Commencement Speaker
Chang Park, '73, President and CEO, Universal Remote Control Inc.
Chang is the President and CEO of Universal Remote Control, Inc. in New York which he founded more than 30 years ago. The company develops remote controls and home automation products and supplies them throughout the world.
He was born and raised in Korea. He came to the United States as a teenager to pursue a higher education. He graduated from Michigan Tech with a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Administration.
Upon graduation from Michigan Tech, Chang joined an engineering consulting firm in Philadelphia that specialized in designing rapid transit systems. He worked on a number of projects including the electrification of the Washington Metro subway system and Northeast Corridor rail system.
Chang received an MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined Morgan Guaranty (a predecessor to J.P. Morgan) in New York upon graduation and worked in international financing.
With a strong belief in social causes, he has been a board member of the Bread for the World in D.C., WNET which is a parent company of PBS in New York and surrounding states, National Governing Board emeritus of Common Cause in D.C. and the board emeritus at the Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Chang received several honors including an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Michigan Tech and the University's Distinguished Alumni Award. He has been inducted into the Academy of Electrical Engineers.
He is also a recipient of Impact Award in Philanthropy Leadership from CARE, an international humanitarian organization, Art Simon Award from the Bread for the World and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Home Automation Industry, CEDIA, a trade association with 3,700 member companies.
He is the Chairman of The Chang K. Park Foundation, an organization that supports human rights, the elimination of poverty and hunger, the implementation of political reform and economic justice.
He resides in Armonk, NY.
Undergraduate Student Speaker
Vincent Skylar Barfield
Vincent Skylar Barfield of Three Rivers, Michigan, is earning his Bachelor of Science from Michigan Tech with double majors in mathematics and computer science. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in the field of machine learning.
Barfield grew up in Georgia before moving to Three Rivers, where he graduated from Constantine High School. He enrolled at Michigan Tech as a computer science major in fall 2020, and began attending in person during spring 2021. He picked up a second major in applied mathematics in spring 2022.
During his time at Tech, Barfield has participated in two Enterprise teams—Humane Interface and Design Enterprise (HIDE) and Blue Marble Security (BMS)—and was also a coach at the Computer Science Learning Center for a semester. For the last two years, he has been a brother of the Sigma Rho fraternity.
"Joining the brotherhood was the best decision I’ve made during my time at Tech,” he said. “Currently, I am serving as a member of Sigma Rho management committee, the chapter treasurer, and the IT chair."