David Jones, co-founder of One Young World, a United Kingdom-based non-profit that empowers young people to make positive change, will be the featured speaker at Seton Hill University’s spring 2014 commencement exercises on Saturday, May 17 at 11 a.m. in the Salvitti Gymnasium at the McKenna Center on the Greensburg campus.

Jones will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony. Seton Hill alumna and philanthropist Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins, while unable to attend commencement, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during her 50th Reunion celebration in June.

Jones was the youngest global CEO in the history of advertising and formerly headed both Havas and Havas Worldwide, which is the sixth largest global advertising agency. He co-founded One Young World in 2009. The organization gathers together the brightest young people from around the world and empowers them to make lasting connections to create positive change.

One Young World holds an annual summit that brings together young talent with world leaders and innovators where the young people debate, formulate and share innovative solutions for the pressing issues the world faces. The Third Annual Summit, held in Pittsburgh in October 2012, brought together young people from around the world with international leaders on the subjects of Ethical Business, Transparency and Integrity, and Global Obesity and Global Health.

He was the driving force behind Kofi Annan’s TckTckTck Campaign for Climate Justice, one of the most successful cause campaigns in history with 18 million people signing up as “climate allies.”

Jones was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement in 2005, was voted one of the two top executives of the decade by readers of Adweek, was nominated as one of CR Magazine's 2011 Responsible CEOs of the Year, and was named on the "40 Under 40" lists of both Crain's New York Business and Advertising Age. He is the author of the best-selling book “Who Cares Wins: Why Good Business is Better Business,” published in 2011.

“David Jones is a powerful ally of youth from around the world and a positive force for change in the world,” said Bibiana Boerio, Seton Hill’s interim president. “His message is an important one for our graduates to hear and one that the faculty and staff at Seton Hill stress through our academic and athletic programs as well as our community engagement. David and I worked together to re-position the global Jaguar brand, and I am thrilled to have David here for such an important event in the lives of our graduates and their families.”

Honorary degree recipient Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins, affectionately known as “Mel,” graduated in 1964 from Seton Hill College with a bachelor’s degree in English.

Higgins serves as director of The Cashel Foundation in Chicago, which she established in 1997. The foundation is committed to social programs that directly address the educational needs of disadvantaged children, the need for long-term community supported homes for children, and the need for providing high-quality care and service to medically fragile children and their families.

Her philanthropy extended to her alma mater where, in 2000, she made the first $1 million gift from an alumna in Seton Hill history to establish, in part, The Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins ’64 Endowment Fund for the Future of Seton Hill College Students.

Higgins’ devotion to Seton Hill led her to take on a leadership role with the University. She served as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees and participated on the President’s Alumni Advisory Council to advance capital and endowment fundraising for the University.