DURHAM, N.H. – A U.S. Air Force general, a leader in workplace ethics and three Granite State icons will be recognized for their contributions at the University of New Hampshire's commencement ceremony Saturday, May 20, 2017.

Maureen Beauregard ’87 will receive the Granite State Award for her work to provide housing and services for individuals and families affected by homelessness. She started Families in Transition in 1991 after working as a substance abuse counselor and for the state’s Division for Children and Youth Services. Today Families in Transition houses more than 200 individuals and families in residences in Manchester, Concord and Dover. The organization received Business NH Magazine’s Nonprofit of the Year Award in 2013, and in 2011 Beauregard was named one of six Outstanding Women in Business by New Hampshire Business Review.

Also being recognized are Gov. Christopher Sununu, former N.H. State Senator Edward Dupont Jr., Maureen Hurley ’77, and commencement speaker U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson ‘81, all of whom will receive honorary degrees.

Sununu is serving his first term as governor and is currently the youngest governor in the country. He served three terms on the New Hampshire Executive Council representing 32 cities and towns in Rockingham and Hillsborough counties. In 2010 Sununu led a group of investors in the buyout of Waterville Valley Resort where he worked as chief executive officer and led an expansion of the ski resort. Prior to the Waterville purchase he was an owner and director of Sununu Enterprises, a family business and strategic consulting group.

Dupont is the founder of The Dupont Group, a Concord-based government relations and public affairs firm he started in 1993 after five terms in the N.H. State Senate. After attending UNH he started Strafford Fuels. He is a past member of the University System Board of Trustees. Business NH Magazine has named him one of the top 10 most influential people in the state nine times. He currently sits on the board of directors for Martin’s Point Healthcare, is a member of UNH Law’s Rudman Center advisory board and in 2013 was named to the state Commission of Innovation, Efficiency and Transparency.

Hurley recently retired from the family-owned Rich Products Corporation after more than 30 years. Under her leadership as executive vice president and chief administrative officer, the Buffalo, New York, company gained national attention for its workplace ethics. As a result, she received the American Business Ethics Award, which recognizes companies that exemplify high standards of ethical behavior in their everyday business conduct. With more than $3.8 billion in sales and operations and products in more than 100 countries, Rich Products is a leader in the non-dairy segment of the frozen food industry.

Robinson will also receive an honorary degree. The first woman to lead a major combatant command in the history of the U.S. Armed Forces, she will deliver the 2017 University of New Hampshire commencement address.