CEO of Data Intensity Named Commencement Speaker at Bay Path

LONGMEADOW — Kirk Arnold, CEO of Bedford-based Data Intensity, will address Bay Path University’s 2016 graduating class at its 119th commencement on Saturday, May 14 at 3 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. More than 700 students will be awarded master’s and bachelor’s degrees.

Arnold will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree for her extraordinary achievements in leadership. As the CEO of Data Intensity, a high-growth provider of cloud-based services and data analytics, she is a role model for women in the exploding market of data analytics. For more than 35 years, Arnold has been an active member of the technology and business community of Greater Boston. She sits on the boards of Cramer Marketing, EnerNOC, and the Commonwealth Institute. Arnold and Data Intensity were recognized among the Boston Globe’s “Top 100 Women-led Businesses in Massachusetts” last fall. She was also inducted into Bay Path’s 21st Century Women Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2004, its inaugural year.

Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, will also be presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree for his accomplishments as an author, educator, and passionate champion of reading aloud to children. Now in its 7th edition, The Read-Aloud Handbook continues to receive national and international acclaim. Trelease dedicated much of his career to leading seminars and lecturing school groups, parents, teachers, and librarians in all 50 states on the fundamental importance of youthful reading. He was one of the most sought-after speakers on the subject of education in the U.S., a frequent keynote speaker at educational conferences, and is credited with sparking read-aloud movements across the nation. Early in his career, Trelease was also a writer and staff artist for the Springfield Daily News (now known as the Republican).