Three Honorary Degrees for Careers Built on Infrastructure

Wentworth Institute of Technology will award three honorary degrees at Summer Commencement on Thursday, August 13, to three people whose careers run through the systems that keep the region moving: the airports and seaport, the electric grid, and the buildings themselves. 

Richard A. Davey, Jr. 

Doctor of Humane Letters — keynote speaker, morning ceremony 
 

Davey has served as chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority since August 2024, leading an organization with $1.4 billion in revenue and a mandate to connect the region to the world while supporting the Commonwealth's economic, transportation and climate goals. 

Massport's portfolio is a list of the places Massachusetts meets everywhere else: Boston Logan International Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, Hanscom Field, the public maritime facilities in the Port of Boston — including Conley Container Terminal and Flynn Cruiseport Boston — and commercial real estate in East Boston, South Boston and Charlestown. Together those facilities generate close to $46 billion in annual economic impact. 

Under Davey's leadership, Massport has rolled out dozens of initiatives to improve the customer experience at Logan, launched a $140 million project to upgrade the Flynn Cruiseport, successfully advocated for a state tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel, opened the first remote airport terminal in the country in Framingham, and created "Blue Edge," an effort to establish Massport as a leader in the blue economy. 

He brought more than two decades in transportation and infrastructure to the job. Before Massport, Davey was president of New York City Transit — the largest transit system in North America — where he improved operations and customer satisfaction across subway, bus and paratransit service. He was a partner at the consulting firm BCG, advising transportation organizations around the world. From 2011 to 2014 he served as Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation under Governor Deval Patrick, and he ran the MBTA as general manager in 2010 and 2011. Earlier in his career he worked for and eventually led the MBTA's commuter rail operator. 

Davey is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and of Gonzaga University School of Law, where he finished summa cum laude. A native Bostonian and a graduate of Boston College High School, he serves on that school's Board of Trustees and lives in the Back Bay with his wife. 

Douglas W. Foley '88 

Doctor of Engineering — keynote speaker, afternoon ceremony 
 

Foley is president of Massachusetts Electric Operations at Eversource, responsible for the safe and reliable delivery of electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across 159 Massachusetts communities. He also serves as the company's enterprise incident commander, which puts emergency preparedness and business continuity across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire under his responsibility. 

That second role is the one that shows up when the weather turns. Under Foley's leadership, Eversource has been recognized with three Edison Electric Institute Emergency Recovery Awards for its response to major storms — while maintaining top-tier reliability performance for the industry. 

He has more than 35 years of operational experience. Before his current role he served as president of Eversource's New Hampshire operations and held a range of leadership positions in Massachusetts electric operations. 

Foley sits on Wentworth's Board of Trustees and on the Special Olympics New Hampshire Board of Directors, and he was a founding member of the Eversource Veterans Business Resource Group. He is a member of the Strategic Energy Board at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. An Eagle Scout, he currently serves as president of the board of directors for the Scouting America Mayflower Council. 

He holds master's degrees in Power Systems Management from WPI and in Business Administration from Anna Maria College. He earned his bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology from Wentworth. 

Gary J. Miller '77 

Doctor of Engineering — afternoon ceremony 
 

Miller is executive vice president and chief operating officer at NELCO, a leading designer and manufacturer of radiation shielding and radio frequency products and services. He oversees manufacturing operations, design operations at Trapani Architects, and the estimating department, works closely with the sales and business development teams, and is involved across the company's operations. 

He joined NELCO in 1977 — the same year he earned his degree in Architectural Engineering from Wentworth — and has spent his entire career there, moving up through assistant plant manager, plant manager, general manager and vice president of projects and construction before becoming executive vice president. 

Miller has stayed close to Wentworth throughout. He was an active member of the Wentworth Alumni Association and served a two-year term as its president, which brought him onto the Board of Trustees as an ex officio member from May 2013 through May 2015. He was elected to the Wentworth Corporation in 2010 and to the Board of Trustees in September 2015, where he served on the Finance and the Trusteeship and Governance committees. 

Summer Commencement takes place Thursday, August 13 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, with ceremonies at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Read more about the student speakers, singers and Beatty Award recipient, or see the full day's schedule on the Commencement website.