2011 KEYNOTE SPEAKER 

Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III

President, SUNY College at Old Westbury

Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, is President of State University of New York College at Old Westbury and Pastor of the nationally renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York.

As President of The College at Old Westbury, Dr. Butts works continuously to create an invigorating atmosphere dedicated to academic excellence and the development of leadership qualities in students. Dr. Butts is one of New York’s most prominent clerics, and his leadership has had a pervasive impact on such wide-ranging community initiatives as education, homelessness, senior citizen and youth empowerment, cultural awareness and ecumenical outreach. 

Dr. Butts is a sought after speaker on social, religious, educational and ethical issues, and speaks before a vast array of colleges and universities, business and professional organizations, religious congregations, and governmental agencies.

Dr. Butts serves as President of the Council of Churches of the City of New York and as Chairman of the Board of North General Hospital, Abyssinian Development Corporation, Youth On the Move, and Blue Nile Passage, Inc. He also serves as Vice-Chair of The Board of Directors of United Way of New York City, and as a member of the leadership boards of The Long Island Association, the Boy Scouts of America-Theodore Roosevelt Council, The Long Island Housing Partnership, the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tenn., New Visions for Public Schools, New York Blood Center, the Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education, and the Community Development Corporation of Long Island.