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Actor, Activist Mike Farrell to Deliver Commencement Address
Former M*A*S*H star will receive honorary degree
Written By Christine Leogrande
Mike Farrell, actor and social activist, will deliver Utica College's commencement address during the college's 57th commencement ceremonies on May 14.
Contact - jbrown@utica.edu
Utica, NY (05/09/2006) - Mike Farrell, actor and social activist, will deliver Utica College's commencement address during the college’s 57th commencement ceremonies on May 14.Farrell is perhaps best known for this role as Captain B.J. Hunnicut on the Emmy-award winning television series, "M*A*S*H." During his eight-year tenure on the show, he wrote and directed several episodes, earning him nominations for Director’s Guild and Emmy awards. His television credits include a recurring role on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives," leading roles in "The Interns" and "The Man and the City," and most recently as veterinarian Jim Hansen in the NBC family series "Providence."
Together with Marvin Minoff, Farrell founded the film production company that was responsible for "Patch Adams," starring Robin Williams. In 2002, Farrell was elected first vice president of the Screen Actors Guild of Los Angeles.
Although he gained national fame as an actor and producer, Farrell has had a lifelong dedication to social activism. An avid spokesperson on behalf of a number of social causes, Farrell has had a particular interest in human rights, which parallels Utica College's longstanding commitment to human rights education. He has been a spokesperson for Concern America, an international refugee aid and development organization, since 1979. Co-chair emeritus of Human Rights Watch/California, his travels in support of human rights have taken him all over the world, including Honduras, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Zaire, Tanzania, Czechoslovakia, Israel and the Thailand/Cambodia border. After a trip to Somalia and Bosnia, Farrell was named Good Will Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees.
Farrell and his wife, actress Shelley Fabares, live in Los Angeles.
Farrell will be awarded an honorary degree, doctor of laws, at the commencement. Farrell's commentary as a social activist concludes events in recognition of this year’s academic theme, "Dissent in a Free Society."
About Utica College – Founded in 1946, Utica College is a comprehensive private institution that grants the Syracuse University baccalaureate degree and the Utica College master’s and doctoral degrees. The College, located in central New York, approximately 90 miles west of Albany and 50 miles east of Syracuse, currently enrolls an approximated 2,300 undergraduate and 350 graduate students in 31 undergraduate majors, 24 minors, 12 master’s and two doctoral degree programs.
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