Tag: Commencement Speakers: Page 2

News Roundup

Dr. Mildred García Selected as Ithaca College’s Commencement Speaker

Ithaca College has announced that Dr. Mildred García, a national leader in higher education and president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), will be the commencement speaker for the college’s 124th Commencement ceremony to be held on Sunday, May 19. She will also be awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree […]

March 26, 2019

Students

Boseman Delivers Wakanda Wisdom to His Alma Mater’s Graduates

WASHINGTON — Actor Chadwick Boseman, also known as superhero T’Challa in “The Black Panther” blockbuster movie, challenged Howard University graduates to focus on finding purpose rather than just jobs and careers during a metaphorical and occasionally spiritual commencement address delivered on Saturday.

May 13, 2018

News Roundup

Amid #MeToo, More Colleges Host Women As Graduation Speakers

This graduation season, the podium is all hers. For the first time in at least two decades, the majority of the nation’s top colleges are featuring women as their spring commencement speakers, a shift that industry experts credit to the wave of female empowerment that has fueled the #MeToo movement. Yale is bringing Hillary Clinton. […]

May 9, 2018

News Roundup

African King to Give Commencement Speech at Ohio University

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — An African monarch with a special connection to a small Ohio university will visit to give the school’s commencement speech. The Springfield News-Sun reports Lesotho’s King Letsie III will travel to Springfield to speak at Wittenberg University Saturday. Wittenberg history professor Scott Rosenberg has taken hundreds of students on service trips to […]

May 8, 2018

HBCUs

Pioneer University Leader to Address Rust College Graduates

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. — A path-blazing university president will address graduates at Rust College. The Holly Springs school expects 113 students to receive diplomas at the ceremony Saturday. Dr. Ruth Simmons, currently president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, will address graduates. Simmons was the first African-American person to lead an Ivy League school, […]

April 29, 2018

News Roundup

Jill Biden to Deliver Commencement Speech at Alabama College

MOBILE, Ala. — Dr. Jill Biden will deliver the commencement speech at a community college in Alabama. News outlets report the wife of former Vice President Joe Biden will deliver the commencement speech at Bishop State Community College on May 10. The Mobile school says Biden and former President Barack Obama led the first-ever White […]

April 24, 2018

News Roundup

Shatner to Give Commencement Address at Rhode Island School

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. — Capt. Kirk is beaming down to a Rhode Island college this spring to deliver the commencement address. The New England Institute of Technology announced Monday that actor William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of Capt. James T. Kirk on the original “Star Trek” television series, will address students at the […]

April 10, 2018

News Roundup

Chance the Rapper to Address Dillard University’s 2018 Grads

Grammy Award-winning artist Chance the Rapper will deliver this year’s commencement address to graduates of Dillard University in New Orleans. The school’s 82nd Commencement ceremonies for more than 200 graduates will be held Saturday, May 12, at 8 a.m. on the campus’ historic Avenue of the Oaks. Dillard President Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough says Chance […]

April 9, 2018

Students

Selecting Commencement Speakers: A Political Minefield

In this hyper-polarized environment, students in the class of 2018 may find themselves without a commencement speaker who has strong views on political or social issues. Many administrators are struggling to identify orators who will be welcomed by the campus community without provoking protests.

March 6, 2018

Students

Another DeVos Commencement Invitation Meets Resistance

Days after University of Baltimore President Kurt L. Schmoke announced that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos would serve as the school’s fall commencement speaker, thousands of students, several local representatives and UB alumni have expressed resistance and opposition.

September 11, 2017

HBCUs

Controversy Commences at Bethune-Cookman

Bethune-Cookman University rocketed to the forefront of conversation about commencement speakers this spring with the announcement Monday that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would headline its event in Daytona Beach, Fla., next week. “Much like Dr. Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman University, Secretary DeVos deems the importance of opportunity and hope for students to receive an exceptional […]

May 1, 2017

Leadership & Policy

Trump to Deliver Liberty University Commencement Address

WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address at Liberty University’s commencement ceremony. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. provided the details of the May 13 graduation ceremony in a statement Wednesday. Falwell was a close ally to Trump during his campaign and told The Associated Press in January that he’d been asked […]

March 22, 2017