as they enter the next exciting chapter of their lives.”
Named a Cleveland Magazine’s 2024 Cleveland 500 Honoree, she was also named as the Cleveland Business Journal Women of Influence honoree in 2023 as well as Cleveland Magazine’s Community Leader of the Year.
Her other honors include Smart Business Magazine's 2019 Smart 50 Award as well as its 2022 Progressive Woman honoree. She was selected in the 2020 and 2023 Crain’s Cleveland Business Power 150 list and was named one of Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People.
“Like many of Ursuline’s graduates, I was the first in my family to attend college, as well as receive a law degree,” Winner notes. “It’s truly an honor to share the podium with Ursuline College’s finest during this memorable event in their lives and to wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
The College estimates that 300 future nurses, artists, scientists, and business leaders will be awarded undergraduate and graduate degrees during the College’s Commencement ceremony, held on Saturday, May 18 at the Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland.
