Honorary Degree Recipient

Business leader and philanthropist Arthur J. Remillard, Jr. '56 has made a career of making a difference while also leading the largest automobile insurer in Massachusetts. Founder and former CEO and Chairman of the Commerce Group, Inc., Remillard teamed up with fellow independent insurance agents and local businessmen to found the Commerce Insurance Company in 1971. Today, he continues to act as director of the company, which issues more than 1.3 million policies and employs 2,000 people across the country.

Remillard has been a steadfast champion of his alma mater, Clark University. He chaired the Clark Fund from 1969-71, served on the Alumni Council from 1972-75, and generously supported the building of the Dolan Field House and the establishment of the Dolan/Remillard Fund.

Remillard's philanthropy extends beyond Clark to the greater Worcester Community through the Remillard Family Foundation's support to the Boys and Girls Club of Webster, the Central Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the University of Massachusetts Memorial Foundation. In 2005 he established the Arthur J. Remillard scholarship for African American Worcester college-bound students through the Worcester Community Foundation. Among his past professional affiliations are the Governing Committee, Actuarial Committee, Budget Committee and Personnel Committee of the Commonwealth Automobile Re-insurers. He will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters Degree.