<p>University of North Carolina- Atul Gawande (Surgeon, Writer, Big name in health care systems/reform)</p>
<p>I know he may not be a household name, but he’s a HUGE name in my field. </p>
<p>After 4 years of hard work, and are getting ready to attend a professional school or start in the job industry with more intensive workload, don’t they deserve a break? Graduating seniors who love to hear inspirational words had already gone to many special events featured with speeches, presentations, lectures in their four years of college. I don’t see anything wrong to let them have some relaxing time to celebrate their accomplishments and say good-bye to their friends on graduation day!!! Who the speaker is seem to be a minor thing to them.</p>
<p>Congratulations to graduating seniors and their parents!</p>
<p>Adding Pomona College - Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama</p>
<p>University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Astronaut Michael S. Hopkins (UIUC Aerospace Eng alum and former Illini football captain)</p>
<p>Tons of schools added! Some descriptions shortened to fit into word limit. Also added contributions from above.
Condeleeza Rice has withdrawn her offer to speak at Rutgers. </p>
<p>Air Force Academy — Joe Biden, Vice-President of the United States
Arizona State University — Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education
Boston College — John Kerry, US Secretary of State
Brandeis University — Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone
Bucknell University — Sheryl WuDunn, Author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) — Daniel Yergin, Founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates
Case Western Reserve University — Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS
City Colleges of Chicago — Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook Executive and Author (“Lean In”)
Claremont McKenna College — Dr. Lael Brainard, Former US Under-Secretary of the Treasury for Intl Affairs
Coastal Carolina University — Natasha Trethewey, United States Poet Laureate
College of William and Mary — Leroy Petry, Medal of Honor Recipient
Columbia University — Dan Futterman, Actor and Screenwriter
Cornell University — Ed Helms, Actor (“The Office”, “The Hangover”)
Dartmouth University — Shonda Rhimes, Writer/Producer (“Grey’s Anatomy”, “Scandal”, “Private Practice”)
Dickinson College — Madeleine Albright, First Female US Secretary of State
Dillard University — Michelle Obama, First Lady of the US
Drexel University — Thomas E. Perez, US Secretary of Labor
Duke University — General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Elon University — Mary Carillo, Sportscaster and former Professional Tennis Player
Emerson College — Jay Leno, Comedian, former Host of NBC’s ‘Late Night Show’
Emory University — Rep. John Lewis, Congressman and Civil Rights Leader
Evergreen State College — Winona LaDuke, American Indian Activist, Environmentalist, Economist, Writer
Franklin and Marshall College — George Stephanopoulos, TV Anchor and former Senior Advisor to President Clinton
George Washington University — José Andrés, Chef
Hamsphire College — Laverne Cox, Actress (“Orange is the New Black”), Writer, Producer, Transgender Advocate
Harvard University — Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City
High Point University — Gen. Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Howard University — Sean Combs (P. Diddy), Entertainer and Entrepreneur
Indiana University, Bloomington — Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland and Paul O’Neill, former US Treasury Secretary
Ithaca College — Chris Regan, Scriptwriter (“Family Guy”, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”)
Johns Hopkins University — Susan Wojcicki, YouTube Chief Executive Officer
Kenyon College — Bill Bryson, Author
Knox College — Natasha Tretheway, United States Poet Laurate
Lafayette College — Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica
Lehigh University — Martin D. Baron, Executive Editor of The Washington Post
Manhattan College — Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services and Dominick Servedio, Executive Chair of STV Group
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) — James Turrell, Artist and MacArthur fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) — Ellen Kullman, CEO of DuPont
Miami University (Ohio) — Forest Whitaker, Actor
Miami-Dade College — Joe Biden, Vice-President of the United States
Mount Holyoke University — Deborah Bial, President and Founder of the Posse Foundation
New York University — Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair
New York University Abu Dhabi — Bill Clinton, Former President
Northeastern University — Janet Napolitano, Univ. of California President and former Secretary of Homeland Security
Northwestern University — Riccardo Muti, Director of Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Oberlin College — Thomas E. Perez, US Secretary of Labor
Ohio State University — Chris Matthews, MSNBC Anchor
Pomona College — Valerie B. Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama
Princeton University — Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States
Rice University — Helene D. Gayle, CEO of CARE USA
Rutgers University — Tom Kean, Former Governor of New Jersey
Smith College — Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF
Southern Methodist University (SMU) — Mike Rawlings, Mayor of Dallas
Stanford University — Bill and Melinda Gates, Philanthropists
Syracuse University — David Remnick, Journalist and Editor, The New Yorker
Texas A&M University — Todd Staples, Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, former US Senator
Trinity College (CT) — Katie Couric, TV Anchor and Journalist
Tufts University — Anne-Marie Slaughter, President of New America Foundation
Tulane University — Wynton Marsalis, Jazz Musician
University at Albany, SUNY — Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder of Chobani
University of Arizona — Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of Girl Scouts USA
University of California, Berkeley — Nancy Pelosi, US Congresswoman and former Speaker of the House
University of California, Irvine — President Barack Obama
University of Colorado, Boulder — Eric Stough, Producer of ‘South Park’
University of Connecticut — Rick Mastracchio, Astronaut on Intl Space Station
University of Delaware — Joe Biden, Vice-President of the United States
University of Georgia — Johnny Isakson, US Senator
University of Hawaii, Manoa — Daniel Dae Kim, Actor (‘Hawaii Five-0’, ‘Lost’)
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign — Michael S. Hopkins, Astronaut
University of Maryland, College Park — Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland
University of Massachusetts, Amherst — Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts, Lowell — Bill Nye “The Science Guy” and Howard K. Koh, Asst. Secretary for Health at US Dept. of Health and Human Services
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors
University of Montana — Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana
University of New Hampshire — Jennifer Lee, “Frozen” Screenwriter/Director
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill — Atul Gawande, Surgeon and Author
University of Oklahoma — Wendy Kopp, Founder, Teach for America and Teach for All
University of Oregon — Jefferson Smith, Member of Oregon House of Representatives
University of the Pacific — Edward Whitacre, Jr., former CEO of General Motors and AT&T
University of Pennsylvania — John Legend, Musician
University of Pittsburgh — Robert James Woolsey, Jr., former Director of CIA
University of Puget Sound — Rachel Martin, Journalist, National Public Radio Host
University of Rhode Island — Richard Blanco, Fifth US Presidential Inaugural Poet
University of Rochester — Chris Matthews, MSNBC Anchor
University of South Carolina — Joe Biden, Vice-President of the United States
University of Southern California — Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com CEO
University of Texas, Austin — Admiral William H. McRaven, United States Navy
University of Vermont — Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the UN
University of Virginia — Peyton Manning, Broncos Quarterback and Ray Mabus, US Secretary of the Navy
University of Washington, Bothell — John Quinones, TV Anchor, Host of ‘Primetime: What Would You Do?’
