Larry Ladd – Doctor of Humane Letters Degree Recipient

Larry Ladd serves as an administrator, trustee and consultant in higher education and is an active volunteer leader in Unitarian Universalism. He is the national director of the higher education practice of Grant Thornton LLP, the fifth largest accounting and consulting firm. Before joining Grant Thornton, he was the Director of Budget and Financial Planning at Harvard University, chief financial officer of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dean of Administration and Dean of the College of Special Studies at Tufts University, Assistant Provost at Boston University, and Assistant to the President of Duke University. He serves as a trustee of the Porter Foundation, having served previously as a trustee of the University of Massachusetts, Boston Architectural College, and Civic Education Foundation. He is a frequent speaker at organizations such as the American Zoo & Aquarium Association, Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities, Association of Theological Schools, Greek Orthodox Church, Green Mountain Summit on Investor Responsibility, National Association of College & University Business Officers, Public Broadcasting Management Association, and Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes. He has been quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and other industry publications.

A third generation Unitarian Universalist, he is a member and former president of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where he served as president. He is currently the Chair of the UUA Nominating Committee. He has served two terms as Financial Advisor of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and one term as a member of the UUA Commission on Appraisal. He also served on the board of the Connecticut Valley District (now Clara Barton District) and as treasurer of the Church of the Larger Fellowship. As a youth he was the continental president of Liberal Religious Youth, the predecessor of YRUU.