Ruth Ellen Fitch to Receive Honorary Degree from Curry College

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Ruth Ellen Fitch, Director of The Dimock Center, will receive an honorary doctorate at the Curry College Commencement Ceremony on May 15, 2011

MILTON , MA (04/29/2011)(readMedia)-- Curry College President Kenneth K. Quigley, Jr. is pleased to announce that Ruth Ellen Fitch, President and Chief Executive Officer at The Dimock Center, will receive an Honorary Degree at Curry's Commencement ceremony in Milton, Massachusetts on Sunday, May 15, 2011. Curry College will award Ruth Ellen Fitch a Doctor of Humanities.

Ruth Ellen Fitch began her tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer at The Dimock Center in August 2004. Ms. Fitch oversees a staff of 400 and budget of more than $29 million. She has a strong background as a corporate and non-profit leader and a keen ability to analyze, develop and execute strategies to attain organizational goals and financial success.

Prior to her position with Dimock, Ms. Fitch practiced law with Palmer & Dodge LLP where she became the first Black female partner at a large Boston law firm.

Before attending law school, Ms. Fitch was Director of METCO program for the Brookline Public Schools. She also taught Black literature at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Barnard College, Columbia University and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where she served for three years on the Law School Administrative Board.

Ms. Fitch is a member of the Board of the Boston Public Health Commission, appointed by the Mayor. She also serves as a Director of Health Law Advocates and as a Director of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation. She has served on the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Community College where she chaired the Presidential Search Committee.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dimock Center, Ms. Fitch has returned to the Roxbury neighborhood where she was raised, bringing her significant experience managing complex organizations to Dimock, as well as her commitment to helping others overcome social and economic obstacles so they may achieve in life. A trailblazer whose own life and career includes many groundbreaking accomplishments, Ms. Fitch's dedication to creating opportunities for those in need is central to Dimock's work providing access to quality health care and human services to some of Boston's most underserved neighborhoods.

Ms. Fitch has received the Pinnacle Award for achievement in the legal profession from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts Award, the Woman of Achievement Award from the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, the Charles Hamilton Houston Public Service Award from the Harvard Black Law Students Association, and the Distinguished Alumna Award from Girls' Latin School/Boston Latin Academy, where she has been a Commencement Speaker. She is a member of the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association

Ms. Fitch lives in Brookline with her husband Harrison. Her daughter teaches in the Wayland school system and her son lives and works in Lawrence.

Curry College is a 132-year old, private, four-year, liberal arts institution located on 135 acres in Milton, MA. Curry extends its educational programs to a continuing education branch campus in Plymouth. Curry offers 20 undergraduate degrees as well as graduate degrees in business, education, criminal justice and nursing, with a combined enrollment of approximately 4,150 students. The student body consists of approximately 2,000 traditional undergraduate students, 1,650 continuing education and 500 graduate students. Curry College students come from 31 states and 7 countries. Over 1,400 of its students reside on the Curry campus. The largest majors are Business Management, Communication, Nursing, Criminal Justice and Education. The College offers a wide array of extra-curricular activities ranging from 13 NCAA division III athletic teams to an outstanding theatre program.