University of Washington, Seattle — Steve Ballmer, Former Microsoft CEO
University of Wisconsin, Madison — Jon Huntsman, Former Governor of Utah
Vanderbilt University — Regina Benjamin, former United States Surgeon General
Vasser College — Sau Lan Wu, Particle Physicist, Member of team discovering Higgs boson
Villanova University — Dr. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) — Tony La Russa, Baseball Hall of Famer
Wake Forest University — Jill Abramson, Executive Editor, New York Times
Wesleyan University — Theodore M. Shaw, Civil Rights Activist
Williams College — Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City
Yale University — John Kerry, US Secretary of State</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon University, Jeffrey Housenbold (TPR’91), President and CEO of Shutterfly Inc.</p>
<p>University of Chicago -Kerwin Charles, Deputy Dean and the Edwin and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at Chicago Harris</p>
<p>Boston University- Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts</p>
<p>Hillwood High School - Brian Williams</p>
<p>campuses and students generally skew one direction. thus speakers with leanings in the other direction often get rejected as “anti correct” or “wrong” whereas speakers perceived as from the other side are “ok”. this is the dichotomy of “diversity” and letting all voices be heard. It just gets a little more volume at graduation time.</p>
<p>Smith College’s new speaker is Ruth J. Simmons, their former college president and president of Brown. Lagarde will not be speaking. </p>
<p><a href=“Smith College commencement 2014: International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde withdraws as speaker following student and faculty protests - masslive.com”>Smith College commencement 2014: International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde withdraws as speaker following student and faculty protests - masslive.com;
<p><a href=“Haverford College Commencement Speaker Latest To Back Out Of Graduation - CBS Philadelphia”>http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/05/14/haverford-college-commencement-speaker-latest-to-back-out-of-graduation/</a></p>
<p>Well chalk up Haverford College as another protestors “win”.</p>
<p>Lawrence University: Charles Gibson, former anchor of ABC World News and co-anchor of Good Morning, America</p>
<p>Averagely, there seems to be a theme here with speakers selection - majority are Entertainers, Politicians, and then business leaders. It would be a great tradition to have college/University presidents take turns speaking at other universities @ graduation. It certainly will help keep the communication about education quality, affordability, and serviceship going. Perhaps, they can also learn what the other school is doing right while they are there.
The Oxford University chancellor @ ND, and Ruth J. Simmons @ Smith College are examples of this idea…
'Just one of my humble ideas.</p>
<p>Wonder who Jim Tressel will bring in to Youngstown State when he’s installed as prez there? Hilarious, you know we’ve gone past the point of no return when they’re hiring football coaches as college presidents.</p>
<p>sax, the replacement speaker at Haverford, Former Princeton University President William Bowen blasted the group of students who protested. He said they were immature and arrogant and received an ovation from the crowd when he said it. Apparently it was a small group who protested and the rest of the student body was not behind them.</p>
<p>
</a></p>
<p>I can see why these speakers would back out. Who needs the aggravation. I know that they get paid, but I feel like the people selected don’t actually need the extra cash. </p>
<p>Reed apparently let the students decide.
Igor Vamos.
Press release by the Onion.</p>
<p>I checked the foxnews link above. Thankfully it was an AP story, and thus can be trusted. I never trust MSNBC, or Fox as lone sources. Way too biased left, and right.</p>
<p>Was it here where I heard about Commencement Speech Bingo? They now need to add a space for “insult the student body you’re speaking to”. How trendy will that become?</p>
<p>Or maybe, “lambast narrow-mindedness by saying something narrow-minded”. Maybe that will bring about another ovation - from a small group. </p>
<p><a href=“Graduations Are Way Less Awful With Commencement Speech Bingo | WIRED”>http://www.wired.com/2014/05/graduation-speech-bingo/</a></p>
<p>Why not just have the president, or chancellor of the U, or a distinguished alumnus/alumnae (who’s not famous) give the address, and be done with it. Truly no one (esp students) gives an isht anyway.</p>