Phyllis Madonna to receive honorary Cal Poly degree

Hotel owner and philanthropist Phyllis Madonna, technology guru Blake Irving and newscaster Laura Diaz will be commencement speakers at three Cal Poly graduation ceremonies in Spanos Stadium.

Madonna also will receive an honorary doctorate degree while speaking to graduates of the colleges of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Science and Science and Mathematics at 5 p.m. June 13.

Madonna, who owns the Madonna Inn, has been a San Luis Obispo resident and business owner for more than 60 years, and she is the mother of four Cal Poly alumni.

She has been a sponsor of local education and the arts, including for Mission Prep, San Luis Obispo High School, Cal Poly, the San Luis Obispo Symphony; Festival Mozaic, and others.

Irving, CEO of GoDaddy, will speak to graduates of the colleges of Engineering and Architecture & Environmental Design at 9 a.m. June 13. A San Luis Obispo resident, Irving is a former executive vice president of Yahoo. GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain name provider and Web host.

Diaz will speak at the commencement for the College of Liberal Arts and Orfalea College of Business at 9 a.m. June 14. A Cal Poly graduate and 14-time Emmy winner, she anchors the evening news for KTTV in Los Angeles.

This story was originally published June 4, 2015 at 4:44 AM with the headline "Phyllis Madonna to receive honorary Cal Poly degree."