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Saint Vincent College announces William Strickland as Spring 2023 Commencement speaker

by Public Relations | April 25, 2023

LATROBE, PA—William “Bill” Strickland, Founder and Executive Chairman of Manchester Bidwell Corporation (MBC) and its affiliates, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) and Bidwell, Training Center (BTC), will deliver the principal address at Saint Vincent College’s 177th Spring Commencement Ceremony. Mr. Strickland will be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Saint Vincent during this year’s ceremony, taking place at 11:00 a.m. in the Robert S. Carey Student Center Gymnasium on Saturday, May 13th.

Full information on Saint Vincent College’s Spring Commencement can be found at https://www.stvincent.edu/community-events/commencement.html.

About William Strickland

Bill Strickland is the founder of MBC, an educational model designed to create empowering educational environments for adults-in-transition as well as a diverse population of youth in the Pittsburgh region.

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In 1968, Bill founded MCG to help combat the economic and social devastation experienced by the residents of his North Side neighborhood. Later, in 1972, he assumed leadership of BTC to guide its transition to providing skills relevant to Pittsburgh’s economy. GRAMMY®-winning MCG Jazz founded in 1987, which is one of the longest-running jazz subscription series in America.

What started as an informal art program and exhibition space has now transformed into a 62,000-squarefoot arts and career training center, which today also includes a 40,000-square-foot production and educational greenhouse.

Strickland has excelled in cultivating collaborative partnerships in Pittsburgh; Cincinatti and Cleveland, OH; San Francisco, CA; Baltimore, MD; and Grand Rapids, MI, as well as in Israel. He has developed successful relationships with foundations such as ALCOA Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation, The Danforth Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Forbes Fund, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Milwaukee Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Social Venture Partners, Pittsburgh Foundation, E. M. Kauffman Foundation, Heinz Foundation, R.K. Mellon Foundation, and Pew Charitable Trust.

Throughout Strickland’s distinguished career, he has been honored with numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to the arts and the community, including the coveted MacArthur “Genius” award. He is also the author of Make the Impossible Possible.